Cost of living comparison

compared to
Chiang Mai vs. Thailand Cost of Living Summary

Chiang Mai is 3.2% more expensive than Thailand overall.

Restaurants
pay 6.0% less in Chiang Mai
Groceries
pay 6.4% less in Chiang Mai
Transportation
pay 5.0% less in Chiang Mai
Housing
pay 0.3% less in Chiang Mai
Childcare
pay 31.4% more in Chiang Mai
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.1% less in Chiang Mai
Clothing
pay 11.0% more in Chiang Mai

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

Chiang Mai vs. Thailand Cost Breakdown

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

pay 6.0% less for restaurants

 
Thailand
Chiang Mai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $2.33
THB78.88
$1.75
THB59.09
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.02
THB203.53
$7.28
THB246.20
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.70
THB23.82
$0.65
THB22.08

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pay 6.4% less for groceries

 
Thailand
Chiang Mai
Bread
1 loaf
$1.40
THB47.30
$1.47
THB49.57
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.16
THB275.95
$7.16
THB242.01
Milk (1 gallon) $6.68
THB225.99
$5.98
THB202.28

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pay 5.0% less for transportation

 
Thailand
Chiang Mai
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.47
THB151.03
$4.46
THB150.90
Monthly public transit pass $25.43
THB859.84
$23.30
THB787.84
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,362.48
THB1,060,302.17
$21,118.56
THB713,975.76

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pay 0.3% less for housing

 
Thailand
Chiang Mai
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$17.13
THB579.28
$18.20
THB615.25
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $389.22
THB13,158.74
$388.93
THB13,149.06
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $225.23
THB7,614.72
$233.89
THB7,907.32

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pay 31.4% more for childcare

 
Thailand
Chiang Mai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $341.66
THB11,550.78
$461.21
THB15,592.57
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,344.18
THB349,715.79
$13,232.91
THB447,377.91

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pay 2.1% less for entertainment and sports

 
Thailand
Chiang Mai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.20
THB74.37
$2.26
THB76.32
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.90
THB64.22
$1.79
THB60.38
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.85
THB130.07
$4.37
THB147.72

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pay 11.0% more for clothing

 
Thailand
Chiang Mai
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$38.62
THB1,305.59
$55.83
THB1,887.52
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$29.36
THB992.62
$30.29
THB1,024.19
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$82.78
THB2,798.68
$81.56
THB2,757.42

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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: February 2025
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