Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St.James and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in St.James: $917 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

44

Cost of Living Index in St.James
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St.James Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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St.James

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$917

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $917 in St.James versus $1,278 in Phuket.

St.James $917
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,593 in St.James versus $2,216 in Phuket.

St.James $1,593
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,270 in St.James versus $3,154 in Phuket.

St.James $2,270
Phuket $3,154

Living in St.James costs roughly 28% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: St.James 33% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.13 TTD 68.0

$4.47 ฿151

126.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.4 TTD 593

$32.41 ฿1,093

172.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.03 TTD 60.6

$8.81 ฿297

2.50%

Cappuccino

$3.65 TTD 24.49

$2.83 ฿95.4

28.98%

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

$0.99 TTD 6.67

$0.87 ฿29.41

13.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 TTD 5.15

$0.49 ฿16.65

57.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 TTD 15.06

$2.56 ฿86.3

-12.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 TTD 24.62

$3.68 ฿124

-0.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.51 TTD 16.85

$1.66 ฿55.9

51.20%

White Bread (500g)

$2.48 TTD 16.67

$1.46 ฿49.31

69.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 TTD 18.82

$1.50 ฿50.5

86.67%

Eggs

$4.43 TTD 29.73

$2.09 ฿70.5

111.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.57 TTD 44.06

$19.07 ฿643

-65.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.90 TTD 66.4

$3.30 ฿111

200.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.79 TTD 79.1

$10.91 ฿368

8.07%

Apples (1kg)

$5.66 TTD 37.97

$2.93 ฿98.9

93.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.97 TTD 19.90

$1.69 ฿57.0

75.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.75 TTD 25.19

$2.25 ฿75.8

66.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 TTD 28.70

$2.08 ฿70.0

105.77%

Potato (1kg)

$2.21 TTD 14.84

$1.51 ฿51.0

46.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 TTD 12.54

$1.38 ฿46.52

35.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.91 TTD 12.84

$1.07 ฿35.96

78.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 TTD 9.08

$0.52 ฿17.51

159.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.73 TTD 38.48

$4.20 ฿142

36.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.28 TTD 129

$18.79 ฿634

2.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.21 TTD 14.82

$1.82 ฿61.5

21.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 TTD 20.13

$2.84 ฿95.8

5.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.01 TTD 6.78

$3.02 ฿102

-66.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 TTD 8.26

$1.02 ฿34.33

20.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.65 TTD 98.3

$3.69 ฿125

297.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 TTD 7.83

$1.47 ฿49.76

-20.41%

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

$37.2K TTD 249.9K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

39.10%

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

$40.7K TTD 273.4K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

52.67%

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

$90.2 TTD 605

$96.4 ฿3,251

-6.35%

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

$50.9 TTD 341

$11.26 ฿380

351.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.0 TTD 376

$16.85 ฿568

232.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 TTD 60.8

$7.50 ฿253

20.80%

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

$398 TTD 2,669

$476 ฿16.1K

-16.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K TTD 73.1K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-3.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.3 TTD 364

$62.4 ฿2,104

-12.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.3 TTD 344

$28.41 ฿958

80.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$148 TTD 996

$94.3 ฿3,181

57.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 TTD 693

$85.8 ฿2,895

20.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.75

5.57

3.23%

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

Last update for St.James: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

St.James

$356 38.8%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 25.2% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St.James

$197 21.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 36.9% $73

Eating Out

St.James

$178 19.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 31.5% $56

Clothing & Footwear

St.James

$161 17.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 24.2% $39

Sport & Entertainment

St.James

$18 * 2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 354% $64

Getting Around

St.James

$7.2 * 0.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 886% $63

Accommodation & Living

St.James

- * 0%

Phuket

$491 38.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $88 in St.James vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $356 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇹 St.James

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:13 5:13 PM

04:13 4:13 AM

11 h ahead of St.James

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,342

79,308

💱 Currency

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.133 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TTD – Trinidad and Tobago Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago Dollar ($)

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 TTD (1 TTD = 0.133 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to TTD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St.James Phuket 16,980 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

St.James
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

St.James vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St.James is about 28% cheaper overall, especially in leisure and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,375 in St.James and $1,917 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $398 in St.James 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 $88 in St.James. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $917 in St.James versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in St.James but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes St.James 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.