Chiang Mai vs Taichung - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Chiang Mai	Taichung
🚶 Cost of living one person	$691	$894
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1891	$2706
🏠 One person rent	$291	$308
🏘️ Family rent	$597	$820
🍽️ Food expenses	$237	$351
🚐 Transport expenses	$89	$123
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$680	$1355
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	14 km
🎓 Higher education	56	84
😀 Quality of life	64	81
🏙️ Population	1.2M	3.03M

The cost of living in Chiang Mai is 23% less expensive than in Taichung. Cities ranked 6939th and 6071st ($691 vs $894) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 19th and 6th in Thailand and Taiwan, respectively. Check Thailand vs Taiwan comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1 months in Chiang Mai compared to 1.5 months in Taichung. Chiang Mai ranked 3rd best city to live in Thailand vs Taichung ranked 7th in Taiwan, while ranked 4535th and 521st among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Chiang Mai vs Taichung infographic

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

Prices in Chiang Mai vs Taichung

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

	Chiang Mai	Taichung
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$1.78	$4.57
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$17.7	$24.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.11	$4.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.15	$2.43
☕ Cappuccino	$1.84	$2.61
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.7	$1.03
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$362	$306
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$203	$237
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$759	$1000
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$461	$676
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$38.2	$39.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$59	$61.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$17.3	$17.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.98%	2.05%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2045	$5817
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1110	$3737
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.88	$0.7
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$23.5	$33.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$12.1	$12.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.2	$0.92
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.61	$3.67
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.52	$1.73
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.21	$2.39
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.02	$2.98
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.5	$13.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.98	$6.63
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.1	$14
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.73	$4.07
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$1.95
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.31	$2.01
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.41	$2.84
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.38	$1.55
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.2	$1.8
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.62
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.37	$1.73
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$17.7	$15.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.82	$1.52
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.46	$3.66
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.21	$10.3
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.36	$6.83
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.25	$1.82
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.46	$2.43
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$37.8	$31.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$5.63	$9.53
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$19	$38.8
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.48	$13.3
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.4	$90.4
👟 Brand Sneakers	$83.2	$91.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$294	$256
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$14196	$18658

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Chiang Mai

Distance	City	Cost of living
86 km or 53 mi	Pai	$633
153 km or 95 mi	Chiang Rai	$584
255 km or 158 mi	Hpa-an	$610
258 km or 160 mi	Phitsanulok	$537
294 km or 183 mi	Mawlamyine	$569
306 km or 190 mi	Taunggyi	$660
308 km or 191 mi	Bago	$650
317 km or 197 mi	Naypyidaw	$701
353 km or 219 mi	Luang Prabang	$1253
363 km or 226 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$654
365 km or 227 mi	Vang Vieng	$1183
373 km or 232 mi	Yangon	$705
392 km or 244 mi	Vientiane	$1163
404 km or 251 mi	Jinghong	$604
426 km or 265 mi	Udon Thani	$543
466 km or 289 mi	Mandalay	$710
485 km or 301 mi	Khon Kaen	$568
489 km or 304 mi	Pu'er	$625
503 km or 313 mi	Pathein	$778
537 km or 334 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$588
545 km or 339 mi	Monywa	$661
551 km or 342 mi	Tha Khlong	$641
561 km or 349 mi	Rangsit	$595
564 km or 351 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$548
566 km or 352 mi	Pak Kret	$715
571 km or 355 mi	Nonthaburi	$717
578 km or 359 mi	Lincang	$628
584 km or 363 mi	Bangkok	$941
597 km or 371 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$748
597 km or 371 mi	Lat Luang	$753
634 km or 394 mi	Thakhek	$1161
641 km or 398 mi	Sa Pa	$553
656 km or 407 mi	Sittwe	$678
666 km or 414 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$739
667 km or 415 mi	Laem Chabang	$743
681 km or 423 mi	Pattaya	$781
685 km or 426 mi	Nong Prue	$752
699 km or 435 mi	Hua Hin	$656
704 km or 438 mi	Baoshan	$632
707 km or 439 mi	Vinh	$579

Cities near Taichung

Distance	City	Cost of living
16 km or 10 mi	Changhua	$813
26 km or 16 mi	Nantou	$796
49 km or 31 mi	Miaoli	$728
51 km or 32 mi	Douliu	$770
78 km or 48 mi	Chiayi	$747
79 km or 49 mi	Hsinchu	$897
84 km or 52 mi	Zhubei	$821
96 km or 59 mi	Taoyuan	$875
124 km or 77 mi	New Taipei	$1073
129 km or 80 mi	Yilan	$731
133 km or 82 mi	Taipei	$1181
139 km or 86 mi	Tainan	$814
154 km or 96 mi	Keelung	$967
162 km or 101 mi	Taitung	$788
175 km or 108 mi	Kaohsiung	$956
220 km or 137 mi	Putian	$625
224 km or 139 mi	Jinjiang	$627
227 km or 141 mi	Quanzhou	$644
239 km or 149 mi	Kinmen	$823
255 km or 159 mi	Fuzhou	$669
264 km or 164 mi	Xiamen	$688
303 km or 188 mi	Ningde	$648
307 km or 191 mi	Zhangzhou	$664
354 km or 220 mi	Ishigaki	$1155
374 km or 232 mi	Nanping	$630
383 km or 238 mi	Longyan	$649
385 km or 239 mi	Sanming	$603
403 km or 251 mi	Rui'an	$681
413 km or 257 mi	Shantou	$581
414 km or 257 mi	Chaozhou	$451
428 km or 266 mi	Wenzhou	$726
442 km or 275 mi	Jieyang	$443
461 km or 287 mi	Meizhou	$655
467 km or 290 mi	Puning	$569
473 km or 294 mi	Miyakojima	$1154
476 km or 295 mi	Wenling	$671
480 km or 298 mi	Wuyishan	$601
484 km or 301 mi	Lishui	$682
525 km or 326 mi	Linhai	$661
548 km or 341 mi	Shangrao	$671