Cost of living comparison

Thailand

compared to

United States

Lawrence vs. Koh Samui Cost of Living Summary

Lawrence is 96.1% more expensive than Koh Samui.

Restaurants: pay 3.7 times more in Lawrence
Groceries: pay 81.2% more in Lawrence
Transportation: pay 6.4% less in Lawrence
Housing: pay 2.7 times more in Lawrence
Childcare: pay 66.1% more in Lawrence
Entertainment and Sports: pay 91.3% more in Lawrence
Clothing: pay 0.1% more in Lawrence

The cost of restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, childcare, and clothing in Lawrence are more expensive than in Koh Samui. Notably, restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Lawrence.

Lawrence vs. Koh Samui Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lawrence instead of Koh Samui, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.7 times more for restaurants

	Koh Samui	Lawrence
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.10 THB102.19	$15.00	+383.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.99 THB296.34	$10.00	+11.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 THB23.45	$3.00	+321.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 THB12.42	$1.73	+359.3%
Average			+268.9%

Koh Samui vs. Lawrence - Cost of restaurants

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pay 81.2% more for groceries

	Koh Samui	Lawrence
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 THB56.85	$2.87	+66.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.53 THB281.10	$5.64	-33.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.58 THB216.89	$3.15	-52.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 THB75.11	$3.28	+44.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.07 THB35.11	$5.36	+402.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.51 THB49.75	$2.87	+89.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.56 THB18.44	$1.03	+83.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.03 THB34.01	$2.22	+115.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 THB32.29	$1.69	+72.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 THB23.93	$0.82	+13.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.63 THB20.78	$1.21	+92.4%
Average			+81.2%

Koh Samui vs. Lawrence - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.4% less for transportation

	Koh Samui	Lawrence
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.04 THB165.91	$2.90	-42.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.52 THB1,532.78	$25.00	-46.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,911.74 THB920K	$35,808.86	+28.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.30 THB339.26	$13.89	+34.9%
Average			-6.4%

Koh Samui vs. Lawrence - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.7 times more for housing

	Koh Samui	Lawrence
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.79 THB586.29	$64.75	+263.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$554.27 THB18,262.78	$1,080.00	+94.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.51 THB13,624.74	$1,025.00	+147.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$76.59 THB2,523.63	$214.12	+179.6%
Average			+171.6%

Koh Samui vs. Lawrence - Cost of housing

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pay 66.1% more for childcare

	Koh Samui	Lawrence
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$623.36 THB20,539.30	$917.50	+47.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,335.61 THB439K	$24,673.50	+85.0%
Average			+66.1%

Koh Samui vs. Lawrence - Cost of childcare

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pay 91.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Koh Samui	Lawrence
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.17 THB71.53	$5.50	+153.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.31 THB76.00	$5.12	+122.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.34 THB143.06	$7.85	+80.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.11 THB1,124.04	$45.00	+31.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.13 THB235.03	$12.00	+68.2%
Average			+91.3%

Koh Samui vs. Lawrence - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.1% more for clothing

	Koh Samui	Lawrence
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.72 THB1,737.15	$53.38	+1.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.92 THB985.92	$35.00	+17.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.34 THB3,372.12	$85.00	-16.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.82 THB2,992.58	$90.00	-0.9%
Average			+0.1%

Koh Samui vs. Lawrence - Cost of clothing

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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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