Chiang Mai vs Pattaya - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Chiang Mai	Pattaya
🚶 Cost of living one person	$727	$812
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1970	$1968
🏠 One person rent	$315	$418
🏘️ Family rent	$547	$729
🍽️ Food expenses	$250	$283
🚐 Transport expenses	$85	$32.7
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$505	$475
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	32 km
🎓 Higher education	56	31
😀 Quality of life	65	57
🏙️ Population	1.2M	120K

The cost of living in Chiang Mai is 10% less expensive than in Pattaya. Cities ranked 6954th and 6620th ($727 vs $812) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 19th and 5th in Thailand.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months in Chiang Mai compared to 0.6 months in Pattaya. Ranked 3rd vs 6th best cities to live in Thailand, and 5236th vs 6140th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Chiang Mai vs Pattaya infographic

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Prices in Chiang Mai vs Pattaya

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

	Chiang Mai	Pattaya
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$2.01	$3.71
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$19.1	$30.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.95	$8.76
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.25	$2.25
☕ Cappuccino	$1.88	$2.12
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.79	$0.84
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$395	$473
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$221	$321
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$703	$870
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$405	$577
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$40.8	$48
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$62.9	$74.7
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$19.1	$18.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.15%	5.41%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2210	$2484
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1552	$1738
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.92	$0.31
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$19.1	$20.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$11.8	$12.3
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.27	$1.3
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.74	$1.69
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.56	$1.39
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$1.4
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.05	$2.16
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.7	$16.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.99	$2.99
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.98	$9.35
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.92	$3.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.15	$1.39
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.72	$1.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.63	$1.64
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.41	$1.36
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.2	$1.05
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.34	$0.34
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.4	$1.13
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$18.4	$18.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.77	$1.8
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.33	$4.57
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.24	$2.71
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.42	$4.52
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.29	$1.74
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.5	$1.31
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$34.8	$45.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$5.07	$7.73
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$18.9	$27.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.65	$3.98
👖 Brand Jeans	$61.4	$29.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$92.4	$91.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$643	$294
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15195	$10383

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	$667
153 km or 95 mi	Chiang Rai	$603
255 km or 158 mi	Hpa-an	$581
258 km or 160 mi	Phitsanulok	$558
294 km or 183 mi	Mawlamyine	$567
306 km or 190 mi	Taunggyi	$534
308 km or 191 mi	Bago	$571
317 km or 197 mi	Naypyidaw	$594
353 km or 219 mi	Luang Prabang	$1261
363 km or 226 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$680
365 km or 227 mi	Vang Vieng	$1181
373 km or 232 mi	Yangon	$614
392 km or 244 mi	Vientiane	$1152
404 km or 251 mi	Jinghong	$577
426 km or 265 mi	Udon Thani	$578
466 km or 289 mi	Mandalay	$540
485 km or 301 mi	Khon Kaen	$590
489 km or 304 mi	Pu'er	$599
503 km or 313 mi	Pathein	$666
537 km or 334 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$588
545 km or 339 mi	Monywa	$519
551 km or 342 mi	Tha Khlong	$675
561 km or 349 mi	Rangsit	$635
564 km or 351 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$623
566 km or 352 mi	Pak Kret	$736
571 km or 355 mi	Nonthaburi	$737
578 km or 359 mi	Lincang	$601
584 km or 363 mi	Bangkok	$958
597 km or 371 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$774
597 km or 371 mi	Lat Luang	$774
634 km or 394 mi	Thakhek	$1139
641 km or 398 mi	Sa Pa	$529
656 km or 407 mi	Sittwe	$558
666 km or 414 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$770
667 km or 415 mi	Laem Chabang	$779
681 km or 423 mi	Pattaya	$812
685 km or 426 mi	Nong Prue	$787
699 km or 435 mi	Hua Hin	$724
704 km or 438 mi	Baoshan	$607
707 km or 439 mi	Vinh	$560

Cities near Pattaya

Distance	City	Cost of living
5.7 km or 3.5 mi	Nong Prue	$787
16 km or 9.7 mi	Laem Chabang	$779
23 km or 14 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$770
84 km or 52 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$774
85 km or 53 mi	Klaeng	$718
85 km or 53 mi	Lat Luang	$774
98 km or 61 mi	Bangkok	$958
110 km or 68 mi	Nonthaburi	$737
110 km or 68 mi	Hua Hin	$724
115 km or 72 mi	Pak Kret	$736
119 km or 74 mi	Rangsit	$635
130 km or 81 mi	Tha Khlong	$675
132 km or 82 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$623
184 km or 114 mi	Ko Chang	$708
237 km or 147 mi	Serei Saophoan	$623
250 km or 156 mi	Battambang	$571
255 km or 159 mi	Myeik	$553
259 km or 161 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$588
318 km or 198 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$680
324 km or 202 mi	Siem Reap	$650
340 km or 211 mi	Ko Tao	$812
372 km or 231 mi	Ko Pha-ngan	$765
383 km or 238 mi	Sihanoukville	$763
396 km or 246 mi	Ko Samui	$741
435 km or 270 mi	Phitsanulok	$558
440 km or 273 mi	Khon Kaen	$590
442 km or 275 mi	Kampot	$622
450 km or 280 mi	Phu Quoc	$511
457 km or 284 mi	Surat Thani	$593
464 km or 288 mi	Phnom Penh	$829
497 km or 309 mi	Ubon Ratchathani	$558
506 km or 314 mi	Kampong Cham	$504
508 km or 315 mi	Prey Veng	$727
512 km or 318 mi	Nakhon Si Thammarat	$810
527 km or 328 mi	Mawlamyine	$567
535 km or 333 mi	Udon Thani	$578
553 km or 343 mi	Stung Treng	$635
561 km or 349 mi	Hpa-an	$581
562 km or 349 mi	Rach Gia	$515
571 km or 355 mi	Long Xuyen	$498