Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Thomas and Budapest

For one person, living is cheaper in Budapest: $1,619 a month against $4,408 in St Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $33,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

213

Cost of Living Index in St Thomas
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St Thomas Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index

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St Thomas

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$4,408

/mo nomad

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,619

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in St Thomas and in Budapest

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

A single person spends $4,408 per month in St Thomas vs $1,619 in Budapest, rent included.

St Thomas $4,408
Budapest $1,619

A couple spends around $7,220 per month in St Thomas vs $2,524 in Budapest, rent included.

St Thomas $7,220
Budapest $2,524

A family of three spends $10.0K per month in St Thomas vs $3,429 in Budapest, rent included.

St Thomas $10.0K
Budapest $3,429

St Thomas costs about 172% more than Budapest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both St Thomas and Budapest sit above the global median – St Thomas by 227%, Budapest by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.30 $22.30

$13.94 Ft 4,503

59.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$170 $170

$61.2 Ft 19.8K

177.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.55 $13.55

$10.19 Ft 3,291

32.97%

Cappuccino

$5.90 $5.90

$3.26 Ft 1,055

80.98%

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

$3.95 $3.95

$2.14 Ft 690

84.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 $3.39

$1.78 Ft 577

90.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.12 $5.12

$3.71 Ft 1,198

38.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.81 $6.81

$3.77 Ft 1,217

80.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.88 $2.88

$1.15 Ft 371

150.43%

White Bread (500g)

$6.67 $6.67

$1.79 Ft 578

272.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$18.54 $18.54

$2.49 Ft 804

644.58%

Eggs

$8.87 $8.87

$3.90 Ft 1,261

127.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.12 $11.12

$11.10 Ft 3,587

0.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.44 $28.44

$6.62 Ft 2,139

329.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.72 $39.72

$14.69 Ft 4,745

170.39%

Apples (1kg)

$11.91 $11.91

$1.83 Ft 591

550.82%

Banana (1kg)

$10.89 $10.89

$2.05 Ft 661

431.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$12.30 $12.30

$2.37 Ft 765

418.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$19.99 $19.99

$3.90 Ft 1,260

412.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 $1.95

$0.99 Ft 320

96.97%

Onion (1kg)

$8.76 $8.76

$1.00 Ft 322

776.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$8.18 $8.18

$1.58 Ft 511

417.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$5.39 $5.39

$0.67 Ft 216

704.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,572

Wine (Bottle)

$24.57 $24.57

$6.22 Ft 2,009

295.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.18 $6.18

$2.03 Ft 654

204.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$1.52 Ft 490

30.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.7 $60.7

$28.02 Ft 9,053

116.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$19.61 $19.61

$3.31 Ft 1,070

492.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 $3.08

$1.37 Ft 442

124.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.83 Ft 6,406

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 $1.39

$1.82 Ft 589

-23.63%

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

$55.2K $55.2K

$29.8K Ft 9.6M

85.19%

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

$49.0K $49.0K

$33.8K Ft 10.9M

44.88%

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

$451 $451

$171 Ft 55.3K

163.41%

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

$100 $100

$23.51 Ft 7,596

326.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$151 $151

$23.29 Ft 7,526

549.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$164 $164

$67.5 Ft 21.8K

142.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.89 Ft 6,104

Cinema Ticket

$10.04 $10.04

$9.30 Ft 3,004

7.96%

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

$1,487 $1,487

$533 Ft 172.3K

178.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.9K $21.9K

$16.8K Ft 5.4M

30.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 $113

$99.6 Ft 32.2K

13.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$148 $148

$43.49 Ft 14.0K

239.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$202 $202

$110 Ft 35.7K

83.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 $151

$119 Ft 38.4K

27.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 $1,586

$830 Ft 268.3K

90.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,827 $1,827

$622 Ft 200.9K

193.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,187 $3,187

$1,594 Ft 514.9K

99.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,229 $4,229

$1,170 Ft 378.1K

261.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,896 $4,896

$5,832 Ft 1.9M

-16.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.9K $10.9K

$3,889 Ft 1.3M

180.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,726 $2,726

$1,651 Ft 533.4K

65.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

6.45

46.51%

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

Last update for St Thomas: October 11, 2026

Last update for Budapest: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Thomas

$1.8K 41.5%

Budapest

$622 38.4% 66% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

St Thomas

$956 * 21.7%

Budapest

$258 15.9% 73% $698

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Thomas

$702 15.9%

Budapest

$218 13.5% 69% $484

Eating Out

St Thomas

$358 8.1%

Budapest

$223 13.8% 37.8% $135

Clothing & Footwear

St Thomas

$276 6.3%

Budapest

$168 10.4% 39.4% $109

Sport & Entertainment

St Thomas

$184 4.2%

Budapest

$86 5.3% 53.2% $98

Getting Around

St Thomas

$104 2.4%

Budapest

$44 2.7% 57.3% $59

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,586 in St Thomas versus $830 in Budapest. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 65% higher in St Thomas, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $170 in St Thomas versus $61.0 in Budapest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $956 vs $258 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇻🇮 St Thomas

🇭🇺 Budapest

🕒 Local time

10:42 10:42 AM

16:42 4:42 PM

6 h ahead of St Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

HUF to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St Thomas Budapest 8,070 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

St Thomas
Budapest

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 Budapest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – St Thomas is pricier by about 172%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,612 per month in St Thomas and $2,428 in Budapest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Budapest, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 116% less in Budapest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,487 per month in St Thomas and $533 in Budapest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Budapest, where all-in costs run around $1,619, than in St Thomas at $4,408. In Budapest it covers expenses comfortably, while in St Thomas it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Budapest – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Budapest. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, St Thomas makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.