Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between As-salimiyah and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,328 in As-salimiyah, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in As-salimiyah
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As-salimiyah Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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As-salimiyah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,328

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,328 per month in As-salimiyah vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

As-salimiyah $1,328
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $2,190 per month in As-salimiyah vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

As-salimiyah $2,190
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,051 per month in As-salimiyah vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

As-salimiyah $3,051
Chiang Mai $1,979

As-salimiyah costs about 42% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both As-salimiyah and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – As-salimiyah 2% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.23 KWD 2.54

$2.24 ฿75.7

267.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.19 KWD 11.77

$19.00 ฿642

101.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.10 KWD 2.80

$5.55 ฿188

63.96%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 KWD 1.01

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 KWD 0.50

Cappuccino

$4.48 KWD 1.38

$1.67 ฿56.6

168.26%

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

$0.75 KWD 0.23

$0.64 ฿21.56

17.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 KWD 0.09

$0.31 ฿10.32

-6.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 KWD 0.40

$1.95 ฿65.8

-32.82%

White Bread (500g)

$0.75 KWD 0.23

$1.44 ฿48.51

-47.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 KWD 0.61

$1.33 ฿45.07

48.12%

Eggs

$2.13 KWD 0.66

$2.28 ฿77.1

-6.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.43 KWD 1.36

$16.45 ฿556

-73.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 KWD 1.64

$2.78 ฿94.0

91.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.46 KWD 2.92

$9.31 ฿314

1.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.14 KWD 0.66

$2.35 ฿79.5

-8.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 KWD 0.50

$0.97 ฿32.82

67.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.25 KWD 0.39

$1.60 ฿53.9

-21.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 KWD 0.45

$1.50 ฿50.7

-2.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 KWD 0.42

$1.28 ฿43.15

6.25%

Onion (1kg)

$0.82 KWD 0.25

$1.10 ฿37.22

-25.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 KWD 0.48

$0.71 ฿23.84

121.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 KWD 0.15

$0.49 ฿16.38

2.04%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.23 KWD 1.00

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 KWD 0.31

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 KWD 0.44

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.71 KWD 0.84

$4.14 ฿140

-34.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 KWD 0.26

$0.87 ฿29.33

-3.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.79 KWD 15.03

$54.1 ฿1,827

-9.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 KWD 1.02

$1.16 ฿39.08

185.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.31 KWD 1.02

$0.53 ฿17.82

524.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.94 KWD 4.91

$2.42 ฿81.8

558.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.36 KWD 0.11

$1.45 ฿48.93

-75.17%

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

$23.4K KWD 7,220

$21.1K ฿711.2K

11.28%

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

$20.1K KWD 6,200

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-25.31%

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

$32.30 KWD 9.95

$62.2 ฿2,100

-48.05%

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

$21.28 KWD 6.56

$12.17 ฿411

74.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.14 KWD 9.29

$20.12 ฿680

49.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$97.8 KWD 30.14

$37.31 ฿1,260

162.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$64.0 KWD 19.70

$3.77 ฿127

1596.29%

Cinema Ticket

$11.14 KWD 3.43

$6.49 ฿219

71.65%

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

$275 KWD 84.8

$736 ฿24.9K

-62.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,338 KWD 1,953

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-57.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.80 KWD 11.34

$53.4 ฿1,802

-31.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.01 KWD 12.02

$24.64 ฿832

58.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.2 KWD 27.49

$91.5 ฿3,089

-2.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.7 KWD 19.93

$71.9 ฿2,429

-10.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$896 KWD 276

$482 ฿16.3K

85.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 KWD 198

$309 ฿10.4K

107.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,771 KWD 546

$1,006 ฿34.0K

76.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 KWD 428

$633 ฿21.4K

119.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,815 KWD 867

$590 ฿19.9K

377.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

5.57

17.24%

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

Last update for As-salimiyah: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

As-salimiyah

$642 48.4%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 51.9% $333

Groceries & Markets

As-salimiyah

$156 11.7%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 50.3% $78

Eating Out

As-salimiyah

$151 11.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 48.6% $73

Sport & Entertainment

As-salimiyah

$120 9%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 58.1% $70

Clothing & Footwear

As-salimiyah

$103 7.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 5.1% $5.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

As-salimiyah

$84 6.3%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 12.8% $11

Getting Around

As-salimiyah

$72 5.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 14.8% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $896 in As-salimiyah versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in As-salimiyah are about 4.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38 in As-salimiyah versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $156 in As-salimiyah vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so As-salimiyah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇰🇼 As-salimiyah

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

00:22 12:22 AM

04:22 4:22 AM

4 h ahead of As-salimiyah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

147,649

127,240

💱 Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.92 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to KWD – Kuwaiti Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇼 Kuwaiti Dinar (د.ك)

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.343 KWD (1 KWD = 2.92 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to KWD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

As-salimiyah Chiang Mai 5,260 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

As-salimiyah
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

As-salimiyah vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – As-salimiyah is pricier by about 42%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,992 per month in As-salimiyah and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $482 there versus $896 in As-salimiyah.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,328 in As-salimiyah and $936 in Chiang Mai. That makes Chiang Mai about 30% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 10% less in As-salimiyah. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,328 in As-salimiyah and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, As-salimiyah makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.