Chiang Mai vs Los Angeles - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Chiang Mai	Los Angeles
🚶 Cost of living one person	$750	$3420
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2026	$7800
🏠 One person rent	$354	$2177
🏘️ Family rent	$613	$3742
🍽️ Food expenses	$237	$761
🚐 Transport expenses	$78.6	$263
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$627	$4482
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Good
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	17 km
🎓 Higher education	56	99
😀 Quality of life	66	93
🏙️ Population	1.2M	3.9M

The cost of living in Chiang Mai is 78% less expensive than in Los Angeles. Cities ranked 7014th and 62nd ($750 vs $3420) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 18th and 47th in Thailand and the United States, respectively. Check Thailand vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.8 months in Chiang Mai compared to 1.3 months in Los Angeles. Chiang Mai ranked 2nd best city to live in Thailand vs Los Angeles ranked 8th in the United States, while ranked 4952nd and 50th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/chiang-mai/los-angeles.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Chiang Mai vs Los Angeles infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/chiang-mai/los-angeles" target="_blank">Chiang Mai vs Los Angeles - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Chiang Mai vs Los Angeles

Prices for goods and services in Chiang Mai and Los Angeles are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Chiang Mai	Los Angeles
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$1.99	$22.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$19.7	$104
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.87	$14.1
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.42	$8.92
☕ Cappuccino	$1.8	$6.66
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.72	$3.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$452	$2356
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$258	$1856
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$802	$4109
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$467	$3268
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$38.7	$152
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$59.9	$236
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$18.7	$69.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.6%	6.28%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1970	$8186
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1475	$7185
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.91	$1.76
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$24.9	$95.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.65	$19.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.33	$1.37
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.85	$1.32
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.67	$4.33
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$4.26
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.1	$6.59
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.6	$15.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.9	$14.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.6	$20.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.39	$5.08
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.03	$2.46
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.6	$5.3
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.5	$5.19
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.26	$2.89
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.06	$2.91
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$1.67
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.33	$3.57
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$16.9	$15.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.69	$2.99
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.38	$12.9
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.23	$9.24
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.41	$6.99
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.29	$5.99
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.48	$2.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$39.8	$70.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$6.65	$18.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$19.1	$164
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.23	$29.5
👖 Brand Jeans	$58.4	$80.1
👟 Brand Sneakers	$93.6	$110
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$796	$1748
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15185	$23685

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Chiang Mai

Distance	City	Cost of living
86 km or 53 mi	Pai	$675
153 km or 95 mi	Chiang Rai	$581
255 km or 158 mi	Hpa-an	$601
258 km or 160 mi	Phitsanulok	$554
294 km or 183 mi	Mawlamyine	$575
306 km or 190 mi	Taunggyi	$549
308 km or 191 mi	Bago	$610
317 km or 197 mi	Naypyidaw	$627
353 km or 219 mi	Luang Prabang	$1261
363 km or 226 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$707
365 km or 227 mi	Vang Vieng	$1033
373 km or 232 mi	Yangon	$656
392 km or 244 mi	Vientiane	$968
404 km or 251 mi	Jinghong	$591
426 km or 265 mi	Udon Thani	$564
466 km or 289 mi	Mandalay	$555
485 km or 301 mi	Khon Kaen	$590
489 km or 304 mi	Pu'er	$616
503 km or 313 mi	Pathein	$721
537 km or 334 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$586
545 km or 339 mi	Monywa	$534
551 km or 342 mi	Tha Khlong	$671
561 km or 349 mi	Rangsit	$616
564 km or 351 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$603
566 km or 352 mi	Pak Kret	$762
571 km or 355 mi	Nonthaburi	$761
578 km or 359 mi	Lincang	$617
584 km or 363 mi	Bangkok	$996
597 km or 371 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$789
597 km or 371 mi	Lat Luang	$794
634 km or 394 mi	Thakhek	$968
641 km or 398 mi	Sa Pa	$553
656 km or 407 mi	Sittwe	$583
666 km or 414 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$784
667 km or 415 mi	Laem Chabang	$799
681 km or 423 mi	Pattaya	$839
685 km or 426 mi	Nong Prue	$809
699 km or 435 mi	Hua Hin	$787
704 km or 438 mi	Baoshan	$617
707 km or 439 mi	Vinh	$583

Cities near Los Angeles

Distance	City	Cost of living
8.1 km or 5 mi	Huntington Park	$2945
8.9 km or 5.5 mi	Maywood	$2888
9.2 km or 5.7 mi	Florence-Graham	$2945
10 km or 6.2 mi	Bell	$2868
10 km or 6.2 mi	Monterey Park	$2786
11 km or 6.6 mi	Alhambra	$3031
11 km or 6.6 mi	South Pasadena	$3020
11 km or 7 mi	Cudahy	$2866
12 km or 7.6 mi	San Gabriel	$3184
12 km or 7.7 mi	Bell Gardens	$2798
12 km or 7.8 mi	West Hollywood	$3055
13 km or 7.8 mi	Montebello	$2826
13 km or 8 mi	South Gate	$2867
13 km or 8.2 mi	Glendale	$3717
14 km or 8.8 mi	Inglewood	$3066
15 km or 9 mi	Beverly Hills	$2945
15 km or 9.1 mi	Lynwood	$2880
15 km or 9.3 mi	Rosemead	$2868
15 km or 9.5 mi	Culver	$3054
15 km or 9.6 mi	Pasadena	$3802
16 km or 9.9 mi	Pico Rivera	$2818
16 km or 10 mi	Burbank	$3369
16 km or 10 mi	Downey	$2766
17 km or 11 mi	Compton	$2922
18 km or 11 mi	La Canada Flintridge	$3179
18 km or 11 mi	Hawthorne	$3139
18 km or 11 mi	Temple	$2909
18 km or 11 mi	South El Monte	$2849
18 km or 11 mi	West Whittier-Los Nietos	$2826
18 km or 11 mi	Paramount	$2793
19 km or 12 mi	Gardena	$3076
20 km or 12 mi	El Monte	$2858
21 km or 13 mi	Lawndale	$3243
21 km or 13 mi	Arcadia	$3020
21 km or 13 mi	Bellflower	$2758
22 km or 14 mi	Norwalk	$2694
22 km or 14 mi	Santa Monica	$3654
22 km or 14 mi	Whittier	$2835
23 km or 15 mi	Manhattan Beach	$3295
24 km or 15 mi	Carson	$3000