Cost of living comparison

compared to

Chiang Mai vs. Puerto Vallarta Cost of Living Summary

Chiang Mai is 1.6% cheaper than Puerto Vallarta.

Restaurants: pay 57.1% less in Chiang Mai
Groceries: pay 17.8% less in Chiang Mai
Transportation: pay 1.4% more in Chiang Mai
Housing: pay 46.6% less in Chiang Mai
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Chiang Mai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.7% less in Chiang Mai
Clothing: pay 16.4% less in Chiang Mai

The cost of childcare and transportation in Chiang Mai are more expensive than in Puerto Vallarta. Expenses including restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing are lower in Chiang Mai. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai vs. Puerto Vallarta Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chiang Mai instead of Puerto Vallarta, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 57.1% less for restaurants

	Puerto Vallarta	Chiang Mai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.86 MX$197.31	$2.02 THB64.12	-81.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.17 MX$166.73	$8.05 THB255.99	-12.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.91 MX$34.65	$0.79 THB25.23	-58.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.43 MX$25.92	$0.34 THB10.80	-76.2%
Average			-57.1%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.8% less for groceries

	Puerto Vallarta	Chiang Mai
Bread 1 loaf	$3.59 MX$65.25	$1.58 THB50.31	-56.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.78 MX$105.00	$8.36 THB266.13	+44.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.24 MX$113.48	$6.70 THB213.16	+7.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.09 MX$38.06	$2.07 THB65.77	-1.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.85 MX$88.23	$1.36 THB43.31	-72.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.10 MX$20.03	$1.33 THB42.38	+20.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 MX$11.84	$0.53 THB16.74	-19.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.76 MX$13.76	$0.79 THB25.22	+4.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 MX$18.41	$0.74 THB23.68	-26.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 MX$18.63	$0.64 THB20.47	-37.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.40 MX$25.38	$0.55 THB17.42	-60.8%
Average			-17.8%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.4% more for transportation

	Puerto Vallarta	Chiang Mai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.02 MX$91.31	$4.83 THB153.69	-3.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.28 MX$295.97	$19.14 THB609.04	+17.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$15,199.26 MX$276,240.46	$22,478.88 THB715,197.55	+47.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$27.14 MX$493.29	$11.94 THB379.79	-56.0%
Average			+1.4%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.6% less for housing

	Puerto Vallarta	Chiang Mai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.90 MX$597.86	$19.34 THB615.25	-41.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$990.97 MX$18,010.44	$440.41 THB14,012.16	-55.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$687.02 MX$12,486.27	$249.32 THB7,932.45	-63.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.93 MX$1,252.76	$51.23 THB1,630.04	-25.7%
Average			-46.6%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Puerto Vallarta	Chiang Mai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$280.46 MX$5,097.29	$644.65 THB20,510.55	+129.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,862.57 MX$106,549.89	$15,231.38 THB484,607.99	+159.8%
Average			+144.9%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Puerto Vallarta	Chiang Mai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.44 MX$44.40	$2.25 THB71.52	-8.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.80 MX$69.06	$1.90 THB60.60	-49.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.29 MX$77.94	$4.34 THB138.11	+1.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.91 MX$670.87	$35.28 THB1,122.37	-4.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.14 MX$147.99	$5.12 THB162.77	-37.2%
Average			-19.7%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.4% less for clothing

	Puerto Vallarta	Chiang Mai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.28 MX$986.57	$62.01 THB1,972.96	+14.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.38 MX$624.83	$19.90 THB632.99	-42.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$101.78 MX$1,849.82	$93.02 THB2,959.44	-8.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.00 MX$1,726.50	$67.18 THB2,137.37	-29.3%
Average			-16.4%

Puerto Vallarta vs. Chiang Mai - 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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