Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Monica, CA and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $4,430 in Santa Monica, CA, rent and utilities included – about $38,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

214

Cost of Living Index in Santa Monica, CA
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Santa Monica, CA Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Santa Monica, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$4,430

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,430 in Santa Monica, CA versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Santa Monica, CA $4,430
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $6,581 in Santa Monica, CA versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Santa Monica, CA $6,581
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $8,732 in Santa Monica, CA versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Santa Monica, CA $8,732
Phuket $2,867

Living in Santa Monica, CA is roughly 267% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santa Monica, CA is 228% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.77 $26.77

$4.58 ฿153

484.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$118 $118

$32.48 ฿1,086

263.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.88 $14.88

$8.55 ฿286

74.04%

Cappuccino

$5.93 $5.93

$2.72 ฿91.0

118.01%

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

$3.26 $3.26

$0.94 ฿31.25

246.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 $2.40

$0.49 ฿16.39

389.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.13 $8.13

$2.59 ฿86.6

213.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.95 $9.95

$3.83 ฿128

159.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 $1.34

$1.74 ฿58.1

-22.99%

White Bread (500g)

$4.57 $4.57

$1.43 ฿47.82

219.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.65 $4.65

$1.53 ฿51.0

203.92%

Eggs

$5.73 $5.73

$2.17 ฿72.7

164.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.77 $15.77

$19.15 ฿640

-17.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.21 $14.21

$3.30 ฿110

330.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.80 $19.80

$11.14 ฿372

77.74%

Apples (1kg)

$4.76 $4.76

$2.95 ฿98.5

61.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 $2.29

$1.68 ฿56.1

36.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.95 $3.95

$2.30 ฿76.8

71.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.45 $5.45

$2.13 ฿71.3

155.87%

Potato (1kg)

$3.31 $3.31

$1.53 ฿51.1

116.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.83 $2.83

$1.36 ฿45.55

108.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.14 $2.14

$1.12 ฿37.44

91.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.48 $2.48

$0.55 ฿18.24

350.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.56 $11.56

$4.26 ฿142

171.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.25 $15.25

$18.19 ฿608

-16.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 $2.43

$1.74 ฿58.2

39.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 $3.06

$2.79 ฿93.3

9.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.52 $2.52

$2.22 ฿74.1

13.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.0 $67.0

$22.06 ฿737

203.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 $3.15

$2.91 ฿97.3

8.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.90 $1.90

$1.01 ฿33.79

88.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.68 $32.68

$3.83 ฿128

753.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.49 ฿49.85

-2.68%

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

$36.8K $36.8K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

37.93%

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

$25.6K $25.6K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-4.27%

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

$218 $218

$99.4 ฿3,321

119.18%

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

$46.37 $46.37

$11.28 ฿377

311.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.1 $65.1

$17.36 ฿580

274.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.7 $70.7

$52.3 ฿1,747

35.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$44.11 $44.11

$10.85 ฿362

306.54%

Cinema Ticket

$19.36 $19.36

$7.57 ฿253

155.75%

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

$1,694 $1,694

$558 ฿18.7K

203.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.5K $32.5K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

182.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.9 $88.9

$62.9 ฿2,102

41.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 $54.8

$28.58 ฿955

91.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 $104

$96.1 ฿3,213

8.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 $121

$88.1 ฿2,943

37.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,328 $3,328

$729 ฿24.4K

356.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,860 $2,860

$460 ฿15.4K

521.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,804 $5,804

$2,096 ฿70.0K

176.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$5,048 $5,048

$1,222 ฿40.8K

313.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.9K $10.9K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

214.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,924 $7,924

$2,489 ฿83.2K

218.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,900 $6,900

$493 ฿16.5K

1299.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.62

5.57

18.85%

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

Last update for Santa Monica, CA: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Monica, CA

$2.9K 64.6%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 83.9% $2.4K

Groceries & Markets

Santa Monica, CA

$462 10.4%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 42% $194

Eating Out

Santa Monica, CA

$413 9.3%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 70.6% $292

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Monica, CA

$329 7.4%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 61.1% $201

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Monica, CA

$166 3.8%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 25.3% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Monica, CA

$109 2.5%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 38.4% $42

Getting Around

Santa Monica, CA

$90 2%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 56.7% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $3,328 in Santa Monica, CA and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Monica, CA pays 1300% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $118 in Santa Monica, CA vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $462 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Santa Monica, CA

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:15 5:15 PM

07:15 7:15 AM

14 h ahead of Santa Monica, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

89,736

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 October 19, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

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Santa Monica, CA Phuket 13,950 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

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Santa Monica, CA
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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

Santa Monica, CA vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 267% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1300% higher in Santa Monica, CA, 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: $3,328 in Santa Monica, CA versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,694 in Santa Monica, CA versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 73% higher in Santa Monica, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $4,430 in Santa Monica, CA, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Santa Monica, CA. 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 Santa Monica, CA, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Santa Monica, CA and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 267% less than in Santa Monica, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.