Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Urbana, IL and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,871 in Urbana, IL, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

90

Cost of Living Index in Urbana, IL
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Urbana, IL Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Urbana, IL

🇺🇸 United States

$1,871

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Urbana, IL 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 Urbana, IL and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,871 in Urbana, IL versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Urbana, IL $1,871
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,130 in Urbana, IL versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Urbana, IL $2,130
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,389 in Urbana, IL versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Urbana, IL $2,389
Phuket $3,154

Living in Urbana, IL is roughly 46% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Urbana, IL is 37% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.75 $14.75

$4.47 ฿151

229.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 $60.9

$32.41 ฿1,094

87.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.04 $10.04

$8.81 ฿297

13.96%

Cappuccino

$4.85 $4.85

$2.83 ฿95.5

71.38%

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

$2.23 $2.23

$0.87 ฿29.43

156.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 $1.77

$0.49 ฿16.67

261.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.59 $5.59

$2.56 ฿86.4

118.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 $5.62

$3.68 ฿124

52.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 $0.79

$1.66 ฿56.0

-52.41%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 $3.11

$1.46 ฿49.35

113.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.99 $2.99

$1.50 ฿50.6

99.33%

Eggs

$3.98 $3.98

$2.09 ฿70.5

90.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.11 $12.11

$19.07 ฿644

-36.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.64 $8.64

$3.30 ฿111

161.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.18 $14.18

$10.91 ฿368

29.97%

Apples (1kg)

$4.01 $4.01

$2.93 ฿99.0

36.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 $1.62

$1.69 ฿57.1

-4.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.12 $3.12

$2.25 ฿75.8

38.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.39 $4.39

$2.08 ฿70.1

111.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.19 $2.19

$1.51 ฿51.0

45.03%

Onion (1kg)

$2.62 $2.62

$1.38 ฿46.56

89.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.28 $2.28

$1.07 ฿35.99

113.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 $1.38

$0.52 ฿17.52

165.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.47 $12.47

$4.20 ฿142

196.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.11 $15.11

$18.79 ฿634

-19.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 $2.07

$1.82 ฿61.5

13.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.38 $3.38

$2.84 ฿95.9

19.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.45 ฿49.03

-32.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.07 $3.07

$3.02 ฿102

1.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 $0.64

$1.02 ฿34.36

-37.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.53 $24.53

$3.69 ฿125

564.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 $1.17

$1.47 ฿49.81

-20.41%

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

$27.7K $27.7K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

3.62%

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

$26.8K $26.8K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

0.41%

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

$240 $240

$96.4 ฿3,254

148.69%

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

$45.26 $45.26

$11.26 ฿380

301.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.2 $62.2

$16.85 ฿569

269.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$13.25 $13.25

$7.50 ฿253

76.67%

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

$1,009 $1,009

$476 ฿16.1K

111.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K $20.0K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

77.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.71 $47.71

$62.4 ฿2,106

-23.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.5 $52.5

$28.41 ฿959

84.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.8 $99.8

$94.3 ฿3,184

5.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 $122

$85.8 ฿2,898

42.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$862 $862

$716 ฿24.2K

20.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 $743

$491 ฿16.6K

51.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,728 $1,728

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-58.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,749 $1,749

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-42.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,557 $6,557

$502 ฿17.0K

1205.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.82

5.57

22.44%

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

Last update for Urbana, IL: 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

Urbana, IL

$743 39.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 33.9% $252

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Urbana, IL

$347 18.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 64.1% $223

Groceries & Markets

Urbana, IL

$338 18.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 21.2% $72

Eating Out

Urbana, IL

$262 14%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 53.5% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Urbana, IL

$145 7.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 15.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Urbana, IL

$26 * 1.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 210% $56

Getting Around

Urbana, IL

$10 * 0.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 592% $60

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 $862 in Urbana, IL and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Urbana, IL pays about 13 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Urbana, IL vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $338 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Urbana, IL

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

13:59 1:59 PM

01:59 1:59 AM

12 h ahead of Urbana, IL

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

41,250

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 →

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Urbana, IL Phuket 14,640 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Urbana, IL
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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

Urbana, IL vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and groceries. The 46% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Urbana, IL is about 13 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: $862 in Urbana, IL versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,009 in Urbana, IL 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 $61 in Urbana, IL. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,871 in Urbana, IL, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Urbana, IL. 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.

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