Kata, Phuket: Who the Area Suits and What It Costs to Live There

Where Kata is and what it covers

Kata (กะตะ) is the southern part of Karon subdistrict on Phuket’s southwest coast. It has no subdistrict or municipality of its own: Karon Municipality runs it, and in the municipality’s description Kata belongs to Khok Tanot-Kata, one of the subdistrict’s four villages. The municipal office itself is at 1 Kata Road.

The area has two bays: Kata (also called Kata Yai) and Kata Noi, 800 m further south at the end of the road. Karon lies to the north, and hills separate Kata from Nai Harn and Rawai to the south. Above Kata Noi, on Route 4233 towards Promthep Cape, Karon View Point looks over Kata Noi, Kata and Karon.

There is no separate population figure for Kata. DOPA counts almost all of Karon subdistrict’s residents in one line: 7,618 of the 7,626 registered in December 2025. The same goes for property valuations: the Treasury treats Kata and Karon as a single subdistrict.

This page is about living and buying property. The sea, swimming season and beach facilities are covered on the Kata Beach page.

Who Kata suits

• Families who choose a beach without bars. Karon Municipality describes Kata Noi (800 m south of Kata, at the end of the road) as a quiet beach with no nightclubs or bars, suited to family holidays. Kata itself, in the same description, has the full set of resort amenities: hotels, tour desks, shops and entertainment
• Snorkellers and people learning to dive. The municipality describes Kata as suitable for swimming and learning to dive, with coral reef running out to Koh Pu island
• People who head to the southern beaches. Nai Harn is 9.0 km away, about 12 minutes, and Karon 3 km. Rawai and Nai Harn offer the southern beaches and markets, Karon and Patong the shops and the hospital
• Buyers of a small condo for rental. Under construction in Kata are So Origin Kata (686 apartments from THB 3.49 million, mostly 26-30 m² studios, 8% complete in October 2026), The Katabello (760 apartments) and WeKata 3 (130 furnished apartments); see the property section

Who should skip Kata

• Anyone who flies out every week. The airport is 46.1 km away, about 52 minutes without traffic: farther than from Karon (43 km) or Patong (37 km)
• Anyone who needs a hospital within 10 km. There is no government hospital in the subdistrict. Patong Hospital is 10.8 km away (13 minutes) and the provincial Vachira Phuket Hospital 16.8 km (21 minutes)
• Buyers whose budget is below THB 59,000 per m². The subdistrict’s median condo valuation of THB 59,000/m² is second only to Kamala (THB 59,250) among Phuket subdistricts with 10 or more buildings in the register
• Families who need a large apartment in a new build. By the developers’ figures, So Origin Kata is mostly studios and one-bedrooms of 26-30 m², while WeKata 3 and Phenomenon Residence are sold as furnished apartments under hotel management
• Visitors who come for the beach in October. October in Kata brings 336 mm of rain and 22.7 rainy days by TMD normals. From May to October the southwest monsoon hits the west coast. When the sea is closed, go by the flags: what a red flag means

Property and prices in Kata

Government valuation. The Treasury register (snapshot 2024-08-05) lists 29 residential condominiums in Karon subdistrict, Kata’s buildings included. The median valuation is THB 59,000/m², with half of the buildings between THB 52,375 and 69,225/m²; the island median is THB 48,250. The valuation is used for taxes and transfer fees at the Land Office, not as a sale price. Method: all residential units, with or without a balcony, median per floor, then per building, then across the subdistrict’s buildings.

Buildings in our register. We hold 17 projects tagged Kata. Notable ones:

L1 means the project appears in a government register, L2 that it is confirmed by the developer’s website. The floor count in Treasury data is the highest floor with appraised units. Freehold or leasehold status and the 49% foreign quota have to be confirmed with each condominium’s juristic person before you buy.

On sale now. The catalogue has 8 projects in Kata, the notable ones are below. According to developers, as of 2026-10-17:

• So Origin Kata (Origin Property): under construction, 686 units from THB 3.49 million, mostly studios and one-bedrooms of 26-30 m², about 500 m from the beach; 8% complete as of October 2026
• The Katabello (The Title): under construction, 760 units, 16.1% complete as of August 2026, no price published on the developer’s site
• WeKata 3 (Phuket9): under construction, 130 furnished units, about 500 m from the beach
• Phenomenon Residence (Phuket9): under construction on the slope between Kata and Karon, 293 units, about 900 m from the beach

Collections: within 500 m of the beach, condos under THB 5 million, The Title projects, presale, developer installment plans, ready to move in. Before buying: freehold, the 49% quota and leasehold.

According to the developers, So Origin Kata is mostly studios and one-bedrooms of 26-30 m², while WeKata 3 and Phenomenon Residence are sold as furnished hotel-managed units. For a family planning to live here full time, the choice of larger units in Kata’s new builds is still narrow.

Rentals. We do not publish rents until we have our own dated measurements.

Living in Kata: schools, hospitals, shops, transport

Schools. Karon subdistrict, which covers both Karon and Kata, has two state primary schools on the OBEC list, both on Patak Road: Ban Kata (grades 1-6, 156 pupils) and Wat Suwan Khiri Khet (grades 1-6, 144 pupils). These are 2020 academic year figures, the latest open list. There is no Ministry of Education licensed international school in the subdistrict: according to the OPEC private school register the nearest are seven in Chalong, about 9 km from Kata, and three in Rawai. Two more, QSI and Kajonkiet, are in Kathu subdistrict in the middle of the island. No licensed Russian school appears in the OPEC register.

Hospitals. The nearest government hospital is Patong Hospital (Ministry of Public Health, 57 Sai Nam Yen Road, phone 076-342633): 10.8 km, about 13 minutes without traffic. Vachira Phuket Hospital, a 650-bed tertiary referral centre, is 16.8 km away, about 21 minutes. Kata has private clinics; we have not checked their licences.

Shops. OpenStreetMap lists Lotus’s go fresh and Mini Big C supermarkets, the Kata Night Plaza and Karon Plaza shopping areas and 61 convenience stores in Karon subdistrict, which includes Kata (2026-10-17). For big shops people drive to Patong or Phuket Town.

Transport. The Phuket Smart Bus route airport → Patong → Karon → Kata → Rawai stops in Kata: THB 100 per ride (operator data, 2026-10-17). Pay by card, PromptPay QR or cash; children under 6 ride free. Grab, Bolt and taxis: taxis in Phuket.

Getting around: airport, town, Karon and Patong

OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data, 2026-10-17. Expect longer at rush hour and in high season. Transfer options: Phuket Airport guide.

Seasons and weather

The nearest TMD station is in Phuket Town. Under the 1991-2020 normals the dry season runs from December to March (24-82 mm of rain a month) and the wettest months are September (350 mm) and October (336 mm). Karon Municipality puts the rainy season at April to November. In May 2026 the Phuket station recorded 464.9 mm against a normal of about 237 mm, and parts of the island flooded on 18-20 May (TMD).

For daily life that means heavier downpours and fewer visitors from May to October. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Phuket hotel occupancy was 65.8% in September 2025 against 86.4% in January. Swimming month by month is covered on the Kata Beach page, and the numbers are in Phuket climate.

Kata compared with its neighbours

Sources: DOPA, Treasury (snapshot 2024-08-05), OSRM routes on OpenStreetMap, Karon, Patong and Rawai municipal websites, 2026-10-17. More on the neighbours: Karon, Patong, Nai Harn, Rawai.

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