Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Thomas and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,202 a month against $4,391 in St Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $26,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

212

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

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$4,391

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/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: $4,391 in St Thomas versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

St Thomas $4,391
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $7,217 in St Thomas versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

St Thomas $7,217
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $10.0K in St Thomas versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

St Thomas $10.0K
Lisbon $4,346

Living in St Thomas is roughly 99% 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 224% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.90 $22.90

$17.04 €15.15

34.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$171 $171

$62.3 €55.4

175.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.62 $13.62

$11.02 €9.80

23.59%

Cappuccino

$5.98 $5.98

$3.12 €2.78

91.67%

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

$3.95 $3.95

$2.27 €2.02

74.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 $3.39

$1.74 €1.55

94.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.07 $5.07

$3.42 €3.04

48.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.92 $6.92

$3.74 €3.33

85.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.77 $2.77

$1.17 €1.04

136.75%

White Bread (500g)

$6.67 $6.67

$1.86 €1.66

258.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$18.43 $18.43

$1.54 €1.37

1096.75%

Eggs

$8.95 $8.95

$4.06 €3.61

120.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.19 $11.19

$12.91 €11.49

-13.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.68 $28.68

$7.90 €7.03

263.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.99 $39.99

$17.64 €15.69

126.70%

Apples (1kg)

$12.11 $12.11

$2.26 €2.01

435.84%

Banana (1kg)

$11.00 $11.00

$1.75 €1.55

528.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$12.23 $12.23

$1.89 €1.68

547.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$19.61 $19.61

$2.56 €2.27

666.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 $1.95

$1.85 €1.64

5.41%

Onion (1kg)

$9.04 $9.04

$1.97 €1.75

358.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$8.08 $8.08

$1.45 €1.29

457.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$5.40 $5.40

$0.77 €0.69

601.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

Wine (Bottle)

$25.24 $25.24

$5.67 €5.04

345.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.17 $6.17

$2.11 €1.88

192.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.96 $1.96

$2.32 €2.07

-15.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 $61.0

$44.43 €39.52

37.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$19.69 $19.69

$3.95 €3.51

398.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.18 $3.18

$1.05 €0.93

202.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 $1.42

$2.19 €1.95

-35.16%

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

$54.6K $54.6K

$33.8K €30.0K

61.57%

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

$48.6K $48.6K

$38.3K €34.0K

26.89%

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

$463 $463

$164 €146

182.66%

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

$102 $102

$18.48 €16.43

450.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$150 $150

$32.96 €29.32

353.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$162 $162

$45.87 €40.80

253.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$10.03 $10.03

$9.75 €8.67

2.87%

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

$1,477 $1,477

$684 €608

115.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.4K $22.4K

$17.6K €15.7K

27.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 $113

$104 €92.3

8.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$147 $147

$46.20 €41.09

218.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$199 $199

$99.7 €88.7

99.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 $151

$125 €111

21.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,584 $1,584

$1,589 €1,414

-0.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,793 $1,793

$1,169 €1,040

53.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,222 $3,222

$2,851 €2,536

13.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,208 $4,208

$1,993 €1,773

111.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,853 $4,853

$7,793 €6,932

-37.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.9K $10.9K

$4,418 €3,930

145.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,792 $2,792

$1,600 €1,423

74.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

3.85

145.45%

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

Last update for St Thomas: October 18, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Thomas

$1.8K 40.8%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 34.8% $624

Groceries & Markets

St Thomas

$958 * 21.8%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 71.5% $685

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Thomas

$714 16.3%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 69.9% $499

Eating Out

St Thomas

$364 8.3%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 32.1% $117

Clothing & Footwear

St Thomas

$274 6.3%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 38.6% $106

Sport & Entertainment

St Thomas

$182 4.2%

Lisbon

$65 3% 64.1% $117

Getting Around

St Thomas

$104 2.4%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 39.7% $41

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 $1,584 in St Thomas and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St Thomas pays 75% 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: $171 in St Thomas vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $958 vs $273 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇮 St Thomas

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

07:37 7:37 AM

12:37 12:37 PM

5 h ahead of St Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

St Thomas Lisbon 5,800 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 99% in total monthly costs ($4,391 vs $2,202 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 75% 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: $1,584 in St Thomas versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,477 in St Thomas versus $684 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 251% higher in St Thomas. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,202 in Lisbon versus $4,391 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 99% less than in St Thomas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.