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 $4,408 in St Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $33,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

213

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

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$4,408

/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: $4,408 in St Thomas versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

St Thomas $4,408
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $7,220 in St Thomas versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

St Thomas $7,220
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $10.0K in St Thomas versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

St Thomas $10.0K
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in St Thomas is roughly 166% 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 227% above, Buenos Aires 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.30 $22.30

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

16.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$170 $170

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

158.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.55 $13.55

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

2.65%

Cappuccino

$5.90 $5.90

$3.85 ARS 5,841

53.25%

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

$3.95 $3.95

$1.99 ARS 3,020

98.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 $3.39

$1.60 ARS 2,430

111.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.12 $5.12

$3.93 ARS 5,959

30.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.81 $6.81

$4.61 ARS 7,003

47.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.88 $2.88

$1.50 ARS 2,272

92.00%

White Bread (500g)

$6.67 $6.67

$2.53 ARS 3,837

163.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$18.54 $18.54

$1.61 ARS 2,445

1051.55%

Eggs

$8.87 $8.87

$2.84 ARS 4,316

212.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.12 $11.12

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

7.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.44 $28.44

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

184.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.72 $39.72

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

198.65%

Apples (1kg)

$11.91 $11.91

$2.88 ARS 4,366

313.54%

Banana (1kg)

$10.89 $10.89

$2.20 ARS 3,334

395.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$12.30 $12.30

$1.40 ARS 2,120

778.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$19.99 $19.99

$1.98 ARS 3,004

909.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 $1.95

$1.21 ARS 1,835

61.16%

Onion (1kg)

$8.76 $8.76

$1.26 ARS 1,910

595.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$8.18 $8.18

$1.71 ARS 2,592

378.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$5.39 $5.39

$1.72 ARS 2,603

213.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

Wine (Bottle)

$24.57 $24.57

$5.70 ARS 8,645

331.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.18 $6.18

$2.76 ARS 4,188

123.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$0.75 ARS 1,141

164.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.7 $60.7

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

122.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$19.61 $19.61

$1.57 ARS 2,375

1149.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 $3.08

$1.03 ARS 1,558

199.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 $1.39

$1.42 ARS 2,160

-2.11%

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

$55.2K $55.2K

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

97.43%

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

$49.0K $49.0K

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

40.08%

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

$451 $451

$195 ARS 296.2K

130.92%

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

$100 $100

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

298.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$151 $151

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

379.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$164 $164

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

222.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$10.04 $10.04

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

-2.90%

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

$1,487 $1,487

$463 ARS 703.2K

220.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.9K $21.9K

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

148.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 $113

$120 ARS 181.8K

-5.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$148 $148

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

54.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$202 $202

$114 ARS 173.1K

77.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 $151

$139 ARS 211.4K

8.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 $1,586

$756 ARS 1.1M

109.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,827 $1,827

$520 ARS 788.8K

251.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,187 $3,187

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

100.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,229 $4,229

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

252.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,896 $4,896

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

80.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.9K $10.9K

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

473.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,726 $2,726

$938 ARS 1.4M

190.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

57.25

-83.49%

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

$1.8K 41.5%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4% 71.5% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

St Thomas

$956 * 21.7%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 70.4% $673

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Thomas

$702 15.9%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 64.1% $451

Eating Out

St Thomas

$358 8.1%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 21.4% $77

Clothing & Footwear

St Thomas

$276 6.3%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 23.7% $66

Sport & Entertainment

St Thomas

$184 4.2%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 61.1% $113

Getting Around

St Thomas

$104 2.4%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 64.3% $67

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,586 in St Thomas and $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St Thomas pays 191% 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: $170 in St Thomas vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $956 vs $283 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇮 St Thomas

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

10:43 10:43 AM

11:43 11:43 AM

1 h ahead of St Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

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

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

ARS to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St Thomas Buenos Aires 5,930 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

St Thomas
Buenos Aires

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 166% in total monthly costs ($4,408 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 191% 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: $1,586 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 $1,487 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 238% 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 $4,408 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 166% less than in St Thomas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.