Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yuba City, CA and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,242 in Yuba City, CA, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Yuba City, CA
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Yuba City, CA Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Yuba City, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,242

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,242 in Yuba City, CA versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Yuba City, CA $2,242
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,228 in Yuba City, CA versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Yuba City, CA $3,228
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,214 in Yuba City, CA versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Yuba City, CA $4,214
Phuket $2,867

Living in Yuba City, CA is roughly 86% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Yuba City, CA is 66% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.96 $16.96

$4.58 ฿153

270.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.9 $63.9

$32.48 ฿1,086

96.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.83 $11.83

$8.55 ฿286

38.36%

Cappuccino

$5.37 $5.37

$2.72 ฿91.0

97.43%

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

$2.45 $2.45

$0.94 ฿31.25

160.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 $1.95

$0.49 ฿16.39

297.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.36 $7.36

$2.59 ฿86.6

184.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.44 $7.44

$3.83 ฿128

94.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.74 ฿58.1

-40.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.51 $2.51

$1.43 ฿47.82

75.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.89 $3.89

$1.53 ฿51.0

154.25%

Eggs

$4.08 $4.08

$2.17 ฿72.7

88.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.13 $8.13

$19.15 ฿640

-57.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.91 $9.91

$3.30 ฿110

200.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 $12.57

$11.14 ฿372

12.84%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 $3.06

$2.95 ฿98.5

3.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 $1.34

$1.68 ฿56.1

-20.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 $2.08

$2.30 ฿76.8

-9.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.55 $2.55

$2.13 ฿71.3

19.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 $1.47

$1.53 ฿51.1

-3.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 $1.77

$1.36 ฿45.55

30.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.10 $2.10

$1.12 ฿37.44

87.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 $1.36

$0.55 ฿18.24

147.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.15 $10.15

$4.26 ฿142

138.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.16 $6.16

$18.19 ฿608

-66.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 $1.01

$1.74 ฿58.2

-41.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 $1.67

$2.79 ฿93.3

-40.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 $1.52

$2.22 ฿74.1

-31.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.87 $3.87

$2.91 ฿97.3

32.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 $2.48

$1.01 ฿33.79

145.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.38 $33.38

$3.83 ฿128

771.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 $1.28

$1.49 ฿49.85

-14.09%

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

$34.8K $34.8K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

30.58%

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

$22.5K $22.5K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-15.76%

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

$175 $175

$99.4 ฿3,321

75.67%

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

$96.9 $96.9

$11.28 ฿377

759.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.9 $50.9

$17.36 ฿580

193.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.44 $25.44

$52.3 ฿1,747

-51.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$13.23 $13.23

$7.57 ฿253

74.77%

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

$1,018 $1,018

$558 ฿18.7K

82.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.5K $27.5K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

139.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.85 $49.85

$62.9 ฿2,102

-20.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.73 $32.73

$28.58 ฿955

14.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$53.0 $53.0

$96.1 ฿3,213

-44.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.4 $54.4

$88.1 ฿2,943

-38.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,399 $1,399

$729 ฿24.4K

91.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,178 $1,178

$460 ฿15.4K

156.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,991 $1,991

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-4.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 $1,881

$1,222 ฿40.8K

53.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,809 $2,809

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-18.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,843 $2,843

$2,489 ฿83.2K

14.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,122 $4,122

$493 ฿16.5K

736.00%

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 Yuba City, CA: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Yuba City, CA

$1.2K 52.6%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 61% $718

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yuba City, CA

$322 14.4%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 60.3% $194

Eating Out

Yuba City, CA

$305 13.6%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 60.2% $184

Groceries & Markets

Yuba City, CA

$277 12.4%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 3.4% $9.3

Clothing & Footwear

Yuba City, CA

$85 3.8%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 45.1% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Yuba City, CA

$52 2.3%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 29.9% $16

Getting Around

Yuba City, CA

$22 * 1%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 73.8% $17

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 $1,399 in Yuba City, CA and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Yuba City, CA pays 736% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $64.0 in Yuba City, CA vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $277 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Yuba City, CA

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

01:55 1:55 AM

15:55 3:55 PM

14 h ahead of Yuba City, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

66,941

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

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Yuba City, CA Phuket 13,360 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Yuba City, CA
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

Yuba City, CA vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. The 86% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 736% higher in Yuba City, CA, 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: $1,399 in Yuba City, CA versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,018 in Yuba City, CA versus $558 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 $32.00 versus $64.0 in Yuba City, CA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,242 in Yuba City, CA, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Yuba City, CA. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Yuba City, CA 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 86% less than in Yuba City, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.