Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Baoji and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Baoji: $710 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Baoji
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Baoji Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Baoji

🇨🇳 China

$710

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $710 in Baoji versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Baoji $710
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,140 in Baoji versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Baoji $1,140
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,571 in Baoji versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Baoji $1,571
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Baoji costs roughly 24% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Baoji 48% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.72 ¥18.07

$2.24 ฿75.5

21.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.77 ¥78.3

$19.00 ฿640

-38.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.42 ¥29.44

$5.55 ฿187

-20.36%

Cappuccino

$2.09 ¥13.89

$1.67 ฿56.4

25.15%

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

$0.29 ¥1.93

$0.64 ฿21.51

-54.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.95

$0.31 ฿10.29

-6.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.46 ¥9.71

$2.36 ฿79.5

-38.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 ¥9.84

$3.66 ฿123

-59.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 ¥9.50

$1.95 ฿65.7

-26.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 ¥11.58

$1.44 ฿48.41

20.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.84 ¥5.57

$1.33 ฿44.97

-36.84%

Eggs

$0.87 ¥5.76

$2.28 ฿77.0

-61.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.57 ¥77.0

$16.45 ฿554

-29.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.01 ¥26.69

$2.78 ฿93.8

44.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.66 ¥70.9

$9.31 ฿314

14.50%

Apples (1kg)

$1.63 ¥10.86

$2.35 ฿79.3

-30.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.12 ¥7.45

$0.97 ฿32.75

15.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.24 ¥8.23

$1.60 ฿53.8

-22.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.34 ¥8.89

$1.50 ฿50.6

-10.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 ¥4.38

$1.28 ฿43.06

-48.44%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.88

$1.10 ฿37.14

-33.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 ¥4.13

$0.71 ฿23.79

-12.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥3.89

$0.49 ฿16.34

18.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.36 ¥22.33

$4.14 ฿140

-18.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.49 ¥63.2

$17.52 ฿590

-45.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 ¥5.35

$1.61 ฿54.4

-50.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 ¥11.24

$2.78 ฿93.8

-39.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$0.87 ฿29.27

-66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.72 ¥111

$54.1 ฿1,823

-69.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.29 ¥8.59

$1.16 ฿39.00

11.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.90

$0.53 ฿17.78

-45.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 ¥29.78

$2.42 ฿81.6

84.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 ¥8.60

$1.45 ฿48.82

-11.03%

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

$19.7K ¥131.0K

$21.1K ฿709.7K

-6.55%

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

$18.1K ¥120.3K

$26.9K ฿907.9K

-32.88%

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

$90.5 ¥602

$62.2 ฿2,095

45.54%

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

$6.32 ¥42.09

$12.17 ฿410

-48.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.91 ¥72.6

$20.12 ฿678

-45.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.00 ¥260

$37.31 ฿1,257

4.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.41 ¥109

$3.77 ฿127

335.28%

Cinema Ticket

$5.78 ¥38.45

$6.49 ฿219

-10.94%

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

$684 ¥4,549

$736 ฿24.8K

-7.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.8K ¥118.2K

$14.8K ฿497.6K

20.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.84 ¥258

$53.4 ฿1,799

-27.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.99 ¥253

$24.64 ฿830

54.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.0 ¥493

$91.5 ฿3,083

-19.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.3 ¥601

$71.9 ฿2,424

25.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$284 ¥1,887

$482 ฿16.3K

-41.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$159 ¥1,059

$309 ฿10.4K

-48.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$592 ¥3,937

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-41.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$416 ¥2,769

$633 ฿21.3K

-34.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,853 ¥19.0K

$2,363 ฿79.6K

20.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,714 ¥11.4K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

7.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.35

5.57

-39.86%

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

Last update for Baoji: October 24, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Baoji

$191 26.9%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 22.7% $43

Accommodation & Living

Baoji

$159 22.4%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 94.2% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Baoji

$109 15.3%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 0.1% $0.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Baoji

$108 15.2%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 12.3% $13

Eating Out

Baoji

$73 10.2%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 6.8% $4.9

Sport & Entertainment

Baoji

$51 7.1%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 0.6% $0.3

Getting Around

Baoji

$21 2.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 198% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $284 in Baoji and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $12 in Baoji vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $191 vs $234 per month, with Baoji cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Baoji

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

11:09 11:09 AM

10:09 10:09 AM

1 h behind Baoji

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,438,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Baoji Chiang Mai 1,910 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Baoji
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

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

Baoji is about 24% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,065 in Baoji 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: $284 in Baoji versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Baoji runs roughly 69% less than in Chiang Mai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $684 in Baoji versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.

Expats usually find Baoji gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Chiang Mai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.