Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Thailand

Bangkok vs. Chongqing Cost of Living Summary

Bangkok is 53.7% more expensive than Chongqing.

Restaurants: pay 26.2% more in Bangkok
Groceries: pay 44.5% more in Bangkok
Transportation: pay 46.9% more in Bangkok
Housing: pay 80.3% more in Bangkok
Childcare: pay 13.5% more in Bangkok
Entertainment and Sports: pay 44.5% more in Bangkok
Clothing: pay 61.3% more in Bangkok

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

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Bangkok vs. Chongqing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bangkok instead of Chongqing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 26.2% more for restaurants

	Chongqing	Bangkok
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.68 CN¥17.96	$2.97 THB98.83	+10.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.77 CN¥31.93	$6.98 THB232.24	+46.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 CN¥2.99	$0.65 THB21.64	+45.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 CN¥2.00	$0.35 THB11.72	+18.1%
Average			+26.2%

Chongqing vs. Bangkok - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.5% more for groceries

	Chongqing	Bangkok
Bread 1 loaf	$1.60 CN¥10.73	$1.48 THB49.16	-7.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$8.63 THB287.02	-3.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.48 CN¥50.05	$7.27 THB241.89	-2.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.18 CN¥14.59	$2.56 THB85.32	+17.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥10.18	$1.63 THB54.28	+7.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.69 CN¥4.62	$1.77 THB58.85	+156.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.59 CN¥3.96	$0.81 THB26.83	+36.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.55 CN¥3.69	$1.24 THB41.35	+125.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 CN¥3.73	$0.87 THB29.09	+56.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.29 CN¥1.92	$0.78 THB26.00	+171.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.44 CN¥2.94	$0.69 THB23.01	+57.3%
Average			+44.5%

Chongqing vs. Bangkok - Cost of groceries

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pay 46.9% more for transportation

	Chongqing	Bangkok
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.88 CN¥32.67	$5.32 THB176.90	+8.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.37 CN¥149.69	$34.98 THB1,163.67	+56.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$31,193.83 THB1M	+61.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.88 CN¥25.95	$10.55 THB350.83	+172.0%
Average			+46.9%

Chongqing vs. Bangkok - Cost of transportation

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pay 80.3% more for housing

	Chongqing	Bangkok
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$7.06 CN¥47.24	$17.88 THB594.63	+153.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$418.62 CN¥2,800.89	$675.80 THB22,480.48	+61.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$199.42 CN¥1,334.25	$346.10 THB11,513.16	+73.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$34.29 CN¥229.45	$82.03 THB2,728.64	+139.2%
Average			+80.3%

Chongqing vs. Bangkok - Cost of housing

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pay 13.5% more for childcare

	Chongqing	Bangkok
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$287.12 CN¥1,921.04	$568.31 THB18,904.94	+97.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,355.73 CN¥170K	$16,500.59 THB549K	-34.9%
Average			+13.5%

Chongqing vs. Bangkok - Cost of childcare

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pay 44.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Chongqing	Bangkok
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$2.67 THB88.94	+124.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.04 CN¥13.64	$2.79 THB92.95	+37.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.98 CN¥19.96	$4.60 THB153.18	+54.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.72 CN¥332.65	$58.43 THB1,943.57	+17.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.97 CN¥39.92	$7.58 THB252.00	+27.0%
Average			+44.5%

Chongqing vs. Bangkok - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 61.3% more for clothing

	Chongqing	Bangkok
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.21 CN¥262.32	$70.75 THB2,353.53	+80.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$42.94 THB1,428.36	+43.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.63 CN¥432.44	$97.05 THB3,228.30	+50.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$63.39 CN¥424.13	$109.92 THB3,656.54	+73.4%
Average			+61.3%

Chongqing vs. Bangkok - 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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