Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toms River, NJ and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,884 in Toms River, NJ, rent and utilities included – about $19,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Toms River, NJ
Learn more

Toms River, NJ Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Toms River, NJ

🇺🇸 United States

$2,884

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Toms River, NJ and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Toms River, NJ and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,884 in Toms River, NJ versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Toms River, NJ $2,884
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,311 in Toms River, NJ versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Toms River, NJ $4,311
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,738 in Toms River, NJ versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Toms River, NJ $5,738
Phuket $3,154

Living in Toms River, NJ is roughly 126% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Toms River, NJ is 112% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.87 $19.87

$4.47 ฿151

344.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.2 $74.2

$32.41 ฿1,094

129.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.05 $12.05

$8.81 ฿297

36.78%

Cappuccino

$5.53 $5.53

$2.83 ฿95.5

95.41%

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

$2.57 $2.57

$0.87 ฿29.43

195.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 $1.86

$0.49 ฿16.67

279.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.03 $5.03

$2.56 ฿86.4

96.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.89 $6.89

$3.68 ฿124

87.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 $1.41

$1.66 ฿56.0

-15.06%

White Bread (500g)

$4.61 $4.61

$1.46 ฿49.35

215.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 $2.42

$1.50 ฿50.6

61.33%

Eggs

$4.61 $4.61

$2.09 ฿70.5

120.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.29 $16.29

$19.07 ฿644

-14.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.95 $16.95

$3.30 ฿111

413.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.81 $16.81

$10.91 ฿368

54.08%

Apples (1kg)

$5.98 $5.98

$2.93 ฿99.0

104.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 $1.30

$1.69 ฿57.1

-23.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.15 $5.15

$2.25 ฿75.8

128.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.92 $5.92

$2.08 ฿70.1

184.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 $1.58

$1.51 ฿51.0

4.64%

Onion (1kg)

$2.74 $2.74

$1.38 ฿46.56

98.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.53 $2.53

$1.07 ฿35.99

136.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 $1.94

$0.52 ฿17.52

273.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.84 $9.84

$4.20 ฿142

134.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.09 $10.09

$18.79 ฿634

-46.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 $2.80

$1.82 ฿61.5

53.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 $3.42

$2.84 ฿95.9

20.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 $2.99

$3.02 ฿102

-0.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 $2.13

$1.02 ฿34.36

108.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.41 $41.41

$3.69 ฿125

1022.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.92 $0.92

$1.47 ฿49.81

-37.41%

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

$30.8K $30.8K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

14.88%

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

$26.2K $26.2K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-1.80%

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

$243 $243

$96.4 ฿3,254

151.72%

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

$37.24 $37.24

$11.26 ฿380

230.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.0 $62.0

$16.85 ฿569

267.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.15 $30.15

$67.2 ฿2,270

-55.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$17.15 $17.15

$7.50 ฿253

128.67%

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

$3,103 $3,103

$476 ฿16.1K

552.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$34.4K $34.4K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

205.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.8 $69.8

$62.4 ฿2,106

11.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.8 $75.8

$28.41 ฿959

166.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 $120

$94.3 ฿3,184

27.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 $121

$85.8 ฿2,898

41.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,617 $1,617

$716 ฿24.2K

125.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,527 $1,527

$491 ฿16.6K

211.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,900 $2,900

$1,927 ฿65.1K

50.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,766 $2,766

$1,431 ฿48.3K

93.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,268 $5,268

$502 ฿17.0K

948.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

5.57

19.75%

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

Last update for Toms River, NJ: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Toms River, NJ

$1.5K 53%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 67.8% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Toms River, NJ

$445 15.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 40.2% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Toms River, NJ

$342 11.9%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 63.6% $217

Eating Out

Toms River, NJ

$318 11%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 61.7% $196

Clothing & Footwear

Toms River, NJ

$174 6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 30.1% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Toms River, NJ

$64 2.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 27.6% $18

Getting Around

Toms River, NJ

$14 * 0.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 418% $57

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 $1,617 in Toms River, NJ and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toms River, NJ pays about 10 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $74 in Toms River, NJ vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $445 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Toms River, NJ

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:16 6:16 PM

05:16 5:16 AM

11 h ahead of Toms River, NJ

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

95,438

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Toms River, NJ Phuket 14,640 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Toms River, NJ
Phuket

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

Toms River, NJ vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 56% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Toms River, NJ is about 10 times higher, 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: $1,617 in Toms River, NJ versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $3,103 in Toms River, NJ versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $74 in Toms River, NJ. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,884 in Toms River, NJ, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Toms River, NJ. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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, Toms River, NJ and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Toms River, NJ on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.