Cost of living comparison

Thailand

compared to

Thailand

Chiang Mai vs. Chiang Rai Cost of Living Summary

Chiang Mai is 33.3% more expensive than Chiang Rai.

Restaurants: pay 3.1% more in Chiang Mai
Groceries: pay 8.5% more in Chiang Mai
Transportation: pay 28.8% more in Chiang Mai
Housing: pay 76.8% more in Chiang Mai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.8% more in Chiang Mai
Clothing: pay 5.3% more in Chiang Mai

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, clothing, and restaurants in Chiang Mai are more expensive than in Chiang Rai. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai vs. Chiang Rai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chiang Mai instead of Chiang Rai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.1% more for restaurants

	Chiang Rai	Chiang Mai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.23 THB74.12	$2.23 THB74.12
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.35 THB177.89	$5.50 THB182.83	+2.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 THB20.75	$0.67 THB22.37	+7.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.28 THB9.29	$0.32 THB10.62	+14.4%
Average			+3.1%

Chiang Rai vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.5% more for groceries

	Chiang Rai	Chiang Mai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.42 THB47.35	$1.42 THB47.35
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.32 THB276.85	$8.32 THB276.85
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.60 THB252.83	$7.60 THB252.83
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.86 THB61.77	$2.24 THB74.42	+20.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.26 THB41.84	$1.26 THB41.84
Apples (1 lb)	$1.10 THB36.71	$1.10 THB36.71
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 THB12.33	$0.45 THB15.10	+22.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 THB23.82	$0.72 THB23.82
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.40 THB13.45	$0.67 THB22.30	+65.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 THB19.05	$0.57 THB19.10	+0.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 THB16.38	$0.49 THB16.38
Average			+8.5%

Chiang Rai vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.8% more for transportation

	Chiang Rai	Chiang Mai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.04 THB167.54	$5.55 THB184.64	+10.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.28 THB741.19	$53.48 THB1,778.86	+140.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,795.89 THB692K	$20,795.89 THB692K
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.59 THB185.79	$5.59 THB185.79
Average			+28.8%

Chiang Rai vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of transportation

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pay 76.8% more for housing

	Chiang Rai	Chiang Mai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.73 THB456.82	$20.03 THB666.41	+45.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$230.24 THB7,658.97	$462.86 THB15,397.00	+101.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$153.49 THB5,105.98	$302.57 THB10,064.99	+97.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$47.59 THB1,583.05	$47.59 THB1,583.05
Average			+76.8%

Chiang Rai vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of housing

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pay about the same for childcare

	Chiang Rai	Chiang Mai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$781.39 THB25,993.20	$781.39 THB25,993.20
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,653.84 THB487K	$14,653.84 THB487K

Chiang Rai vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Chiang Rai	Chiang Mai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.63 THB54.35	$2.38 THB79.06	+45.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.34 THB44.47	$1.70 THB56.63	+27.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.86 THB128.47	$4.24 THB141.12	+9.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$35.65 THB1,185.91	$37.50 THB1,247.55	+5.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.97 THB98.83	$6.54 THB217.42	+120.0%
Average			+40.8%

Chiang Rai vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.3% more for clothing

	Chiang Rai	Chiang Mai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.22 THB1,803.53	$54.22 THB1,803.53
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.82 THB825.63	$24.82 THB825.63
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.27 THB2,470.64	$91.16 THB3,032.29	+22.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.04 THB2,396.33	$72.04 THB2,396.33
Average			+5.3%

Chiang Rai vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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