Cost of living comparison
compared to
Des Moines vs. Koh Samui Cost of Living Summary
Des Moines is 94.9% more expensive than Koh Samui.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.0 times more in Des Moines
- Groceries
-
pay 53.0% more in Des Moines
- Transportation
-
pay 2.0% less in Des Moines
- Housing
-
pay 2.3 times more in Des Moines
- Childcare
-
pay 54.1% more in Des Moines
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.1 times more in Des Moines
- Clothing
-
pay 17.0% more in Des Moines
Des Moines vs. Koh Samui Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Des Moines instead of Koh Samui, you would:
pay 4.0 times more for restaurants
|
Koh Samui
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.10
THB102.19
|
$17.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.99
THB296.34
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.71
THB23.45
|
$2.61
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.38
THB12.42
|
$2.15
|
|
Koh Samui vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants
pay 53.0% more for groceries
|
Koh Samui
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.73
THB56.85
|
$3.03
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.53
THB281.10
|
$6.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.58
THB216.89
|
$3.56
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.28
THB75.11
|
$3.61
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.07
THB35.11
|
$3.67
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.51
THB49.75
|
$1.77
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.56
THB18.44
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.03
THB34.01
|
$1.66
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.98
THB32.29
|
$1.59
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.73
THB23.93
|
$0.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.63
THB20.78
|
$1.36
|
|
Koh Samui vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries
pay 2.0% less for transportation
|
Koh Samui
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.04
THB165.91
|
$2.93
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$46.52
THB1,532.78
|
$58.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,911.74
THB920K
|
$26,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.30
THB339.26
|
$11.94
|
|
Koh Samui vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation
pay 2.3 times more for housing
|
Koh Samui
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$17.79
THB586.29
|
$57.86
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$554.27
THB18,262.78
|
$1,214.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$413.51
THB13,624.74
|
$912.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$76.59
THB2,523.63
|
$108.83
|
|
Koh Samui vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing
pay 54.1% more for childcare
|
Koh Samui
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$623.36
THB20,539.30
|
$1,369.17
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,335.61
THB439K
|
$11,812.00
|
|
Koh Samui vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare
pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Koh Samui
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.17
THB71.53
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.31
THB76.00
|
$5.47
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.34
THB143.06
|
$7.14
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$34.11
THB1,124.04
|
$71.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.13
THB235.03
|
$15.00
|
|
Koh Samui vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.0% more for clothing
|
Koh Samui
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.72
THB1,737.15
|
$56.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.92
THB985.92
|
$41.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.34
THB3,372.12
|
$73.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$90.82
THB2,992.58
|
$138.33
|
|
Koh Samui vs. Des Moines - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2026
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