Bangkok vs San Diego - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Bangkok	San Diego
🚶 Cost of living one person	$996	$3486
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2570	$7909
🏠 One person rent	$434	$2368
🏘️ Family rent	$753	$4139
🍽️ Food expenses	$308	$735
🚐 Transport expenses	$148	$181
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$635	$5217
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	21 km	3 km
🎓 Higher education	89	86
😀 Quality of life	74	91
🏙️ Population	5.68M	1.39M

The cost of living in Bangkok is 71% less expensive than in San Diego. Cities ranked 5606th and 52nd ($996 vs $3486) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 39th in Thailand and the United States, respectively. Check Thailand vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Bangkok compared to 1.5 months in San Diego. Bangkok ranked 1st best city to live in Thailand vs San Diego ranked 38th in the United States, while ranked 2044th and 155th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Bangkok vs San Diego

Prices for goods and services in Bangkok and San Diego are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Bangkok	San Diego
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$3.36	$22.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$36.3	$84.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.01	$15
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.03	$8.97
☕ Cappuccino	$2.94	$6.34
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.64	$3.17
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$606	$2489
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$294	$2046
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1118	$4508
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$525	$3643
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$60.2	$162
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$91.9	$251
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$18.1	$71.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.4%	6.31%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$6402	$8050
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3365	$6577
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.22	$2.5
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$35	$71.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$10.9	$19.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.35	$1.37
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.96	$1.38
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.6	$4.32
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.56	$3.81
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.69	$7.04
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.6	$16
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.7	$13.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.1	$20.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.91	$4.24
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.82	$1.77
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.44	$4.14
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.28	$4.77
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.77	$2.64
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.59	$2.63
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.39	$1.5
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.25	$3.26
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.2	$16.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.82	$3
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.61	$12.2
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$2.26	$15.2
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.14	$9.97
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.93	$5.48
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.96	$2.47
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$61	$72.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.68	$19.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$37.9	$131
💇 Haircut, simple	$8.8	$30.2
👖 Brand Jeans	$69.9	$66.2
👟 Brand Sneakers	$99.9	$112
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$533	$1937
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$16017	$22295

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Bangkok

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 8.1 mi	Nonthaburi	$761
13 km or 8.4 mi	Lat Luang	$794
14 km or 8.4 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$789
18 km or 11 mi	Pak Kret	$762
28 km or 18 mi	Rangsit	$616
39 km or 25 mi	Tha Khlong	$671
50 km or 31 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$603
86 km or 53 mi	Laem Chabang	$799
87 km or 54 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$784
98 km or 61 mi	Pattaya	$839
103 km or 64 mi	Nong Prue	$809
145 km or 90 mi	Hua Hin	$787
164 km or 102 mi	Klaeng	$724
217 km or 135 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$586
222 km or 138 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$707
254 km or 158 mi	Myeik	$567
267 km or 166 mi	Serei Saophoan	$644
270 km or 168 mi	Ko Chang	$718
299 km or 186 mi	Battambang	$601
342 km or 212 mi	Phitsanulok	$554
364 km or 226 mi	Siem Reap	$679
388 km or 241 mi	Khon Kaen	$590
416 km or 258 mi	Ko Tao	$812
434 km or 270 mi	Mawlamyine	$575
452 km or 281 mi	Ko Pha-ngan	$766
466 km or 290 mi	Hpa-an	$601
473 km or 294 mi	Udon Thani	$564
475 km or 295 mi	Sihanoukville	$766
475 km or 295 mi	Ko Samui	$735
496 km or 308 mi	Ubon Ratchathani	$543
519 km or 323 mi	Vientiane	$968
529 km or 329 mi	Surat Thani	$582
529 km or 329 mi	Kampot	$582
536 km or 333 mi	Phnom Penh	$893
542 km or 337 mi	Phu Quoc	$518
569 km or 354 mi	Kampong Cham	$518
578 km or 359 mi	Yangon	$656
579 km or 360 mi	Prey Veng	$776
584 km or 363 mi	Chiang Mai	$750
587 km or 365 mi	Bago	$610

Cities near San Diego

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Coronado	$3269
7.2 km or 4.5 mi	National	$3094
13 km or 7.8 mi	Lemon Grove	$3023
14 km or 9 mi	Chula Vista	$3033
14 km or 9 mi	La Mesa	$2997
16 km or 9.8 mi	Imperial Beach	$2984
18 km or 11 mi	La Jolla	$3065
21 km or 13 mi	El Cajon	$3077
24 km or 15 mi	Tijuana	$1276
25 km or 15 mi	Santee	$2956
30 km or 19 mi	Poway	$3012
38 km or 24 mi	Encinitas	$3265
40 km or 25 mi	Las Delicias	$1126
43 km or 26 mi	Rosarito Beach	$1108
46 km or 29 mi	Escondido	$3274
47 km or 30 mi	San Marcos	$3008
52 km or 33 mi	Carlsbad	$3269
54 km or 33 mi	Vista	$3011
57 km or 36 mi	Oceanside	$3221
73 km or 46 mi	Fallbrook	$2984
88 km or 55 mi	Temecula	$2690
91 km or 57 mi	San Clemente	$2994
95 km or 59 mi	Murrieta	$3137
97 km or 61 mi	Dana Point	$3051
98 km or 61 mi	French Valley	$2799
99 km or 61 mi	San Juan Capistrano	$3075
99 km or 61 mi	Wildomar	$2850
104 km or 65 mi	Laguna Niguel	$3492
107 km or 66 mi	Laguna Beach	$3129
107 km or 67 mi	Menifee	$2646
109 km or 68 mi	Ensenada	$967
109 km or 68 mi	Lake Elsinore	$2663
110 km or 68 mi	Mission Viejo	$3520
110 km or 69 mi	Laguna Hills	$3064
111 km or 69 mi	Rancho Santa Margarita	$2984
114 km or 71 mi	Aliso Viejo	$3503
114 km or 71 mi	Lake Forest	$2598
115 km or 72 mi	Hemet	$2768
119 km or 74 mi	Perris	$2738
119 km or 74 mi	Temescal Valley	$2826