Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Amagasaki and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,194 in Amagasaki, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Amagasaki
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Amagasaki Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Amagasaki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,194

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Amagasaki 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 Amagasaki and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,194 in Amagasaki versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Amagasaki $1,194
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,863 in Amagasaki versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Amagasaki $1,863
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,533 in Amagasaki versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Amagasaki $2,533
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Amagasaki is roughly 28% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Amagasaki 12% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.49 ¥1,025

$2.24 ฿75.6

189.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.44 ¥5,755

$19.00 ฿641

91.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.12 ¥809

$5.55 ฿187

-7.75%

Cappuccino

$3.28 ¥518

$1.67 ฿56.5

96.41%

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

$1.13 ¥178

$0.64 ฿21.53

76.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 ¥107

$0.31 ฿10.30

116.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.30 ¥364

$2.36 ฿79.5

-2.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ¥445

$3.66 ฿124

-22.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 ¥245

$1.95 ฿65.7

-20.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 ¥258

$1.44 ฿48.45

13.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.71 ¥586

$1.33 ฿45.01

178.95%

Eggs

$2.26 ¥357

$2.28 ฿77.0

-0.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.85 ¥1,556

$16.45 ฿555

-40.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.77 ¥1,069

$2.78 ฿93.8

143.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.25 ¥2,881

$9.31 ฿314

96.03%

Apples (1kg)

$4.06 ¥642

$2.35 ฿79.4

72.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 ¥324

$0.97 ฿32.78

111.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 ¥434

$1.60 ฿53.9

71.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.80 ¥759

$1.50 ฿50.6

220.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 ¥364

$1.28 ฿43.10

80.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.17 ¥343

$1.10 ฿37.17

97.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 ¥183

$0.71 ฿23.81

63.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ¥123

$0.49 ฿16.36

59.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.64 ¥576

$4.14 ฿140

-12.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.73 ¥1,063

$17.52 ฿591

-61.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 ¥292

$1.61 ฿54.5

14.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 ¥341

$2.78 ฿93.9

-22.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.27 ¥200

$0.87 ฿29.29

45.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.4 ¥8,598

$54.1 ฿1,825

0.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 ¥525

$1.16 ฿39.03

186.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.29 ¥519

$0.53 ฿17.79

520.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.67 ¥2,633

$2.42 ฿81.7

588.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ¥197

$1.45 ฿48.87

-13.79%

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

$23.2K ¥3.7M

$21.1K ฿710.3K

10.23%

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

$15.9K ¥2.5M

$26.9K ฿908.7K

-40.80%

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

$146 ¥23.0K

$62.2 ฿2,097

134.04%

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

$23.32 ¥3,682

$12.17 ฿410

91.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 ¥4,854

$20.12 ฿679

52.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.78 ¥6,914

$37.31 ฿1,259

17.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$11.60 ¥1,833

$6.49 ฿219

78.74%

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

$612 ¥96.7K

$736 ฿24.8K

-16.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K ¥1.9M

$14.8K ฿498.0K

-18.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.2 ¥9,033

$53.4 ฿1,800

7.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.29 ¥4,310

$24.64 ฿831

10.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.1 ¥9,800

$91.5 ฿3,086

-32.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.1 ¥14.4K

$71.9 ฿2,426

26.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$593 ¥93.7K

$482 ฿16.3K

22.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$316 ¥50.0K

$309 ฿10.4K

2.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$996 ¥157.3K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-1.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 ¥101.5K

$633 ฿21.4K

1.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,021 ¥635.0K

$2,363 ฿79.7K

70.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,592 ¥409.3K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

63.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,006 ¥474.8K

$590 ฿19.9K

409.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

5.57

-60.32%

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

Last update for Amagasaki: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Amagasaki

$316 26.5%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 2.3% $7.4

Groceries & Markets

Amagasaki

$294 24.6%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 20.2% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Amagasaki

$200 16.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 52.7% $105

Eating Out

Amagasaki

$131 11%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 40.8% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Amagasaki

$107 9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 1.6% $1.7

Getting Around

Amagasaki

$79 6.6%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 22.6% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Amagasaki

$67 5.6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 24.9% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $593 in Amagasaki and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Amagasaki pays about 5.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $36 in Amagasaki vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $294 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Amagasaki

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

22:08 10:08 PM

20:08 8:08 PM

2 h behind Amagasaki

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

459,593

127,240

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Amagasaki Chiang Mai 4,000 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Amagasaki
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

Amagasaki vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,194 in Amagasaki and $936 in Chiang Mai, so Chiang Mai is about 22% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Amagasaki is about 5.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $593 in Amagasaki versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $612 in Amagasaki versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $36 in Amagasaki. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Chiang Mai is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Chiang Mai wins on affordability, Amagasaki on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.