Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands and Winterthur

For one person, living is cheaper in Winterthur: $3,759 a month against $4,405 in St Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

211

Cost of Living Index in St Thomas
Learn more

St Thomas Living Index
182

Cost of Living Index in Winterthur
Learn more

Winterthur Living Index

Jump to prices

St Thomas

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$4,405

/mo nomad

Winterthur

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,759

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $4,405 per month in St Thomas vs $3,759 in Winterthur, rent included.

St Thomas $4,405
Winterthur $3,759

A couple spends around $7,271 per month in St Thomas vs $5,534 in Winterthur, rent included.

St Thomas $7,271
Winterthur $5,534

A family of three spends $10.1K per month in St Thomas vs $7,309 in Winterthur, rent included.

St Thomas $10.1K
Winterthur $7,309

St Thomas costs about 17% more than Winterthur, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both St Thomas and Winterthur sit above the global median – St Thomas by 224%, Winterthur by 176%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.53 $22.53

$29.70 CHF 24.37

-24.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$169 $169

$121 CHF 99.4

39.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.39 $13.39

$17.77 CHF 14.58

-24.65%

Cappuccino

$6.00 $6.00

$5.75 CHF 4.71

4.35%

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

$3.88 $3.88

$5.35 CHF 4.39

-27.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 $3.43

$4.81 CHF 3.94

-28.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.97 $4.97

$8.70 CHF 7.14

-42.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.02 $7.02

$6.74 CHF 5.53

4.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.77 $2.77

$2.25 CHF 1.84

23.11%

White Bread (500g)

$6.70 $6.70

$3.65 CHF 3.00

83.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$18.56 $18.56

$4.35 CHF 3.57

326.67%

Eggs

$8.84 $8.84

$7.05 CHF 5.79

25.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 $11.47

$30.76 CHF 25.24

-62.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$29.17 $29.17

$29.27 CHF 24.01

-0.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.88 $39.88

$42.10 CHF 34.54

-5.27%

Apples (1kg)

$12.14 $12.14

$4.05 CHF 3.32

199.75%

Banana (1kg)

$10.95 $10.95

$2.08 CHF 1.71

426.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$11.95 $11.95

$3.02 CHF 2.48

295.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$19.65 $19.65

$6.61 CHF 5.42

197.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 $1.97

$2.33 CHF 1.91

-15.45%

Onion (1kg)

$8.71 $8.71

$2.51 CHF 2.06

247.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$8.22 $8.22

$2.29 CHF 1.87

258.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$5.39 $5.39

$1.11 CHF 0.91

385.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.68 CHF 8.76

Wine (Bottle)

$25.08 $25.08

$12.15 CHF 9.97

106.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 CHF 2.28

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.95 $5.95

$3.56 CHF 2.92

67.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.95 $1.95

$5.24 CHF 4.30

-62.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 $61.0

$83.1 CHF 68.2

-26.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$19.99 $19.99

$4.42 CHF 3.63

352.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.05 $3.05

$2.96 CHF 2.43

3.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$61.3 CHF 50.3

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 $1.44

$2.28 CHF 1.87

-36.84%

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

$54.0K $54.0K

$38.6K CHF 31.7K

39.67%

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

$48.2K $48.2K

$38.6K CHF 31.7K

24.83%

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

$462 $462

$417 CHF 342

10.81%

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

$98.9 $98.9

$28.64 CHF 23.50

245.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$147 $147

$66.3 CHF 54.4

122.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$163 $163

$71.5 CHF 58.6

127.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.10 CHF 21.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 $10.18

$21.50 CHF 17.64

-52.65%

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

$1,471 $1,471

$1,495 CHF 1,227

-1.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.1K $22.1K

$24.7K CHF 20.3K

-10.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 $116

$181 CHF 148

-35.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$147 $147

$125 CHF 102

18.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$204 $204

$173 CHF 142

17.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$148 $148

$325 CHF 267

-54.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 $1,589

$2,166 CHF 1,777

-26.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,813 $1,813

$1,563 CHF 1,282

16.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,239 $3,239

$3,461 CHF 2,839

-6.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,321 $4,321

$2,436 CHF 1,998

77.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,840 $4,840

$21.3K CHF 17.5K

-77.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.0K $11.0K

$15.2K CHF 12.5K

-27.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,724 $2,724

$6,646 CHF 5,452

-59.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

2.41

292.12%

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

Last update for St Thomas: October 25, 2026

Last update for Winterthur: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Thomas

$1.8K 41.2%

Winterthur

$1.6K 41.6% 13.8% $250

Groceries & Markets

St Thomas

$960 * 21.8%

Winterthur

$627 16.7% 34.7% $333

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Thomas

$708 16.1%

Winterthur

$512 13.6% 27.7% $196

Eating Out

St Thomas

$361 8.2%

Winterthur

$458 12.2% 26.9% $97

Clothing & Footwear

St Thomas

$276 6.3%

Winterthur

$362 9.6% 30.8% $85

Sport & Entertainment

St Thomas

$183 4.2%

Winterthur

$114 3.1% 37.5% $69

Getting Around

St Thomas

$104 2.4%

Winterthur

$123 3.3% 18.5% $19

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,589 in St Thomas versus $2,166 in Winterthur. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Winterthur are about 2.4 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $169 in St Thomas versus $121 in Winterthur. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $960 vs $627 – making Winterthur the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇻🇮 St Thomas

🇨🇭 Winterthur

🕒 Local time

21:47 9:47 PM

02:47 2:47 AM

5 h ahead of St Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

108,044

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.82 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.919 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

CHF to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

St Thomas Winterthur 7,300 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

St Thomas
Winterthur

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 Winterthur: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,405 in St Thomas, $3,759 in Winterthur – Winterthur comes out roughly 15% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,608 per month in St Thomas and $5,638 in Winterthur. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in St Thomas, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,589 there versus $2,166 in Winterthur.

Public transport costs about 27% less in St Thomas. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,471 per month in St Thomas and $1,495 in Winterthur. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$3,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $4,405 in St Thomas and $3,759 in Winterthur. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. St Thomas has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $3,759 in Winterthur to $4,405 in St Thomas. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.