Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al-miqdadiyah and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-miqdadiyah: $767 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Al-miqdadiyah
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Al-miqdadiyah Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Al-miqdadiyah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$767

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Al-miqdadiyah and in Chiang Mai

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Al-miqdadiyah and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $767 in Al-miqdadiyah versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Al-miqdadiyah $767
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,190 in Al-miqdadiyah versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Al-miqdadiyah $1,190
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,614 in Al-miqdadiyah versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Al-miqdadiyah $1,614
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Al-miqdadiyah costs roughly 18% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Al-miqdadiyah 44% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.02 IQD 6,077

$2.24 ฿75.7

79.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.99 IQD 55.9K

$19.00 ฿642

94.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.47 IQD 11.3K

$5.55 ฿188

34.59%

Cappuccino

$3.25 IQD 4,907

$1.67 ฿56.6

94.61%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 IQD 1,244

$0.64 ฿21.56

28.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 IQD 503

$0.31 ฿10.32

6.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 IQD 8,620

$2.36 ฿79.6

141.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.85 IQD 5,822

$3.66 ฿124

5.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 IQD 1,671

$1.95 ฿65.8

-43.08%

White Bread (500g)

$0.69 IQD 1,037

$1.44 ฿48.51

-52.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.46 IQD 2,204

$1.33 ฿45.07

9.77%

Eggs

$1.59 IQD 2,401

$2.28 ฿77.1

-30.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.19 IQD 10.9K

$16.45 ฿556

-56.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.22 IQD 6,384

$2.78 ฿94.0

51.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.98 IQD 19.6K

$9.31 ฿314

39.42%

Apples (1kg)

$0.97 IQD 1,463

$2.35 ฿79.5

-58.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.00 IQD 1,506

$0.97 ฿32.82

3.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.02 IQD 1,539

$1.60 ฿53.9

-36.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.71 IQD 1,070

$1.50 ฿50.7

-52.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 IQD 983

$1.28 ฿43.15

-49.22%

Onion (1kg)

$0.62 IQD 943

$1.10 ฿37.22

-43.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 IQD 905

$0.71 ฿23.84

-15.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 IQD 740

$0.49 ฿16.38

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.12 IQD 3,207

$4.14 ฿140

-48.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.55 IQD 15.9K

$17.52 ฿592

-39.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 IQD 2,126

$1.61 ฿54.5

-12.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 IQD 2,800

$2.78 ฿94.0

-33.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 IQD 440

$0.87 ฿29.33

-66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 IQD 2,540

$1.16 ฿39.08

44.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 IQD 2,427

$0.53 ฿17.82

203.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.44 IQD 8,223

$2.42 ฿81.8

124.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.57 IQD 866

$1.45 ฿48.93

-60.69%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$16.8K IQD 25.3M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

-20.39%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$16.9K IQD 25.6M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-37.10%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$114 IQD 172.8K

$62.2 ฿2,100

83.92%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$12.20 IQD 18.4K

$12.17 ฿411

0.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.98 IQD 36.2K

$20.12 ฿680

19.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.74 IQD 58.5K

$37.31 ฿1,260

3.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$9.98 IQD 15.1K

$6.49 ฿219

53.78%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$291 IQD 440.3K

$736 ฿24.9K

-60.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,756 IQD 4.2M

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-81.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.15 IQD 41.0K

$53.4 ฿1,802

-49.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.74 IQD 58.5K

$24.64 ฿832

57.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.0 IQD 89.1K

$91.5 ฿3,089

-35.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.5 IQD 90.0K

$71.9 ฿2,429

-17.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$204 IQD 308.7K

$482 ฿16.3K

-57.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$156 IQD 235.3K

$309 ฿10.4K

-49.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$341 IQD 515.6K

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-66.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$291 IQD 439.2K

$633 ฿21.4K

-54.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$921 IQD 1.4M

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-61.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$518 IQD 782.9K

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-67.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.53

5.57

-54.58%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Al-miqdadiyah: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Al-miqdadiyah

$173 22.6%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 35.1% $61

Accommodation & Living

Al-miqdadiyah

$156 20.3%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 98.4% $153

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al-miqdadiyah

$151 19.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 37.2% $56

Eating Out

Al-miqdadiyah

$134 17.5%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 42.3% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Al-miqdadiyah

$83 10.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 30.9% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Al-miqdadiyah

$59 7.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 14.4% $8.4

Getting Around

Al-miqdadiyah

$11 * 1.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 464% $50

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $204 in Al-miqdadiyah and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $37 in Al-miqdadiyah vs $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $174 vs $234, with Al-miqdadiyah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Al-miqdadiyah

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

18:13 6:13 PM

22:13 10:13 PM

4 h ahead of Al-miqdadiyah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

155,968

127,240

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,682 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Al-miqdadiyah Chiang Mai 5,570 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Al-miqdadiyah
Chiang Mai

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Al-miqdadiyah vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al-miqdadiyah and Chiang Mai differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($767 vs $936 including rent). Al-miqdadiyah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,150 in Al-miqdadiyah and $1,403 in Chiang Mai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $204 in Al-miqdadiyah versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Chiang Mai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $767 per month in Al-miqdadiyah versus $936 in Chiang Mai – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Al-miqdadiyah gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.