Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ayacucho and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Ayacucho: $474 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Ayacucho
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Ayacucho Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Ayacucho

🇵🇪 Peru

$474

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $474 in Ayacucho versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Ayacucho $474
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $766 in Ayacucho versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Ayacucho $766
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,058 in Ayacucho versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Ayacucho $1,058
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Ayacucho costs roughly 49% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ayacucho 65% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.69 PEN 5.82

$2.24 ฿75.7

-24.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

Cappuccino

$1.78 PEN 6.12

$1.67 ฿56.6

6.59%

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

$0.91 PEN 3.14

$0.64 ฿21.56

42.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 PEN 1.04

$0.31 ฿10.32

-3.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.47 PEN 5.08

$2.36 ฿79.6

-37.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 PEN 15.09

$3.66 ฿124

19.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.56 PEN 1.93

$1.33 ฿45.07

-57.89%

Eggs

$1.79 PEN 6.17

$2.28 ฿77.1

-21.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.95 PEN 10.18

$16.45 ฿556

-82.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.27 PEN 14.73

$2.78 ฿94.0

53.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.66 PEN 19.50

$9.31 ฿314

-39.21%

Apples (1kg)

$1.18 PEN 4.08

$2.35 ฿79.5

-49.79%

Banana (1kg)

$0.57 PEN 1.96

$0.97 ฿32.82

-41.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.60 PEN 2.09

$1.60 ฿53.9

-62.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.56 PEN 1.93

$1.50 ฿50.7

-62.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.30 PEN 1.05

$1.28 ฿43.15

-76.56%

Onion (1kg)

$0.30 PEN 1.04

$1.10 ฿37.22

-72.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.28 PEN 0.95

$0.71 ฿23.84

-60.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$0.49 ฿16.38

79.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

Wine (Bottle)

$5.90 PEN 20.32

$17.52 ฿592

-66.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.98 PEN 10.27

$1.61 ฿54.5

85.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.40 PEN 15.16

$2.78 ฿94.0

58.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 PEN 2.10

$0.87 ฿29.33

-29.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.47 PEN 122

$54.1 ฿1,827

-34.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.26 PEN 7.80

$1.16 ฿39.08

94.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.15 PEN 3.95

$0.53 ฿17.82

116.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.31 PEN 14.85

$2.42 ฿81.8

78.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 PEN 5.88

$1.45 ฿48.93

17.93%

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

$9,956 PEN 34.3K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

-52.72%

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

$12.3K PEN 42.5K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-54.27%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

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

$11.47 PEN 39.52

$12.17 ฿411

-5.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.16 PEN 59.2

$20.12 ฿680

-14.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$14.48 PEN 49.91

$37.31 ฿1,260

-61.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.41 PEN 101

$3.77 ฿127

680.11%

Cinema Ticket

$4.44 PEN 15.31

$6.49 ฿219

-31.59%

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

$72.4 PEN 250

$736 ฿24.9K

-90.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.29 PEN 59.6

$53.4 ฿1,802

-67.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.45 PEN 91.2

$24.64 ฿832

7.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 PEN 353

$91.5 ฿3,089

11.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 PEN 355

$71.9 ฿2,429

43.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$342 PEN 1,180

$482 ฿16.3K

-29.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$88.5 PEN 305

$309 ฿10.4K

-71.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$861 PEN 2,968

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-14.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$232 PEN 799

$633 ฿21.4K

-63.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,884 PEN 6,493

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-20.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,739 PEN 5,995

$1,589 ฿53.7K

9.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$471 PEN 1,624

$590 ฿19.9K

-20.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Ayacucho: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ayacucho

$120 * 25.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 95.6% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Ayacucho

$112 23.6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 3.1% $3.4

Accommodation & Living

Ayacucho

$88 18.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 249% $220

Eating Out

Ayacucho

$56 * 11.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 39% $22

Getting Around

Ayacucho

$46 9.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 33.7% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ayacucho

$29 * 6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 230% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Ayacucho

$23 4.9%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 115% $27

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 $342 in Ayacucho and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiang Mai pays 25% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Ayacucho

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

16:36 4:36 PM

04:36 4:36 AM

12 h ahead of Ayacucho

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

99,427

127,240

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.29 USD

1 PEN = 0.261 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.45 PEN (1 PEN = 0.29 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.261 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 PEN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ayacucho Chiang Mai 19,060 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Ayacucho
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

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

Ayacucho wins on cost – living expenses run 49% lower than in Chiang Mai. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ayacucho the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 20% lower in Ayacucho. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $342 in Ayacucho versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $72 in Ayacucho versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Ayacucho runs roughly 34% less than in Chiang Mai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $474 in Ayacucho versus $936 in Chiang Mai, a $800 budget is realistic in Ayacucho but tight or insufficient in Chiang Mai. The gap between the two cities makes Ayacucho the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Ayacucho and Chiang Mai are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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