Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Thomas and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,656 a month against $2,432 in St. Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

111

Cost of Living Index in St. Thomas
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St. Thomas Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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St. Thomas

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,432

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in St. Thomas and in Buenos Aires

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,432 in St. Thomas versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

St. Thomas $2,432
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in St. Thomas versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

St. Thomas $3,274
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,117 in St. Thomas versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

St. Thomas $4,117
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in St. Thomas is roughly 47% more expensive than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St. Thomas 80% above, Buenos Aires 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.05 CA$29.93

$19.09 ARS 28.9K

10.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.6 CA$89.0

$65.8 ARS 99.5K

-4.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.38 CA$16.18

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

-13.79%

Cappuccino

$3.32 CA$4.72

$3.85 ARS 5,821

-13.77%

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

$2.19 CA$3.12

$1.99 ARS 3,010

10.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 CA$2.25

$1.60 ARS 2,422

-0.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.02 CA$7.14

$3.93 ARS 5,940

27.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.89 CA$8.38

$4.61 ARS 6,979

27.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.08 CA$2.96

$1.50 ARS 2,264

38.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 CA$3.71

$2.53 ARS 3,825

3.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.73 CA$5.30

$1.61 ARS 2,437

131.68%

Eggs

$3.09 CA$4.39

$2.84 ARS 4,302

8.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.94 CA$14.13

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

-3.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.43 CA$21.93

$10.00 ARS 15.1K

54.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.20 CA$27.30

$13.30 ARS 20.1K

44.36%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 CA$5.49

$2.88 ARS 4,351

34.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 CA$1.76

$2.20 ARS 3,323

-43.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.49 CA$4.97

$1.40 ARS 2,113

149.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.97 CA$5.64

$1.98 ARS 2,994

100.51%

Potato (1kg)

$3.36 CA$4.78

$1.21 ARS 1,829

177.69%

Onion (1kg)

$3.07 CA$4.36

$1.26 ARS 1,904

143.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.85 CA$4.06

$1.71 ARS 2,583

66.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 CA$2.07

$1.72 ARS 2,595

-15.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.98 CA$15.61

$4.29 ARS 6,484

155.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.74 CA$18.11

$5.70 ARS 8,617

123.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 CA$3.41

$2.17 ARS 3,277

10.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 CA$3.95

$2.76 ARS 4,174

0.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.25 CA$3.20

$0.75 ARS 1,137

200.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$58.7 CA$83.4

$27.27 ARS 41.3K

115.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.30 CA$3.27

$1.57 ARS 2,367

46.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 CA$2.30

$1.03 ARS 1,553

57.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.70 CA$30.86

$7.90 ARS 11.9K

174.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 CA$1.60

$1.42 ARS 2,153

-20.42%

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

$28.0K CA$39.9K

$27.9K ARS 42.3M

0.29%

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

$19.7K CA$28.0K

$35.0K ARS 52.9M

-43.64%

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

$123 CA$175

$195 ARS 295.2K

-36.79%

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

$42.76 CA$60.8

$25.16 ARS 38.0K

69.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 CA$78.9

$31.54 ARS 47.7K

75.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.43 CA$63.2

$50.9 ARS 77.0K

-12.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.32 CA$28.88

$16.73 ARS 25.3K

21.46%

Cinema Ticket

$10.33 CA$14.69

$10.34 ARS 15.6K

-0.10%

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

$399 CA$567

$463 ARS 700.9K

-13.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.7K CA$23.7K

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

89.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 CA$76.1

$120 ARS 181.2K

-55.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.84 CA$51.0

$95.5 ARS 144.4K

-62.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.2 CA$117

$114 ARS 172.6K

-27.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 CA$129

$139 ARS 210.7K

-34.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 CA$1,632

$756 ARS 1.1M

51.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,267 CA$1,802

$520 ARS 786.2K

143.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 CA$2,551

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

12.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,470 CA$2,090

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

22.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,187 CA$5,953

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

54.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,561 CA$5,062

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

87.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,970 CA$4,222

$938 ARS 1.4M

216.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.99

57.25

-91.28%

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

Last update for St. Thomas: October 11, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Thomas

$1.3K 52.1%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4% 59% $748

Groceries & Markets

St. Thomas

$387 15.9%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 26.9% $104

Eating Out

St. Thomas

$294 12.1%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 4.3% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Thomas

$222 9.1%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 13.7% $30

Clothing & Footwear

St. Thomas

$118 4.9%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 78.7% $93

Getting Around

St. Thomas

$78 3.2%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 52.6% $41

Sport & Entertainment

St. Thomas

$65 2.7%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 10% $6.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,148 in St. Thomas and $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Thomas pays 217% 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: $63.0 in St. Thomas vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires. Groceries flip the comparison at $387 vs $283, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 St. Thomas

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

21:27 9:27 PM

22:27 10:27 PM

1 h ahead of St. Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,909

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.703 USD

1 CAD = 0.628 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.61 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.91 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.628 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1,513 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.61 USD). 1 EUR = 1,693 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.91 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

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St. Thomas Buenos Aires 8,910 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Thomas
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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

St. Thomas vs Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Thomas and Buenos Aires differ by about 47% in total monthly costs ($2,432 vs $1,656 including rent). Buenos Aires is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 217% higher in St. Thomas, 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: $1,148 in St. Thomas versus $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $399 in St. Thomas versus $463 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in St. Thomas. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $2,432 in St. Thomas, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in St. Thomas. The gap between the two cities makes Buenos Aires 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.

Safety-wise, St. Thomas and Buenos Aires 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 Buenos Aires gentler on the wallet – expenses run 47% less than in St. Thomas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.