Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Thomas and Monaco

For one person, living is cheaper in St Thomas: $4,408 a month against $10.3K in Monaco, rent and utilities included – about $71,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Monaco outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

213

Cost of Living Index in St Thomas
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St Thomas Living Index
504

Cost of Living Index in Monaco
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Monaco Living Index

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St Thomas

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$4,408

/mo nomad

Monaco

🇲🇨 Monaco

$10.3K

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,408 in St Thomas versus $10.3K in Monaco.

St Thomas $4,408
Monaco $10.3K

Estimated couple costs with rent: $7,220 in St Thomas versus $11.8K in Monaco.

St Thomas $7,220
Monaco $11.8K

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $10.0K in St Thomas versus $13.3K in Monaco.

St Thomas $10.0K
Monaco $13.3K

Living in St Thomas costs roughly 57% less than in Monaco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St Thomas 227% above, Monaco 666% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.30 $22.30

$19.61 €17.45

13.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$170 $170

$170 €152

-0.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.55 $13.55

$12.13 €10.79

11.71%

Cappuccino

$5.90 $5.90

$3.58 €3.18

64.80%

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

$3.95 $3.95

$6.22 €5.53

-36.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 $3.39

$4.41 €3.92

-23.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.12 $5.12

$10.05 €8.94

-49.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.81 $6.81

$8.68 €7.72

-21.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.88 $2.88

$1.74 €1.55

65.52%

White Bread (500g)

$6.67 $6.67

$3.31 €2.95

101.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$18.54 $18.54

$4.16 €3.70

345.67%

Eggs

$8.87 $8.87

$4.93 €4.38

79.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.12 $11.12

$13.67 €12.16

-18.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.44 $28.44

$16.47 €14.65

72.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.72 $39.72

$18.29 €16.27

117.17%

Apples (1kg)

$11.91 $11.91

$3.24 €2.88

267.59%

Banana (1kg)

$10.89 $10.89

$2.84 €2.53

283.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$12.30 $12.30

$2.64 €2.35

365.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$19.99 $19.99

$3.49 €3.11

472.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 $1.95

$2.36 €2.10

-17.37%

Onion (1kg)

$8.76 $8.76

$2.76 €2.45

217.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$8.18 $8.18

$1.84 €1.64

344.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$5.39 $5.39

$8.04 €7.15

-32.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.08 €12.52

Wine (Bottle)

$24.57 $24.57

$6.64 €5.90

270.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 €1.39

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.18 $6.18

$4.31 €3.83

43.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$2.19 €1.95

-9.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.7 $60.7

$23.67 €21.05

156.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$19.61 $19.61

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 $3.08

$1.53 €1.36

101.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$90.5 €80.5

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 $1.39

$2.25 €2.00

-38.22%

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

$55.2K $55.2K

$47.7K €42.4K

15.80%

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

$49.0K $49.0K

$38.5K €34.3K

27.10%

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

$451 $451

$415 €369

8.61%

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

$100 $100

$42.04 €37.40

138.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$151 $151

$64.8 €57.6

133.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$164 $164

$230 €205

-28.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$53.1 €47.19

Cinema Ticket

$10.04 $10.04

$13.57 €12.07

-26.01%

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

$1,487 $1,487

$2,191 €1,949

-32.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.9K $21.9K

$45.2K €40.2K

-51.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 $113

$151 €135

-25.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$148 $148

$82.5 €73.4

78.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$202 $202

$168 €150

20.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 $151

$733 €652

-79.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 $1,586

$9,183 €8,168

-82.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,827 $1,827

$8,192 €7,287

-77.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,187 $3,187

$16.0K €14.2K

-80.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,229 $4,229

$8,350 €7,427

-49.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,896 $4,896

$72.1K €64.1K

-93.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.9K $10.9K

$54.4K €48.4K

-79.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,726 $2,726

$8,858 €7,879

-69.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

3.25

190.77%

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

Last update for St Thomas: October 11, 2026

Last update for Monaco: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Thomas

$1.8K 41.5%

Monaco

$8.2K 79.2% 348% $6.4K

Groceries & Markets

St Thomas

$956 * 21.7%

Monaco

$473 4.6% 50.6% $484

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Thomas

$702 15.9%

Monaco

$522 5.1% 25.7% $181

Eating Out

St Thomas

$358 8.1%

Monaco

$346 3.4% 3.4% $12

Clothing & Footwear

St Thomas

$276 6.3%

Monaco

$511 4.9% 84.8% $234

Sport & Entertainment

St Thomas

$184 4.2%

Monaco

$257 2.5% 39.9% $73

Getting Around

St Thomas

$104 2.4%

Monaco

$40 * 0.4% 61.3% $63

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 $9,183 in Monaco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monaco pays 225% 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 $170 in Monaco. Groceries flip the comparison at $956 vs $473, with Monaco cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇻🇮 St Thomas

🇲🇨 Monaco

🕒 Local time

02:48 2:48 AM

08:48 8:48 AM

6 h ahead of St Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

39,050 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

St Thomas Monaco 7,210 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

St Thomas
Monaco

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 Monaco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St Thomas and Monaco differ by about 135% in total monthly costs ($4,408 vs $10.3K including rent). St Thomas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 225% lower in Monaco. 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 $9,183 in Monaco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in St Thomas – a meal for two runs $170 versus $170 in Monaco. 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 $10.3K in Monaco – a 135% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $5,000. St Thomas is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Monaco 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 St Thomas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 135% less than in Monaco. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.