Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Winston-Salem, NC and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,428 in Winston-Salem, NC, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Winston-Salem, NC
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Winston-Salem, NC Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Winston-Salem, NC

🇺🇸 United States

$2,428

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,428 in Winston-Salem, NC versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Winston-Salem, NC $2,428
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,722 in Winston-Salem, NC versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Winston-Salem, NC $3,722
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,016 in Winston-Salem, NC versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Winston-Salem, NC $5,016
Phuket $3,154

Living in Winston-Salem, NC is roughly 90% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Winston-Salem, NC is 78% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.94 $22.94

$4.47 ฿151

413.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.2 $79.2

$32.41 ฿1,093

144.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 $10.19

$8.81 ฿297

15.66%

Cappuccino

$5.36 $5.36

$2.83 ฿95.4

89.40%

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

$2.87 $2.87

$0.87 ฿29.40

229.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 $1.95

$0.49 ฿16.65

297.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.14 $5.14

$2.56 ฿86.3

100.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.13 $6.13

$3.68 ฿124

66.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.66 ฿55.9

-12.65%

White Bread (500g)

$4.75 $4.75

$1.46 ฿49.29

225.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$9.80 $9.80

$1.50 ฿50.5

553.33%

Eggs

$5.46 $5.46

$2.09 ฿70.5

161.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.33 $18.33

$19.07 ฿643

-3.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.95 $13.95

$3.30 ฿111

322.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$26.68 $26.68

$10.91 ฿368

144.55%

Apples (1kg)

$7.78 $7.78

$2.93 ฿98.8

165.53%

Banana (1kg)

$3.11 $3.11

$1.69 ฿57.0

84.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.03 $7.03

$2.25 ฿75.7

212.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.42 $7.42

$2.08 ฿70.0

256.73%

Potato (1kg)

$4.91 $4.91

$1.51 ฿51.0

225.17%

Onion (1kg)

$6.04 $6.04

$1.38 ฿46.51

337.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.76 $2.76

$1.07 ฿35.95

157.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.54 $3.54

$0.52 ฿17.50

580.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.95 $8.95

$4.20 ฿142

113.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.82 $14.82

$18.79 ฿634

-21.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 $1.61

$1.82 ฿61.4

-11.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 $4.60

$2.84 ฿95.8

61.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.45 ฿48.97

-29.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.70 $29.70

$56.7 ฿1,911

-47.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.85 $6.85

$3.02 ฿102

126.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.24 $2.24

$1.02 ฿34.32

119.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.85 $14.85

$3.69 ฿124

302.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 $0.94

$1.47 ฿49.75

-36.05%

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

$29.7K $29.7K

$26.8K ฿903.2K

10.87%

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

$26.2K $26.2K

$26.7K ฿900.3K

-1.95%

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

$176 $176

$96.4 ฿3,250

82.28%

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

$51.7 $51.7

$11.26 ฿380

359.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.9 $62.9

$16.85 ฿568

273.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.52 $35.52

$67.2 ฿2,268

-47.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.77 $15.77

$10.73 ฿362

46.97%

Cinema Ticket

$11.79 $11.79

$7.50 ฿253

57.20%

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

$1,279 $1,279

$476 ฿16.1K

168.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,829 $9,829

$11.3K ฿379.9K

-12.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.64 $38.64

$62.4 ฿2,103

-38.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.00 $31.00

$28.41 ฿958

9.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.4 $84.4

$94.3 ฿3,180

-10.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.5 $95.5

$85.8 ฿2,894

11.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,501 $1,501

$716 ฿24.1K

109.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,001 $1,001

$491 ฿16.6K

103.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,667 $2,667

$1,927 ฿65.0K

38.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,761 $1,761

$1,431 ฿48.3K

23.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,103 $5,103

$4,175 ฿140.8K

22.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,693 $2,693

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-11.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,714 $3,714

$502 ฿16.9K

639.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.68

5.57

19.93%

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

Last update for Winston-Salem, NC: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Winston-Salem, NC

$1K 41.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 51% $510

Groceries & Markets

Winston-Salem, NC

$578 23.8%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 53.9% $312

Eating Out

Winston-Salem, NC

$336 13.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 63.7% $214

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Winston-Salem, NC

$290 12%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 57.1% $166

Clothing & Footwear

Winston-Salem, NC

$112 4.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 8.5% $9.6

Sport & Entertainment

Winston-Salem, NC

$59 2.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 39.1% $23

Getting Around

Winston-Salem, NC

$52 2.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 36.2% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,501 in Winston-Salem, NC and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Winston-Salem, NC pays about 7.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $79 in Winston-Salem, NC vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $578 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Winston-Salem, NC

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

08:51 8:51 AM

20:51 8:51 PM

12 h ahead of Winston-Salem, NC

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

241,218

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 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 November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Winston-Salem, NC Phuket 15,120 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Winston-Salem, NC
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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

Winston-Salem, NC vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 47% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Winston-Salem, NC is about 7.4 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: $1,501 in Winston-Salem, NC versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,279 in Winston-Salem, NC versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 117% higher in Winston-Salem, NC. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,428 in Winston-Salem, NC, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Winston-Salem, NC. 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, Winston-Salem, NC on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.