Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bayawan City and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Bayawan City: $742 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Bayawan City
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Bayawan City Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bayawan City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$742

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $742 in Bayawan City versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Bayawan City $742
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,154 in Bayawan City versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Bayawan City $1,154
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,566 in Bayawan City versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Bayawan City $1,566
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Bayawan City costs roughly 21% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bayawan City 45% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.00 ₱255

$2.24 ฿75.6

78.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.86 ₱1,522

$19.00 ฿641

25.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.85 ₱245

$5.55 ฿187

-30.63%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ₱159

$1.67 ฿56.5

49.70%

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

$0.67 ₱42.80

$0.64 ฿21.53

4.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ₱29.46

$0.31 ฿10.30

48.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.69 ₱108

$2.36 ฿79.5

-28.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 ₱137

$3.66 ฿124

-41.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 ₱107

$1.95 ฿65.7

-13.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 ₱70.0

$1.44 ฿48.45

-23.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.66 ₱41.83

$1.33 ฿45.01

-50.38%

Eggs

$2.00 ₱128

$2.28 ฿77.0

-12.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.65 ₱616

$16.45 ฿555

-41.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.47 ₱285

$2.78 ฿93.8

60.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.58 ₱484

$9.31 ฿314

-18.58%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 ₱204

$2.35 ฿79.4

36.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 ₱84.2

$0.97 ฿32.78

36.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 ₱148

$1.60 ฿53.9

45.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.44 ₱91.7

$1.50 ฿50.6

-4.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.41 ₱154

$1.28 ฿43.10

88.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 ₱125

$1.10 ฿37.17

77.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₱70.2

$0.71 ฿23.81

54.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱40.51

$0.49 ฿16.36

28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.90 ₱185

$4.14 ฿140

-29.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.71 ₱300

$17.52 ฿591

-73.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 ₱51.8

$1.61 ฿54.5

-49.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₱110

$2.78 ฿93.9

-38.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.22 ₱13.99

$0.87 ฿29.29

-74.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.28 ₱847

$54.1 ฿1,825

-75.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₱50.4

$1.16 ฿39.03

-31.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 ₱12.75

$0.53 ฿17.79

-62.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.89 ₱121

$2.42 ฿81.7

-21.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ₱70.8

$1.45 ฿48.87

-23.45%

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

$21.2K ₱1.4M

$21.1K ฿710.3K

0.82%

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

$18.7K ₱1.2M

$26.9K ฿908.7K

-30.46%

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

$121 ₱7,710

$62.2 ฿2,097

94.35%

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

$15.30 ₱976

$12.17 ฿410

25.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 ₱1,761

$20.12 ฿679

37.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.62 ₱1,763

$37.31 ฿1,259

-25.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.26 ₱335

$3.77 ฿127

39.52%

Cinema Ticket

$1.52 ₱96.8

$6.49 ฿219

-76.58%

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

$128 ₱8,152

$736 ฿24.8K

-82.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,767 ₱495.6K

$14.8K ฿498.0K

-47.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.67 ₱2,085

$53.4 ฿1,800

-38.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.05 ₱1,216

$24.64 ฿831

-22.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 ₱4,752

$91.5 ฿3,086

-18.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.7 ₱3,684

$71.9 ฿2,426

-19.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$216 ₱13.8K

$482 ฿16.3K

-55.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$166 ₱10.6K

$309 ฿10.4K

-46.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$473 ₱30.2K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-53.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$348 ₱22.2K

$633 ฿21.4K

-45.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,998 ₱191.3K

$2,363 ฿79.7K

26.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,023 ₱65.3K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-35.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$111 ₱7,083

$590 ฿19.9K

-81.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

5.57

29.26%

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

Last update for Bayawan City: 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

Bayawan City

$193 26%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 21.6% $42

Accommodation & Living

Bayawan City

$166 22.3%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 86.5% $143

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bayawan City

$164 22.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 42.3% $69

Eating Out

Bayawan City

$91 12.2%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 14.6% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Bayawan City

$83 11.2%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 31.3% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Bayawan City

$31 4.1%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 64% $20

Getting Around

Bayawan City

$16 2.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 285% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $216 in Bayawan City and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiang Mai pays about 5.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $24 in Bayawan City vs $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $193 vs $234, with Bayawan City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Bayawan City

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

07:40 7:40 AM

06:40 6:40 AM

1 h behind Bayawan City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

122,747

127,240

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 63.81 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.11 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bayawan City Chiang Mai 2,770 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Bayawan City
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

Bayawan City vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $742 in Bayawan City and $936 in Chiang Mai, so Bayawan City is about 21% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 81% lower in Bayawan City. 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: $216 in Bayawan City versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Chiang Mai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $24 in Bayawan City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Bayawan City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 – Bayawan City wins on affordability, Chiang Mai on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.