Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rochester, MN and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $2,555 in Rochester, MN, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Rochester, MN
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Rochester, MN Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Rochester, MN

🇺🇸 United States

$2,555

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rochester, MN and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Rochester, MN and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,555 in Rochester, MN versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Rochester, MN $2,555
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,909 in Rochester, MN versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Rochester, MN $3,909
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,264 in Rochester, MN versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Rochester, MN $5,264
Phuket $3,115

Living in Rochester, MN is roughly 98% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rochester, MN is 89% above, Phuket is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.95 $19.95

$4.39 ฿148

354.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.5 $74.5

$32.31 ฿1,086

130.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 $10.90

$8.70 ฿293

25.29%

Cappuccino

$6.05 $6.05

$2.72 ฿91.6

122.43%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 $2.86

$0.93 ฿31.28

207.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 $2.45

$0.50 ฿16.79

390.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.99 $4.99

$2.53 ฿85.1

97.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 $5.70

$3.63 ฿122

57.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 $0.85

$1.74 ฿58.5

-51.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.88 $2.88

$1.45 ฿48.77

98.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.38 $3.38

$1.50 ฿50.5

125.33%

Eggs

$3.64 $3.64

$2.17 ฿73.0

67.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.27 $9.27

$19.09 ฿642

-51.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.35 $12.35

$3.40 ฿114

263.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.77 $18.77

$10.90 ฿366

72.20%

Apples (1kg)

$5.49 $5.49

$2.94 ฿98.9

86.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 $1.47

$1.69 ฿56.9

-13.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.43 $4.43

$2.19 ฿73.8

102.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.72 $3.72

$2.12 ฿71.4

75.47%

Potato (1kg)

$2.14 $2.14

$1.46 ฿49.03

46.58%

Onion (1kg)

$3.71 $3.71

$1.37 ฿45.99

170.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.66 $2.66

$1.08 ฿36.17

146.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.07 $3.07

$0.55 ฿18.34

458.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.19 $10.19

$4.43 ฿149

130.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.18 $15.18

$18.25 ฿614

-16.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 $1.78

$1.77 ฿59.6

0.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 $2.94

$2.88 ฿96.8

2.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.02 $2.02

$1.45 ฿48.66

39.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.38 $42.38

$54.9 ฿1,845

-22.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.02 $2.02

$1.51 ฿50.9

33.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.21 $1.21

$0.78 ฿26.08

55.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 $19.78

$3.84 ฿129

415.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.92 $0.92

$1.49 ฿50.0

-38.26%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$26.9K $26.9K

$26.9K ฿903.7K

0.11%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$25.3K $25.3K

$26.3K ฿885.7K

-3.99%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$167 $167

$97.8 ฿3,288

70.59%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$45.91 $45.91

$11.29 ฿380

306.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.19 $44.19

$17.19 ฿578

157.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.70 $44.70

$68.3 ฿2,297

-34.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.62 $19.62

$10.92 ฿367

79.67%

Cinema Ticket

$9.93 $9.93

$7.43 ฿250

33.65%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,296 $1,296

$530 ฿17.8K

144.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K $11.1K

$18.8K ฿631.4K

-41.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.3 $64.3

$61.7 ฿2,073

4.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.7 $63.7

$28.25 ฿950

125.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.2 $73.2

$96.0 ฿3,228

-23.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.2 $85.2

$86.8 ฿2,919

-1.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,628 $1,628

$721 ฿24.2K

125.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,333 $1,333

$509 ฿17.1K

162.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,714 $2,714

$1,950 ฿65.6K

39.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,485 $2,485

$1,397 ฿47.0K

77.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,266 $2,266

$4,192 ฿140.9K

-45.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,912 $1,912

$3,298 ฿110.9K

-42.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,534 $4,534

$492 ฿16.5K

822.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.57

5.57

17.95%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Rochester, MN: November 2, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Rochester, MN

$1.3K 52.2%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 61.8% $824

Groceries & Markets

Rochester, MN

$390 15.3%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 31.6% $123

Eating Out

Rochester, MN

$322 12.6%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 62.9% $203

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rochester, MN

$257 10.1%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 50.9% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Rochester, MN

$129 5%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 4.8% $6.1

Sport & Entertainment

Rochester, MN

$65 2.5%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 28.8% $19

Getting Around

Rochester, MN

$59 2.3%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 12.9% $7.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,628 in Rochester, MN and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rochester, MN pays about 9.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $74 in Rochester, MN vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $390 vs $267 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Rochester, MN

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:21 12:21 AM

13:21 1:21 PM

13 h ahead of Rochester, MN

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

211,328

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.888 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.13 USD (1 USD = 0.888 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

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Rochester, MN Phuket 14,140 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

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Rochester, MN
Phuket

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Rochester, MN vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Rochester, MN is about 9.2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,628 in Rochester, MN versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,296 in Rochester, MN versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Rochester, MN. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,555 in Rochester, MN, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Rochester, MN. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Rochester, MN on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.