Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Urumqi and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Urumqi: $605 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Urumqi
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Urumqi Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Urumqi

🇨🇳 China

$605

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $605 in Urumqi versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Urumqi $605
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $960 in Urumqi versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Urumqi $960
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,316 in Urumqi versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Urumqi $1,316
Phuket $2,845

Living in Urumqi costs roughly 50% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Urumqi 55% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.29 ¥21.98

$4.40 ฿147

-25.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.16 ¥121

$32.26 ฿1,078

-43.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.28 ¥35.30

$8.76 ฿293

-39.73%

Cappuccino

$2.87 ¥19.19

$2.83 ฿94.5

1.41%

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

$0.46 ¥3.08

$0.90 ฿30.14

-48.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.24 ¥1.59

$0.47 ฿15.56

-48.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.14 ¥7.63

$2.55 ฿85.2

-55.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 ¥11.83

$3.83 ฿128

-53.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 ¥8.26

$1.73 ฿57.7

-28.32%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 ¥6.22

$1.47 ฿49.11

-36.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.62 ¥4.12

$1.51 ฿50.6

-58.94%

Eggs

$1.54 ¥10.28

$2.17 ฿72.7

-29.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.13 ¥40.96

$19.70 ฿658

-68.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.49 ¥16.63

$3.34 ฿112

-25.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.61 ¥64.3

$11.16 ฿373

-13.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 ¥13.62

$2.85 ฿95.1

-28.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 ¥8.22

$1.70 ฿56.9

-27.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 ¥12.43

$2.19 ฿73.3

-15.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.76 ¥5.11

$2.05 ฿68.4

-62.93%

Potato (1kg)

$0.54 ¥3.61

$1.45 ฿48.57

-62.76%

Onion (1kg)

$0.62 ¥4.17

$1.38 ฿46.16

-55.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.50 ¥3.33

$1.07 ฿35.69

-53.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 ¥3.00

$0.51 ฿16.91

-11.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.93 ¥19.57

$4.26 ฿142

-31.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.51 ¥70.3

$18.58 ฿621

-43.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 ¥7.30

$1.78 ฿59.7

-38.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.47 ¥9.84

$2.85 ฿95.2

-48.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$2.26 ฿75.6

-87.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.08 ¥121

$22.10 ฿738

-18.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.47 ¥9.81

$3.01 ฿101

-51.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.94

$1.06 ฿35.34

-72.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.30 ¥48.80

$3.86 ฿129

89.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 ¥8.23

$1.45 ฿48.45

-15.17%

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

$17.9K ¥119.5K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-32.14%

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

$13.9K ¥93.2K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-48.28%

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

$66.5 ¥444

$96.4 ฿3,221

-31.05%

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

$5.43 ¥36.33

$11.04 ฿369

-50.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.29 ¥75.5

$17.14 ฿573

-34.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.12 ¥148

$52.2 ฿1,744

-57.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.40 ¥62.8

$11.16 ฿373

-15.77%

Cinema Ticket

$5.82 ¥38.90

$7.81 ฿261

-25.48%

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

$161 ¥1,078

$556 ฿18.6K

-71.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,005 ¥60.2K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-22.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 ¥351

$64.2 ฿2,146

-18.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.05 ¥147

$28.69 ฿959

-23.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 ¥712

$95.4 ฿3,187

11.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$44.33 ¥296

$88.0 ฿2,940

-49.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$261 ¥1,748

$737 ฿24.6K

-64.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$117 ¥784

$462 ฿15.5K

-74.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$405 ¥2,708

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-80.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$251 ¥1,678

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-79.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,834 ¥12.3K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-47.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,159 ¥7,748

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-54.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,114 ¥7,449

$501 ฿16.7K

122.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.39

5.57

-39.14%

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

Last update for Urumqi: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Urumqi

$158 26.2%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 69.6% $110

Accommodation & Living

Urumqi

$117 19.4%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 295% $345

Clothing & Footwear

Urumqi

$101 16.8%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 22.5% $23

Eating Out

Urumqi

$89 14.7%

Phuket

$121 10% 36.8% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Urumqi

$83 13.8%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 49.7% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Urumqi

$34 5.6%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 101% $34

Getting Around

Urumqi

$22 3.7%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 78.1% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $261 in Urumqi and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Urumqi pays 123% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $18.00 in Urumqi vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $158 vs $269 per month, with Urumqi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Urumqi

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:30 6:30 PM

19:30 7:30 PM

1 h ahead of Urumqi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,054,369

79,308

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Urumqi Phuket 4,130 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Urumqi
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

Urumqi vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Urumqi is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 100% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 123% higher in Urumqi, 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: $261 in Urumqi versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $161 in Urumqi versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 70% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $605 in Urumqi versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Urumqi but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Urumqi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Urumqi is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Urumqi and Phuket 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 Urumqi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 100% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.