Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ballarat and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $1,902 in Ballarat, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in Ballarat
Learn more

Ballarat Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Ballarat

🇦🇺 Australia

$1,902

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,902 in Ballarat versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Ballarat $1,902
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,035 in Ballarat versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Ballarat $3,035
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,168 in Ballarat versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Ballarat $4,168
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Ballarat is roughly 103% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ballarat is 41% above, Chiang Mai is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.70 A$25.47

$2.26 ฿75.4

683.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.9 A$101

$19.18 ฿641

264.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.27 A$14.78

$5.59 ฿187

83.72%

Cappuccino

$3.79 A$5.45

$1.72 ฿57.6

120.35%

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

$2.95 A$4.24

$0.64 ฿21.54

360.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 A$2.72

$0.33 ฿11.18

472.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.06 A$8.72

$2.36 ฿78.7

156.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.09 A$8.77

$3.90 ฿130

56.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 A$2.27

$2.05 ฿68.6

-23.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.65 A$3.82

$1.40 ฿46.70

89.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.35

$1.28 ฿42.89

81.25%

Eggs

$4.09 A$5.88

$2.25 ฿75.3

81.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.56 A$15.20

$16.94 ฿566

-37.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.96 A$14.33

$2.74 ฿91.6

263.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.97 A$21.55

$9.36 ฿313

59.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.51 A$5.04

$2.40 ฿80.3

46.25%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.01 ฿33.92

199.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.11 A$4.48

$1.61 ฿53.9

93.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.68 A$6.73

$1.52 ฿50.7

207.89%

Potato (1kg)

$3.07 A$4.42

$1.28 ฿42.90

139.84%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.67

$1.11 ฿37.22

129.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.35 A$3.38

$0.72 ฿24.09

226.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 A$2.14

$0.52 ฿17.54

184.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$34.39 A$49.49

$4.33 ฿145

694.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.66 A$18.21

$17.73 ฿593

-28.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.31 A$3.33

$1.63 ฿54.4

41.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 A$4.48

$2.85 ฿95.3

9.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.76 A$3.97

$0.85 ฿28.31

224.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$69.9 A$101

$53.9 ฿1,801

29.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 A$3.65

$1.17 ฿39.18

116.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 A$1.93

$0.57 ฿19.00

135.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.64 A$38.33

$2.37 ฿79.2

1024.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 A$1.70

$1.45 ฿48.32

-18.62%

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

$28.4K A$40.9K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

38.88%

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

$26.0K A$37.4K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

-1.95%

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

$206 A$296

$62.3 ฿2,083

229.81%

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

$27.76 A$39.95

$12.27 ฿410

126.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.4 A$82.6

$19.97 ฿668

187.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.36 A$45.13

$37.91 ฿1,267

-17.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.18 A$16.09

$3.76 ฿126

197.34%

Cinema Ticket

$15.38 A$22.14

$6.71 ฿224

129.21%

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

$2,144 A$3,085

$797 ฿26.6K

168.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.4K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

103.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.7 A$98.8

$53.3 ฿1,780

28.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.1 A$72.2

$25.05 ฿837

100.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.6 A$143

$91.6 ฿3,062

8.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$73.5 ฿2,455

82.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$923 A$1,329

$464 ฿15.5K

98.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 A$965

$305 ฿10.2K

120.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,288 A$1,854

$915 ฿30.6K

40.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,454 A$2,092

$552 ฿18.5K

163.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,622 A$6,651

$1,912 ฿63.9K

141.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,449 A$4,963

$1,438 ฿48.1K

139.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,136 A$4,512

$595 ฿19.9K

426.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.55

5.57

-0.36%

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

Last update for Ballarat: October 11, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ballarat

$671 35.3%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 54.6% $366

Groceries & Markets

Ballarat

$350 18.4%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 32.1% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ballarat

$291 15.3%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 67.5% $196

Eating Out

Ballarat

$280 14.7%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 71.7% $201

Clothing & Footwear

Ballarat

$158 8.3%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 30.9% $49

Getting Around

Ballarat

$90 4.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 32% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Ballarat

$62 3.3%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 17.4% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $923 in Ballarat and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ballarat pays 427% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $70.0 in Ballarat vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $238 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Ballarat

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

02:09 2:09 AM

22:09 10:09 PM

4 h behind Ballarat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

105,348

127,240

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ballarat Chiang Mai 7,830 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Ballarat
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

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

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 103% lower than in Ballarat. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 427% higher in Ballarat, 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: $923 in Ballarat versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,144 in Ballarat versus $797 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Ballarat. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $1,902 in Ballarat, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Ballarat. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Chiang Mai delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $938 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Chiang Mai hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ballarat and Chiang Mai are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 103% less than in Ballarat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.