Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Salt Lake City, UT and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,672 in Salt Lake City, UT, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Salt Lake City, UT
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Salt Lake City, UT Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Salt Lake City, UT

🇺🇸 United States

$2,672

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Salt Lake City, UT 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 Salt Lake City, UT and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,672 in Salt Lake City, UT versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Salt Lake City, UT $2,672
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,866 in Salt Lake City, UT versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Salt Lake City, UT $3,866
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,061 in Salt Lake City, UT versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Salt Lake City, UT $5,061
Phuket $3,154

Living in Salt Lake City, UT is roughly 109% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Salt Lake City, UT is 96% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.76 $17.76

$4.47 ฿151

297.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.7 $74.7

$32.41 ฿1,094

130.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.97 $9.97

$8.81 ฿297

13.17%

Cappuccino

$5.17 $5.17

$2.83 ฿95.4

82.69%

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

$2.20 $2.20

$0.87 ฿29.42

152.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 $1.65

$0.49 ฿16.66

236.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.83 $5.83

$2.56 ฿86.3

127.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.86 $7.86

$3.68 ฿124

113.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.88 $0.88

$1.66 ฿56.0

-46.99%

White Bread (500g)

$3.97 $3.97

$1.46 ฿49.32

171.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.02 $4.02

$1.50 ฿50.5

168.00%

Eggs

$4.23 $4.23

$2.09 ฿70.5

102.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 $11.84

$19.07 ฿643

-37.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.11 $12.11

$3.30 ฿111

266.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.15 $17.15

$10.91 ฿368

57.20%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 $4.00

$2.93 ฿98.9

36.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 $1.38

$1.69 ฿57.0

-18.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.65 $3.65

$2.25 ฿75.8

62.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.07 $4.07

$2.08 ฿70.1

95.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 $2.20

$1.51 ฿51.0

45.70%

Onion (1kg)

$2.41 $2.41

$1.38 ฿46.54

74.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.84 $1.84

$1.07 ฿35.97

71.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 $1.94

$0.52 ฿17.51

273.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.31 $10.31

$4.20 ฿142

145.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.84 $14.84

$18.79 ฿634

-21.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.62 $2.62

$1.82 ฿61.5

43.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 $3.27

$2.84 ฿95.9

15.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.48 $2.48

$1.45 ฿49.00

71.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.1 $85.1

$56.7 ฿1,912

50.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.47 $2.47

$3.02 ฿102

-18.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.29 $2.29

$1.02 ฿34.34

124.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.83 $24.83

$3.69 ฿125

572.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 $1.16

$1.47 ฿49.78

-21.09%

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

$34.3K $34.3K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

28.06%

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

$26.7K $26.7K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

-0.00%

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

$199 $199

$96.4 ฿3,252

106.75%

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

$52.3 $52.3

$11.26 ฿380

364.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$82.2 $82.2

$16.85 ฿569

387.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.66 $33.66

$67.2 ฿2,269

-49.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.63 $27.63

$10.73 ฿362

157.50%

Cinema Ticket

$14.98 $14.98

$7.50 ฿253

99.73%

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

$1,323 $1,323

$476 ฿16.1K

177.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.5K $20.5K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

81.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.9 $69.9

$62.4 ฿2,105

12.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.60 $45.60

$28.41 ฿959

60.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 $111

$94.3 ฿3,182

17.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 $108

$85.8 ฿2,896

26.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,583 $1,583

$716 ฿24.2K

121.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 $1,337

$491 ฿16.6K

172.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,828 $2,828

$1,927 ฿65.0K

46.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,120 $2,120

$1,431 ฿48.3K

48.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,613 $4,613

$4,175 ฿140.9K

10.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,012 $3,012

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-1.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,396 $4,396

$502 ฿17.0K

775.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.46

5.57

15.98%

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

Last update for Salt Lake City, UT: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Salt Lake City, UT

$1.3K 50%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 63.3% $846

Groceries & Markets

Salt Lake City, UT

$384 14.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 30.6% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Salt Lake City, UT

$334 12.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 62.7% $209

Eating Out

Salt Lake City, UT

$294 11%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 58.6% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Salt Lake City, UT

$151 5.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 19.1% $29

Getting Around

Salt Lake City, UT

$109 4.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 35.2% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Salt Lake City, UT

$64 2.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 29.3% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,583 in Salt Lake City, UT and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Salt Lake City, UT pays about 8.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $75 in Salt Lake City, UT vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Salt Lake City, UT

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:07 2:07 AM

16:07 4:07 PM

14 h ahead of Salt Lake City, UT

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

200,133

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

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Salt Lake City, UT Phuket 13,780 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Salt Lake City, UT
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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

Salt Lake City, UT vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 52% 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 Salt Lake City, UT is about 8.8 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: $1,583 in Salt Lake City, UT versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,323 in Salt Lake City, UT versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in Salt Lake City, UT. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,672 in Salt Lake City, UT, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Salt Lake City, UT. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Salt Lake City, UT, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Salt Lake City, UT and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Salt Lake City, UT. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.