Kampong Cham vs Ta Khmau: Which City Wins for Expats in 2026?
Kampong Cham ranks meaningfully higher on safety. Use our tool below to personalize the estimate based on your income and lifestyle.
Kampong Cham is approximately 65% less expensive than Ta Khmau based on cost of living including rent. This makes Kampong Cham a more budget-friendly option for expats considering a move.
Kampong Cham has a FIRE Score of 78/100, indicating its suitability for financial independence and early retirement. The city's safety index is 50, suggesting moderate safety levels.
Recommended profile: Kampong Cham is ideal for GeoArbitragers and remote workers looking to maximize savings.
About Kampong Cham
Kampong Cham is a dirt-cheap Cambodian town where a single person can live comfortably on $2,200 a month, but the local average salary of $150 a month tells you this place is built for expats with remote income, not local jobs. The riverfront area is the only real expat neighborhood, and with a safety index of 50 and limited English, it's not for the faint of heart. If you're chasing the FIRE dream on a shoestring, the $300 rent for a city-center one-bedroom and $3 restaurant meals are unbeatable, but retirees and digital nomads should look elsewhere given the mediocre scores of 50 and 53 respectively.
About Cambodia
A Healthcare Index of 25.8 rules this out for retirees with serious medical needs. Skip it if you need English-language ease too, proficiency is low. But budget-focused remote workers or younger retirees chasing sub-$1,000/month living, with rent from around $273 and a real digital nomad visa route, will find it hard to beat.
$1,700/mo
Cost of Living (Without Rent)
Rent Per Month
Attractiveness
City Details
About Ta Khmau
Ta Khmau is a cheap, sleepy suburb of Phnom Penh, not a destination in its own right. With a low expat score of 45 and limited English proficiency, it offers little for digital nomads or retirees beyond rock-bottom costs like a $3 restaurant meal and $9 monthly transit. The high crime index of 65 and poor air quality (85) make it a tough sell for anyone prioritizing safety or health. Unless you are desperate to save money and don't mind a dull, polluted satellite town, skip it.
About Cambodia
A Healthcare Index of 25.8 rules this out for retirees with serious medical needs. Skip it if you need English-language ease too, proficiency is low. But budget-focused remote workers or younger retirees chasing sub-$1,000/month living, with rent from around $273 and a real digital nomad visa route, will find it hard to beat.
$2,263/mo
Cost of Living (Without Rent)
Rent Per Month
Attractiveness
City Details
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| Metric | Kampong Cham | Ta Khmau |
|---|---|---|
| 1BR Apartment (Center) | $300 | $496.28 |
| 1BR Apartment (Outside) | $220 | $305.4 |
| 3BR Apartment (Center) | $650 | N/A |
| 3BR Apartment (Outside) | $450 | N/A |
| Safety Index | 50 | 35 |
| Internet Speed | 30Mbps | 25Mbps |
| Walkability Score | N/A | N/A |
Monthly cost by categoryOne person, computed from each city's own average prices
| Category | Kampong Cham | Ta Khmau |
|---|---|---|
| Total (rent included) | N/A | $637/mo |
| Excluding rent | N/A | $332/mo |
| Rent | N/A | $305/mo |
| Groceries | N/A | $108/mo |
| Dining out | N/A | $25.00/mo |
| Entertainment & lifestyle | N/A | $67.00/mo |
| Utilities & connectivity | N/A | $123/mo |
| Transport | N/A | $9.00/mo |
Usage-based estimates from this city's own average prices. A row marked N/A means that city is missing data, so no figure is shown instead of a stale one.
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Kampong Cham vs Ta Khmau -- Frequently Asked Questions
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