Cost of living comparison

compared to

United States vs. Chiang Mai Cost of Living Summary

United States is 2.6 times more expensive than Chiang Mai.

Restaurants: pay 5.0 times more in United States
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in United States
Transportation: pay 76.5% more in United States
Housing: pay 4.0 times more in United States
Childcare: pay 83.8% more in United States
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.3 times more in United States
Clothing: pay 38.3% more in United States

The cost of restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, childcare, and transportation in United States are more expensive than in Chiang Mai. Notably, restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in United States.

United States vs. Chiang Mai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United States instead of Chiang Mai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.0 times more for restaurants

	Chiang Mai	United States
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.02 THB63.37	$19.45	+865.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.05 THB253.00	$11.12	+38.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 THB24.93	$2.56	+222.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 THB10.68	$2.00	+490.2%
Average			+404.0%

Chiang Mai vs. United States - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Chiang Mai	United States
Bread 1 loaf	$1.58 THB49.72	$3.56	+125.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.36 THB263.02	$6.50	-22.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 THB210.67	$3.97	-40.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.07 THB65.00	$4.27	+106.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.36 THB42.80	$5.41	+297.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.33 THB41.89	$2.37	+77.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.53 THB16.55	$0.78	+48.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 THB24.92	$2.04	+156.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 THB23.41	$2.21	+197.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 THB20.23	$1.34	+109.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 THB17.21	$1.38	+152.9%
Average			+109.8%

Chiang Mai vs. United States - Cost of groceries

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pay 76.5% more for transportation

	Chiang Mai	United States
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.83 THB151.89	$3.41	-29.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$19.14 THB601.92	$65.85	+244.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,478.88 THB706,834.44	$32,336.38	+43.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.94 THB375.35	$17.61	+47.6%
Average			+76.5%

Chiang Mai vs. United States - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.0 times more for housing

	Chiang Mai	United States
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.34 THB608.06	$68.97	+256.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$440.41 THB13,848.31	$1,664.59	+278.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$249.32 THB7,839.70	$1,416.15	+468.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$51.23 THB1,610.98	$150.19	+193.1%
Average			+298.9%

Chiang Mai vs. United States - Cost of housing

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pay 83.8% more for childcare

	Chiang Mai	United States
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$644.65 THB20,270.71	$1,387.27	+115.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,231.38 THB478,941.26	$23,196.46	+52.3%
Average			+83.8%

Chiang Mai vs. United States - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	Chiang Mai	United States
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 THB70.68	$5.84	+159.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.90 THB59.89	$5.15	+170.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.34 THB136.49	$9.90	+128.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$35.28 THB1,109.24	$51.45	+45.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.12 THB160.87	$13.64	+166.5%
Average			+134.1%

Chiang Mai vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.3% more for clothing

	Chiang Mai	United States
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.01 THB1,949.89	$51.08	-17.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$19.90 THB625.59	$41.81	+110.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$93.02 THB2,924.83	$87.56	-5.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$67.18 THB2,112.38	$112.04	+66.8%
Average			+38.3%

Chiang Mai vs. United States - 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: December 2025

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