Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Thomas and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,223 a month against $2,432 in St. Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

111

Cost of Living Index in St. Thomas
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St. Thomas Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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St. Thomas

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,432

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in St. Thomas and in Lisbon

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 Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,432 in St. Thomas versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

St. Thomas $2,432
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in St. Thomas versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

St. Thomas $3,274
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,117 in St. Thomas versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

St. Thomas $4,117
Lisbon $4,319

Living in St. Thomas is roughly 9% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St. Thomas 80% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.05 CA$29.76

$16.50 €14.67

27.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.6 CA$88.5

$61.3 €54.5

2.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.38 CA$16.09

$11.27 €10.03

0.98%

Cappuccino

$3.32 CA$4.69

$3.06 €2.72

8.50%

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

$2.19 CA$3.10

$2.26 €2.01

-3.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 CA$2.24

$1.73 €1.54

-8.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.02 CA$7.10

$3.39 €3.02

48.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.89 CA$8.33

$3.40 €3.02

73.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.08 CA$2.95

$1.12 €1.00

85.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 CA$3.69

$1.86 €1.65

40.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.73 CA$5.27

$1.53 €1.36

143.79%

Eggs

$3.09 CA$4.37

$3.96 €3.53

-21.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.94 CA$14.05

$12.76 €11.35

-22.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.43 CA$21.81

$7.90 €7.02

95.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.20 CA$27.15

$16.97 €15.09

13.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 CA$5.46

$2.27 €2.02

70.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 CA$1.75

$1.75 €1.55

-29.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.49 CA$4.94

$1.85 €1.64

88.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.97 CA$5.61

$2.57 €2.28

54.47%

Potato (1kg)

$3.36 CA$4.76

$1.86 €1.65

80.65%

Onion (1kg)

$3.07 CA$4.34

$2.02 €1.80

51.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.85 CA$4.03

$1.44 €1.28

97.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 CA$2.06

$0.82 €0.73

78.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.98 CA$15.52

$6.56 €5.83

67.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.74 CA$18.01

$5.62 €5.00

126.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 CA$3.39

$1.28 €1.14

87.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 CA$3.93

$2.07 €1.84

34.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.25 CA$3.18

$2.35 €2.09

-4.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$58.7 CA$82.9

$44.18 €39.30

32.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.30 CA$3.26

$3.99 €3.55

-42.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 CA$2.29

$1.09 €0.97

48.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.70 CA$30.68

$16.64 €14.81

30.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 CA$1.59

$2.28 €2.03

-50.44%

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

$28.0K CA$39.6K

$33.7K €30.0K

-16.76%

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

$19.7K CA$27.9K

$39.3K €35.0K

-49.84%

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

$123 CA$174

$167 €149

-26.34%

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

$42.76 CA$60.5

$18.80 €16.72

127.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 CA$78.4

$33.09 €29.43

67.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.43 CA$62.8

$46.01 €40.93

-3.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.32 CA$28.72

$19.19 €17.07

5.89%

Cinema Ticket

$10.33 CA$14.61

$9.84 €8.75

4.98%

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

$399 CA$564

$677 €602

-41.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.7K CA$23.5K

$16.9K €15.1K

-1.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 CA$75.7

$101 €90.1

-47.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.84 CA$50.7

$45.76 €40.70

-21.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.2 CA$116

$100.0 €88.9

-17.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 CA$128

$123 €109

-26.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 CA$1,622

$1,614 €1,436

-28.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,267 CA$1,792

$1,197 €1,065

5.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 CA$2,537

$2,862 €2,545

-37.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,470 CA$2,078

$1,990 €1,770

-26.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,187 CA$5,919

$7,577 €6,740

-44.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,561 CA$5,034

$4,307 €3,831

-17.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,970 CA$4,198

$1,588 €1,412

87.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.99

3.85

29.61%

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

Last update for St. Thomas: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Thomas

$1.3K 52.1%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 5.5% $70

Groceries & Markets

St. Thomas

$387 15.9%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 30.5% $118

Eating Out

St. Thomas

$294 12.1%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 17.7% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Thomas

$222 9.1%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 1% $2.2

Clothing & Footwear

St. Thomas

$118 4.9%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 41% $48

Getting Around

St. Thomas

$78 3.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 19.3% $15

Sport & Entertainment

St. Thomas

$65 2.7%

Lisbon

$66 3% 0.9% $0.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,148 in St. Thomas and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Thomas pays 87% 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 $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $387 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 St. Thomas

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

14:52 2:52 PM

19:52 7:52 PM

5 h ahead of St. Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,909

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CAD in detail →

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Between locations

St. Thomas Lisbon 5,900 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Thomas
Lisbon

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 Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Thomas and Lisbon differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($2,432 vs $2,223 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 87% 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 $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $399 in St. Thomas versus $677 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in St. Thomas. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,432 in St. Thomas, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in St. Thomas. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon 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 Lisbon 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 Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in St. Thomas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.