Cost pair · Numbeo 2026 · real USD
Bangkok is ~68% cheaper for a single person including rent: $1,248/month vs $3,924 in San Francisco, CA (Numbeo 2026, ±15% band).
| Metric | San Francisco, CA | Bangkok |
|---|---|---|
| Cost index (NYC=100) | 97.6 | 41.4 |
| Single, excl. rent | $1,621 | $687 |
| 1-bed outside centre | $2,303 | $561 |
| 1-bed city centre | $3,393 | $826 |
| Monthly total (single) | $3,924 | $1,248 |
| Family of 4, excl. rent | $6,015 | $2,551 |
| Groceries index | 103.2 | 45.2 |
| Restaurants index | 109.2 | 29.2 |
| Purchasing power index | 151.0 | 50.9 |
The single biggest line item is rent: a one-bed outside the centre costs $2,303 in San Francisco, CA vs $561 in Bangkok — a $1,742/month gap on housing alone. Day-to-day prices follow the same direction: groceries index 103.2 vs 45.2, restaurants 109.2 vs 29.2 (NYC = 100).
The caveat is the last row. San Francisco, CA's local purchasing power index is 151.0 vs 50.9 in Bangkok — if you keep a foreign income (remote work, retirement, savings), the 68% discount is real; if you plan to earn a local salary, weigh what local wages buy, not just what things cost.
More cost pairs
Pin San Francisco, CA and Bangkok — sunshine, tax, cost, safety, air, and internet as deltas on one map.
Sources: Numbeo 2026 (12,743 cities, 9.8M prices) · OECD Purchasing Power Parities 2026 · GeoRank cities-tools dataset (CC-BY-4.0). Methodology and accuracy bounds at methodology.