Chiang Mai vs Pattaya - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Chiang Mai	Pattaya
🚶 Cost of living one person	$750	$839
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2026	$2090
🏠 One person rent	$354	$435
🏘️ Family rent	$613	$761
🍽️ Food expenses	$237	$291
🚐 Transport expenses	$78.6	$29.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$627	$474
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	32 km
🎓 Higher education	56	31
😀 Quality of life	66	59
🏙️ Population	1.2M	120K

The cost of living in Chiang Mai is 11% less expensive than in Pattaya. Cities ranked 7014th and 6606th ($750 vs $839) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 18th and 3rd in Thailand.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.8 months in Chiang Mai compared to 0.6 months in Pattaya. Ranked 2nd vs 3rd best cities to live in Thailand, and 4952nd vs 6029th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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

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	$1.99	$3.67
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$19.7	$36.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.87	$9.14
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.42	$2.27
☕ Cappuccino	$1.8	$2.04
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.72	$0.74
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$452	$473
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$258	$328
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$802	$864
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$467	$599
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$38.7	$59.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$59.9	$90.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$18.7	$18.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.6%	5.98%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1970	$2563
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1475	$1488
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.91	$0.37
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$24.9	$19.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.65	$10.2
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.33	$1.34
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.85	$1.87
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.67	$1.56
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$1.41
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.1	$2.23
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.6	$15.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.9	$2.77
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.6	$9.91
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.39	$3.5
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.03	$1.31
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.6	$1.88
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.5	$1.97
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.26	$1.3
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.06	$1.03
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.32
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.33	$1.13
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$16.9	$16.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.69	$1.81
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.38	$4.41
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.23	$2.69
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.41	$4.53
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.29	$1.71
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.48	$1.33
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$39.8	$43.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$6.65	$7.72
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$19.1	$27.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.23	$3.93
👖 Brand Jeans	$58.4	$39.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$93.6	$96.9
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$796	$393
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15185	$13971

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 Pattaya

Distance	City	Cost of living
5.7 km or 3.5 mi	Nong Prue	$809
16 km or 9.7 mi	Laem Chabang	$799
23 km or 14 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$784
84 km or 52 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$789
85 km or 53 mi	Klaeng	$724
85 km or 53 mi	Lat Luang	$794
98 km or 61 mi	Bangkok	$996
110 km or 68 mi	Nonthaburi	$761
110 km or 68 mi	Hua Hin	$787
115 km or 72 mi	Pak Kret	$762
119 km or 74 mi	Rangsit	$616
130 km or 81 mi	Tha Khlong	$671
132 km or 82 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$603
184 km or 114 mi	Ko Chang	$718
237 km or 147 mi	Serei Saophoan	$644
250 km or 156 mi	Battambang	$601
255 km or 159 mi	Myeik	$567
259 km or 161 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$586
318 km or 198 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$707
324 km or 202 mi	Siem Reap	$679
340 km or 211 mi	Ko Tao	$812
372 km or 231 mi	Ko Pha-ngan	$766
383 km or 238 mi	Sihanoukville	$766
396 km or 246 mi	Ko Samui	$735
435 km or 270 mi	Phitsanulok	$554
440 km or 273 mi	Khon Kaen	$590
442 km or 275 mi	Kampot	$582
450 km or 280 mi	Phu Quoc	$518
457 km or 284 mi	Surat Thani	$582
464 km or 288 mi	Phnom Penh	$893
497 km or 309 mi	Ubon Ratchathani	$543
506 km or 314 mi	Kampong Cham	$518
508 km or 315 mi	Prey Veng	$776
512 km or 318 mi	Nakhon Si Thammarat	$788
527 km or 328 mi	Mawlamyine	$575
535 km or 333 mi	Udon Thani	$564
553 km or 343 mi	Stung Treng	$668
561 km or 349 mi	Hpa-an	$601
562 km or 349 mi	Rach Gia	$530
571 km or 355 mi	Long Xuyen	$508