Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chiang Rai vs. Chiang Mai Cost of Living Summary
Chiang Rai is 19.8% cheaper than Chiang Mai.
- Restaurants
-
pay 22.2% less in Chiang Rai
- Groceries
-
pay 13.4% less in Chiang Rai
- Transportation
-
pay 6.3% more in Chiang Rai
- Housing
-
pay 21.6% less in Chiang Rai
- Childcare
-
pay 49.1% less in Chiang Rai
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.2% less in Chiang Rai
- Clothing
-
pay 21.6% less in Chiang Rai
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in Chiang Rai.
Chiang Rai vs. Chiang Mai Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chiang Rai instead of Chiang Mai, you would:
pay 22.2% less for restaurants
|
Chiang Mai
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$2.02
THB64.12
|
$2.02
THB64.14
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.05
THB255.99
|
$5.58
THB177.61
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.79
THB25.23
|
$0.62
THB19.73
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.34
THB10.80
|
$0.29
THB9.28
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.4% less for groceries
|
Chiang Mai
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.58
THB50.31
|
$1.58
THB50.32
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.36
THB266.13
|
$8.37
THB266.20
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.70
THB213.16
|
$6.70
THB213.21
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.07
THB65.77
|
$1.94
THB61.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.36
THB43.31
|
$1.36
THB43.32
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.33
THB42.38
|
$1.18
THB37.48
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.53
THB16.74
|
$0.47
THB14.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.79
THB25.22
|
$0.77
THB24.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.74
THB23.68
|
$0.42
THB13.43
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.64
THB20.47
|
$0.64
THB20.48
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.55
THB17.42
|
$0.52
THB16.41
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of groceries
pay 6.3% more for transportation
|
Chiang Mai
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.83
THB153.69
|
$4.83
THB153.73
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$19.14
THB609.04
|
$23.26
THB740.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,478.88
THB715,197.55
|
$20,468.61
THB651,237.92
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$11.94
THB379.79
|
$11.94
THB379.89
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of transportation
pay 21.6% less for housing
|
Chiang Mai
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$19.34
THB615.25
|
$14.34
THB456.11
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$440.41
THB14,012.16
|
$268.78
THB8,551.61
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$249.32
THB7,932.45
|
$259.73
THB8,263.81
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$51.23
THB1,630.04
|
$38.14
THB1,213.40
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of housing
pay 49.1% less for childcare
|
Chiang Mai
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$644.65
THB20,510.55
|
$644.81
THB20,515.64
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,231.38
THB484,607.99
|
$7,753.26
THB246,681.03
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of childcare
pay 17.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chiang Mai
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.25
THB71.52
|
$1.86
THB59.20
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.90
THB60.60
|
$1.28
THB40.70
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.34
THB138.11
|
$3.72
THB118.41
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$35.28
THB1,122.37
|
$37.22
THB1,184.07
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.12
THB162.77
|
$3.72
THB118.41
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 21.6% less for clothing
|
Chiang Mai
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$62.01
THB1,972.96
|
$62.03
THB1,973.45
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$19.90
THB632.99
|
$19.90
THB633.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.02
THB2,959.44
|
$72.88
THB2,318.80
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$67.18
THB2,137.37
|
$67.19
THB2,137.90
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Chiang Rai - 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: December 2025
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