Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz, Jamaica and Phuket

For one person, living costs are similar in Santa Cruz and in Phuket: $1,285 and $1,278 a month, rent and utilities included.

62

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz
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Santa Cruz Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Santa Cruz

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,285

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Cruz 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 Santa Cruz and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Santa Cruz versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Santa Cruz $1,285
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,988 in Santa Cruz versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Santa Cruz $1,988
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,690 in Santa Cruz versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Santa Cruz $2,690
Phuket $3,154

Living in Santa Cruz is roughly 1% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santa Cruz 6% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.37 JMD 1,163

$4.47 ฿151

64.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.6 JMD 10.0K

$32.41 ฿1,094

96.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.45 JMD 1,016

$8.81 ฿297

-26.79%

Cappuccino

$5.34 JMD 842

$2.83 ฿95.5

88.69%

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

$1.16 JMD 182

$0.87 ฿29.43

33.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 JMD 119

$0.49 ฿16.67

53.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 JMD 357

$2.56 ฿86.4

-11.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 JMD 485

$3.68 ฿124

-16.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.04 JMD 638

$1.66 ฿56.0

143.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 JMD 406

$1.46 ฿49.35

76.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 JMD 248

$1.50 ฿50.6

4.67%

Eggs

$3.47 JMD 548

$2.09 ฿70.5

66.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 JMD 1,787

$19.07 ฿644

-40.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.40 JMD 1,010

$3.30 ฿111

93.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.41 JMD 1,641

$10.91 ฿368

-4.58%

Apples (1kg)

$5.97 JMD 941

$2.93 ฿99.0

103.75%

Banana (1kg)

$3.83 JMD 604

$1.69 ฿57.1

126.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.43 JMD 1,171

$2.25 ฿75.8

230.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.01 JMD 474

$2.08 ฿70.1

44.71%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 JMD 523

$1.51 ฿51.0

119.87%

Onion (1kg)

$2.64 JMD 416

$1.38 ฿46.56

91.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.01 JMD 475

$1.07 ฿35.99

181.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 JMD 229

$0.52 ฿17.52

178.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.47 JMD 1,494

$4.20 ฿142

125.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.53 JMD 1,818

$18.79 ฿634

-38.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 JMD 456

$1.82 ฿61.5

58.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.01 JMD 632

$2.84 ฿95.9

41.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 JMD 201

$3.02 ฿102

-57.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.12 JMD 492

$1.02 ฿34.36

205.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.12 JMD 966

$3.69 ฿125

65.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 JMD 220

$1.47 ฿49.81

-5.44%

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

$44.8K JMD 7.1M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

67.49%

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

$32.6K JMD 5.1M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

21.97%

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

$166 JMD 26.2K

$96.4 ฿3,254

72.44%

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

$29.57 JMD 4,664

$11.26 ฿380

162.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.8 JMD 8,165

$16.85 ฿569

207.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.40 JMD 6,055

$67.2 ฿2,270

-42.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$13.44 JMD 2,119

$7.50 ฿253

79.20%

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

$359 JMD 56.6K

$476 ฿16.1K

-24.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,104 JMD 1.3M

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-28.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.66 JMD 3,731

$62.4 ฿2,106

-62.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.85 JMD 5,022

$28.41 ฿959

12.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 JMD 12.3K

$94.3 ฿3,184

-16.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 JMD 15.9K

$85.8 ฿2,898

17.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$311 JMD 49.0K

$491 ฿16.6K

-36.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$499 JMD 78.8K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-65.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$408 JMD 64.3K

$502 ฿17.0K

-18.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

5.57

69.66%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz

$371 28.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 28.3% $105

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz

$311 24.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 57.9% $180

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz

$248 19.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 49.7% $123

Eating Out

Santa Cruz

$168 13%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 27.3% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz

$106 8.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 15.4% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz

$65 5.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 26% $17

Getting Around

Santa Cruz

$17 * 1.3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 318% $54

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Phuket pays 23% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $64 in Santa Cruz vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $371 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Santa Cruz

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

09:09 9:09 AM

21:09 9:09 PM

12 h ahead of Santa Cruz

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,217

79,308

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santa Cruz Phuket 17,100 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Cruz
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

Santa Cruz vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and eating out. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 19% lower in Santa Cruz. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $359 in Santa Cruz versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $64 in Santa Cruz. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Phuket gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.