Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Thomas and Calgary

For one person, living is cheaper in Calgary: $2,223 a month against $4,408 in St Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $26,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

213

Cost of Living Index in St Thomas
Learn more

St Thomas Living Index
109

Cost of Living Index in Calgary
Learn more

Calgary Living Index

Jump to prices

St Thomas

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$4,408

/mo nomad

Calgary

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,408 in St Thomas versus $2,223 in Calgary.

St Thomas $4,408
Calgary $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $7,220 in St Thomas versus $3,301 in Calgary.

St Thomas $7,220
Calgary $3,301

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $10.0K in St Thomas versus $4,379 in Calgary.

St Thomas $10.0K
Calgary $4,379

Living in St Thomas is roughly 98% more expensive than in Calgary, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St Thomas 227% above, Calgary 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.30 $22.30

$17.22 CA$24.34

29.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$170 $170

$71.1 CA$100

139.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.55 $13.55

$10.53 CA$14.89

28.68%

Cappuccino

$5.90 $5.90

$3.66 CA$5.18

61.20%

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

$3.95 $3.95

$1.98 CA$2.80

99.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 $3.39

$1.94 CA$2.74

74.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.12 $5.12

$4.95 CA$7.00

3.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.81 $6.81

$5.57 CA$7.87

22.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.88 $2.88

$1.88 CA$2.65

53.19%

White Bread (500g)

$6.67 $6.67

$2.67 CA$3.78

149.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$18.54 $18.54

$5.32 CA$7.52

248.50%

Eggs

$8.87 $8.87

$3.79 CA$5.35

134.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.12 $11.12

$11.09 CA$15.68

0.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.44 $28.44

$11.36 CA$16.05

150.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.72 $39.72

$18.40 CA$26.01

115.87%

Apples (1kg)

$11.91 $11.91

$4.56 CA$6.45

161.18%

Banana (1kg)

$10.89 $10.89

$1.44 CA$2.04

656.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$12.30 $12.30

$4.08 CA$5.76

201.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$19.99 $19.99

$3.89 CA$5.50

413.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 $1.95

$2.64 CA$3.73

-26.14%

Onion (1kg)

$8.76 $8.76

$2.64 CA$3.73

231.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$8.18 $8.18

$2.50 CA$3.54

227.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$5.39 $5.39

$1.50 CA$2.12

259.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.05 CA$19.86

Wine (Bottle)

$24.57 $24.57

$15.70 CA$22.20

56.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 CA$3.45

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.18 $6.18

$3.09 CA$4.37

100.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$2.82 CA$3.99

-29.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.7 $60.7

$88.6 CA$125

-31.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$19.61 $19.61

$3.12 CA$4.41

528.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 $3.08

$1.35 CA$1.91

128.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.02 CA$38.20

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 $1.39

$1.16 CA$1.64

19.83%

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

$55.2K $55.2K

$27.9K CA$39.5K

97.73%

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

$49.0K $49.0K

$20.3K CA$28.8K

140.73%

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

$451 $451

$161 CA$227

180.39%

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

$100 $100

$38.13 CA$53.9

163.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$151 $151

$50.0 CA$70.7

202.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$164 $164

$51.5 CA$72.8

218.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.14 CA$25.64

Cinema Ticket

$10.04 $10.04

$13.82 CA$19.54

-27.35%

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

$1,487 $1,487

$786 CA$1,111

89.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.9K $21.9K

$15.5K CA$21.8K

41.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 $113

$58.3 CA$82.4

93.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$148 $148

$39.27 CA$55.5

275.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$202 $202

$89.8 CA$127

125.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 $151

$110 CA$155

37.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 $1,586

$1,229 CA$1,737

29.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,827 $1,827

$1,001 CA$1,415

82.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,187 $3,187

$1,921 CA$2,716

65.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,229 $4,229

$1,621 CA$2,292

160.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,896 $4,896

$3,549 CA$5,018

37.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.9K $10.9K

$3,335 CA$4,715

226.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,726 $2,726

$3,165 CA$4,474

-13.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

4.51

109.53%

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

Last update for St Thomas: October 11, 2026

Last update for Calgary: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Thomas

$1.8K 41.5%

Calgary

$1K 45% 45.2% $826

Groceries & Markets

St Thomas

$956 * 21.7%

Calgary

$385 17.3% 59.7% $571

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Thomas

$702 15.9%

Calgary

$249 11.2% 64.6% $453

Eating Out

St Thomas

$358 8.1%

Calgary

$265 11.9% 26.1% $94

Clothing & Footwear

St Thomas

$276 6.3%

Calgary

$134 6% 51.6% $143

Sport & Entertainment

St Thomas

$184 4.2%

Calgary

$79 3.6% 57% $105

Getting Around

St Thomas

$104 2.4%

Calgary

$110 4.9% 6% $6.2

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 $1,229 in Calgary. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Calgary pays 16% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $170 in St Thomas vs $71.0 in Calgary for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $956 vs $385 per month, with Calgary cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇮 St Thomas

🇨🇦 Calgary

🕒 Local time

14:56 2:56 PM

12:56 12:56 PM

2 h behind St Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

1,267,344

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

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

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

CAD to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

St Thomas Calgary 5,620 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

St Thomas
Calgary

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 Calgary: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Calgary is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 98% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 16% lower in Calgary. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,586 in St Thomas versus $1,229 in Calgary. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Calgary – a meal for two runs $71.0 versus $170 in St Thomas. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $4,408 per month in St Thomas versus $2,223 in Calgary – a 98% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,223 in Calgary versus $4,408 in St Thomas, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Calgary but tight or insufficient in St Thomas. The gap between the two cities makes Calgary 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.

Expats usually find Calgary gentler on the wallet – expenses run 98% less than in St Thomas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.