Bangkok vs San Diego - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Bangkok	San Diego
🚶 Cost of living one person	$958	$3469
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2465	$7890
🏠 One person rent	$424	$2370
🏘️ Family rent	$741	$4148
🍽️ Food expenses	$278	$726
🚐 Transport expenses	$152	$179
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$707	$5254
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	21 km	3 km
🎓 Higher education	89	86
😀 Quality of life	75	93
🏙️ Population	5.68M	1.39M

The cost of living in Bangkok is 72% less expensive than in San Diego. Cities ranked 5912th and 43rd ($958 vs $3469) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 33rd 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 0.7 months in Bangkok compared to 1.5 months in San Diego. Bangkok ranked 1st best city to live in Thailand vs San Diego ranked 26th in the United States, while ranked 1890th and 97th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Bangkok vs San Diego infographic

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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	$3.1	$21.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$30.9	$85.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.12	$15.1
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.79	$8.63
☕ Cappuccino	$2.59	$6.32
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.77	$3.03
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$611	$2499
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$285	$2053
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1104	$4569
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$519	$3654
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$57.2	$156
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$87.6	$240
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$16.9	$71
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.78%	6.43%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5905	$9580
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2775	$7151
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.23	$2.49
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$36.5	$71
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$11.6	$19.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.24	$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.88	$1.26
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.45	$3.92
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.46	$3.92
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.31	$6.16
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.5	$15.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.07	$13.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.2	$20.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.45	$4.5
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.75	$1.74
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.26	$4.03
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.84	$4.81
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.58	$2.56
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.41	$2.37
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.36	$1.58
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.27	$3.26
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$16.9	$16.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.8	$2.91
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.39	$12.3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$2.53	$14.9
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.19	$9.97
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.95	$5.53
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.97	$2.47
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$55.9	$63.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.03	$17.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$37.8	$131
💇 Haircut, simple	$8.83	$30.4
👖 Brand Jeans	$57.4	$60.2
👟 Brand Sneakers	$103	$108
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$561	$1745
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$13469	$28967

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	$737
13 km or 8.4 mi	Lat Luang	$774
14 km or 8.4 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$774
18 km or 11 mi	Pak Kret	$736
28 km or 18 mi	Rangsit	$635
39 km or 25 mi	Tha Khlong	$675
50 km or 31 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$623
86 km or 53 mi	Laem Chabang	$779
87 km or 54 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$770
98 km or 61 mi	Pattaya	$812
103 km or 64 mi	Nong Prue	$787
145 km or 90 mi	Hua Hin	$724
164 km or 102 mi	Klaeng	$718
217 km or 135 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$588
222 km or 138 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$680
254 km or 158 mi	Myeik	$553
267 km or 166 mi	Serei Saophoan	$623
270 km or 168 mi	Ko Chang	$708
299 km or 186 mi	Battambang	$571
342 km or 212 mi	Phitsanulok	$558
364 km or 226 mi	Siem Reap	$650
388 km or 241 mi	Khon Kaen	$590
416 km or 258 mi	Ko Tao	$812
434 km or 270 mi	Mawlamyine	$567
452 km or 281 mi	Ko Pha-ngan	$765
466 km or 290 mi	Hpa-an	$581
473 km or 294 mi	Udon Thani	$578
475 km or 295 mi	Sihanoukville	$763
475 km or 295 mi	Ko Samui	$741
496 km or 308 mi	Ubon Ratchathani	$558
519 km or 323 mi	Vientiane	$1152
529 km or 329 mi	Surat Thani	$593
529 km or 329 mi	Kampot	$622
536 km or 333 mi	Phnom Penh	$829
542 km or 337 mi	Phu Quoc	$511
569 km or 354 mi	Kampong Cham	$504
578 km or 359 mi	Yangon	$614
579 km or 360 mi	Prey Veng	$727
584 km or 363 mi	Chiang Mai	$727
587 km or 365 mi	Bago	$571

Cities near San Diego

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Coronado	$3195
7.2 km or 4.5 mi	National	$3013
13 km or 7.8 mi	Lemon Grove	$2932
14 km or 9 mi	Chula Vista	$2972
14 km or 9 mi	La Mesa	$2943
16 km or 9.8 mi	Imperial Beach	$2909
18 km or 11 mi	La Jolla	$2996
21 km or 13 mi	El Cajon	$2988
24 km or 15 mi	Tijuana	$1210
25 km or 15 mi	Santee	$2887
30 km or 19 mi	Poway	$2922
38 km or 24 mi	Encinitas	$3066
40 km or 25 mi	Las Delicias	$1063
43 km or 26 mi	Rosarito Beach	$1055
46 km or 29 mi	Escondido	$3215
47 km or 30 mi	San Marcos	$2931
52 km or 33 mi	Carlsbad	$3252
54 km or 33 mi	Vista	$2930
57 km or 36 mi	Oceanside	$3274
73 km or 46 mi	Fallbrook	$2873
88 km or 55 mi	Temecula	$2681
91 km or 57 mi	San Clemente	$2967
95 km or 59 mi	Murrieta	$3049
97 km or 61 mi	Dana Point	$2994
98 km or 61 mi	French Valley	$2715
99 km or 61 mi	San Juan Capistrano	$3057
99 km or 61 mi	Wildomar	$2776
104 km or 65 mi	Laguna Niguel	$3490
107 km or 66 mi	Laguna Beach	$3075
107 km or 67 mi	Menifee	$2626
109 km or 68 mi	Ensenada	$903
109 km or 68 mi	Lake Elsinore	$2671
110 km or 68 mi	Mission Viejo	$3585
110 km or 69 mi	Laguna Hills	$3037
111 km or 69 mi	Rancho Santa Margarita	$3014
114 km or 71 mi	Aliso Viejo	$3450
114 km or 71 mi	Lake Forest	$2539
115 km or 72 mi	Hemet	$2742
119 km or 74 mi	Perris	$2691
119 km or 74 mi	Temescal Valley	$2782