Surat Thani

Cost of Living inSurat Thani, Thailand

Surat Thani, Thailand132KUpper middle income

Image credit: Ahoerstemeier

Purchasing Power vs. United States

Your money goes 5.5x further

Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Thailand: $22,432/capita.

How Far Your Money Goes

Prices are 63% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.

Overall
2.7x further
Prices are 63% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Rent
7.8x further
Prices are 87% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Groceries
2.3x further
Prices are 56% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Restaurants
4.3x further
Prices are 77% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Income Category

Upper Middle
World Bank GNI

GDP per Capita

$22,432
PPP, International $

City Population

132K

Monthly Costs

Rent

1BR City Center$300/mo
3BR City Center$461/mo

Food

Cheap Meal$2.00
Milk (1L)$0.72
Eggs (12)$0.99

Transport

Monthly Pass$12
Gasoline (1L)$1.10

Utilities

Basic (85m² apt)$37/mo
Internet (60+ Mbps)$7.57/mo

Education

Preschool$34/mo

Child Education

Public-school quality + expat access, alongside international and private school cost — the two paths a relocating family weighs.

Public schools

This describes Thailand as a whole. Enrollment rules and school quality can vary within the country, so check with schools in Surat Thani.

Quality

Limited fit for most expats

Expat access

Possible, rarely the expat choice

hard

Instruction

Thai

Local-language fluency usually matters.

PISA / outcomes

Qualitative only

Using curated quality notes for now.

Why this quality rating

Thailand’s public system is not the path most expat families choose, especially if they want English-medium schooling.

Why the expat-access rating looks like this

Some resident families can use local public schools, but Thai-medium instruction makes it a hard fit unless the family wants full local immersion.

📋 Homeschooling

Legal with registration
Registration requiredCurriculum approvalPeriodic assessment

Homeschooling has been legal since the National Education Act of 1999. Families must register with the local education service area office and submit a learning plan. Annual assessments are required. Thailand has a growing homeschool/worldschool community, especially in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

Homeschool legality in Thailand — check current regulations before committing.

Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)

International & private schools

1 confirmed school

3 more suggested by AI, not verified

  • National1

Schools' websites are found with Wikidata and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), and each is checked on the school's own site.

Childcare & Domestic Help

Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Thailand.

Full-time nanny (5 days)

$550-$700

Estimate-only country fallback

Live-in / 24-7 nanny

$1,100-$1,350

Estimate-only country fallback

Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)

Getting Around

The concrete mobility picture for Surat Thani: airport access, urban transit, and rideshare practicality.

Walkability score: 41/100 (walkable core). This is derived from the verified mobility profile and is used by the walkability gate.

Walkability

41/100

mobility profile walkability mention

Airport

Surat Thani airport and ferry access

The refreshed Thailand family mobility queue lists Surat Thani as a direct walkability gap; the airport plus ferry corridors make it the mainland gateway for nearby islands.

Urban transit

Airport buses, rail, ferries, and walkable central errands

buscommuter railferrywalking

Surat Thani is road- and ferry-led outside the center, but airport buses, the rail corridor, piers, and compact central errands give families a practical car-light layer.

Rideshare

Grab and taxis available

App-hailed rides and taxis are practical for airport transfers, pier runs, and first/last-mile gaps beyond central walking or bus access.

Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)

Healthcare

System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Thailand.

Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.

14 facilities tracked
Facilities updated 7 months ago

Healthcare system

Good

Good national coverage and low out-of-pocket burden help, but doctor staffing is lighter.

Public care

Good

Broad public coverage, strong public funding, and relatively low patient cost-sharing support this rating.

Private care

Limited

The tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.

UHC coverage

82/100

2023

Physicians

0.54/1k

2021

Hospital beds

2.39/1k

2023

Out of pocket

10%

2023

Outcome signals

Life expectancy

76.6 yrs

2024

Maternal mortality

34/100k

2023

Neonatal mortality

5.1/1k

2024

International patient readiness

Limited

Price transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.

Pricing transparency

Limited

Published self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.

Facility coverage

Hospital: 6Dentist: 4Clinic: 2Pharmacy: 2

Self-pay pricing visibility

No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Thailand yet.

This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.

Notable facilities

โรงพยาบาลทักษิณ
Hospital · Emergency
Website
Surathani Hospital
Hospital · Emergency
Website
Bangkok hospital
Hospital · Emergency
โรงพยาบาลบ้านดอน
Hospital · Emergency
โรงพยาบาลศรีวิชัยสุราษฎร์ธานี
Hospital · Emergency
โรงพยาบาลค่ายวิภาวดีรังสิต
Hospital · Emergency

System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-11-01

Safety & Governance

City-level perceived-crime data is not sourced for Surat Thani yet. Showing Thailand national safety and governance signals until a matched city row lands.

Street Safety

Safety Index43/100
Crime Index57/100

Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.

Political Stability

Political Stability-0.80

World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.

Wages by Sector

SectorMedian
Administrative & Support Services—
Agriculture & Farming—
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation—
Construction—
Education—
Finance & Insurance—
Healthcare & Social Work—
Hospitality & Food Service—
Information & Technology—
Manufacturing—
Mining & Quarrying—
Other Services—
Professional & Scientific Services—
Public Administration & Defence—
Real Estate—
Retail & Wholesale Trade—
Transport & Logistics—
Utilities—

2024 annual wages in Surat Thani, Thailand · Source: NSO LFS (region-adjusted)

Price Comparison vs. US

beer
$3.95Survey-verified49% cheaper
big mac
$4.02Estimated35% cheaper
bread 500g
$1.75Estimated48% cheaper
budget hotel
$13.80Estimated62% cheaper
childcare preschool
$34.20Estimated98% cheaper
cinema
$8.01Survey-verified51% cheaper
coca cola
$3.95Survey-verified84% more
eggs dozen
$0.99Estimated79% cheaper
gasoline liter
$13.84Survey-verified1244% more
inexpensive meal
$5.14Survey-verified76% cheaper
internet 60mbps
$7.57Estimated89% cheaper
iphone
$1099.00Estimated10% more
jeans
$39.90Survey-verified22% cheaper
latte
$3.95Survey-verified26% cheaper
luxury hotel
$227.00Estimated53% cheaper
mcmeal
$5.14Survey-verified49% cheaper
milk liter
$0.72Estimated41% cheaper
monthly pass
$13.84Survey-verified80% cheaper
nike shoes
$39.90Survey-verified56% cheaper
rent 1br
$205.88Survey-verified89% cheaper
rent 2br
$205.88Survey-verified95% cheaper
rent 3br
$460.81Estimated86% cheaper
subway fare
$13.84Survey-verified474% more
taxi km
$1.27Estimated32% cheaper
utilities basic
$36.59Estimated83% cheaper

Visa Information (US passport)

Short-stay entry

visa freeUp to 60 days

US passport holders can stay up to 60 days without a visa.

Long-Term Visa Programs

digital nomad

Long-Term Resident (LTR) Visa

60 monthsRenewableMin. $6,666.67/mo income

Migrated from legacy digital_nomad_visas row 31

60 monthsRenewable
12 monthsRenewable

Quick comparison FAQ

Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.

How far does your money go in Surat Thani compared with the US?

Your money goes about 5.5x further in Surat Thani than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Thailand here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

Is Surat Thani cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?

Surat Thani is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 63% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Surat Thani. We are using the country-level cost index for Thailand here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How does rent in Surat Thani compare with New York City?

Rent in Surat Thani is about 87% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Thailand here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Surat Thani?

Groceries in Surat Thani are about 57% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 77% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Thailand here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

About Surat Thani

Surat Thani is the capital of Surat Thani Province in southern Thailand, sitting on the Tapi River near its mouth on the Gulf of Thailand. Its roughly 132,000 city residents live in a regional service and transport hub whose economy combines rubber and palm oil processing, the regional port, and tourism logistics serving the offshore islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao. Thai is universal; English is workable in tourism-facing businesses given the island ferry traffic. The climate is tropical monsoon, with the wettest months from October through December and risk of monsoon flooding. Surat Thani Airport, the ferry terminals, and the southern railway converge here. For relocators, the city itself is unremarkable but its role as gateway to the Samui archipelago is the practical draw.