Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bergen County, NJ and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $4,319 in Bergen County, NJ, rent and utilities included – about $40,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

207

Cost of Living Index in Bergen County, NJ
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Bergen County, NJ Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bergen County, NJ

🇺🇸 United States

$4,319

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,319 in Bergen County, NJ versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Bergen County, NJ $4,319
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,498 in Bergen County, NJ versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Bergen County, NJ $5,498
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,677 in Bergen County, NJ versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Bergen County, NJ $6,677
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Bergen County, NJ is roughly 362% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bergen County, NJ is 217% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.56 $23.56

$2.24 ฿75.7

951.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.7 $84.7

$19.00 ฿642

345.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.06 $13.06

$5.55 ฿188

135.32%

Cappuccino

$5.11 $5.11

$1.67 ฿56.6

205.99%

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

$2.90 $2.90

$0.64 ฿21.56

353.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 $2.27

$0.31 ฿10.32

632.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.16 $8.16

$2.36 ฿79.6

245.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.97 $7.97

$3.66 ฿124

117.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 $1.42

$1.95 ฿65.8

-27.18%

White Bread (500g)

$4.48 $4.48

$1.44 ฿48.51

211.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$7.54 $7.54

$1.33 ฿45.07

466.92%

Eggs

$5.16 $5.16

$2.28 ฿77.1

126.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.70 $12.70

$16.45 ฿556

-22.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.60 $11.60

$2.78 ฿94.0

317.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.31 $17.31

$9.31 ฿314

85.93%

Apples (1kg)

$5.32 $5.32

$2.35 ฿79.5

126.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 $1.61

$0.97 ฿32.82

65.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.68 $5.68

$1.60 ฿53.9

255.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.69 $5.69

$1.50 ฿50.7

279.33%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 $3.03

$1.28 ฿43.15

136.72%

Onion (1kg)

$3.18 $3.18

$1.10 ฿37.22

189.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.47 $2.47

$0.71 ฿23.84

247.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 $2.47

$0.49 ฿16.38

404.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.74 $11.74

$4.14 ฿140

183.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$24.59 $24.59

$17.52 ฿592

40.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 $1.69

$1.61 ฿54.5

4.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 $4.53

$2.78 ฿94.0

62.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 $4.13

$0.87 ฿29.33

374.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$171 $171

$54.1 ฿1,827

215.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 $2.83

$1.16 ฿39.08

143.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 $1.59

$0.53 ฿17.82

200.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.84 $23.84

$2.42 ฿81.8

885.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 $1.12

$1.45 ฿48.93

-22.76%

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

$27.9K $27.9K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

32.39%

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

$25.6K $25.6K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-5.05%

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

$212 $212

$62.2 ฿2,100

240.41%

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

$73.8 $73.8

$12.17 ฿411

506.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.6 $65.6

$20.12 ฿680

225.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$101 $101

$37.31 ฿1,260

170.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$50.5 $50.5

$3.77 ฿127

1239.52%

Cinema Ticket

$14.84 $14.84

$6.49 ฿219

128.66%

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

$2,461 $2,461

$736 ฿24.9K

234.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K $23.3K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

57.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.5 $50.5

$53.4 ฿1,802

-5.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.54 $44.54

$24.64 ฿832

80.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.0 $79.0

$91.5 ฿3,089

-13.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 $151

$71.9 ฿2,429

109.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,727 $2,727

$482 ฿16.3K

465.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,660 $2,660

$309 ฿10.4K

761.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,560 $4,560

$1,006 ฿34.0K

353.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,995 $2,995

$633 ฿21.4K

372.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,935 $3,935

$2,363 ฿79.8K

66.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,765 $3,765

$1,589 ฿53.7K

136.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,455 $5,455

$590 ฿19.9K

824.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.66

5.57

19.57%

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

Last update for Bergen County, NJ: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bergen County, NJ

$2.7K 61.6%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 88.4% $2.4K

Groceries & Markets

Bergen County, NJ

$467 10.8%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 49.8% $233

Eating Out

Bergen County, NJ

$366 8.5%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 78.8% $289

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bergen County, NJ

$351 8.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 73.1% $257

Getting Around

Bergen County, NJ

$198 4.6%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 69% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Bergen County, NJ

$146 3.4%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 25.7% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Bergen County, NJ

$131 3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 61.5% $80

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,727 in Bergen County, NJ and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bergen County, NJ pays about 9.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $85 in Bergen County, NJ vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $467 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Bergen County, NJ

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

21:04 9:04 PM

08:04 8:04 AM

11 h ahead of Bergen County, NJ

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,668

127,240

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Bergen County, NJ Chiang Mai 13,340 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Bergen County, NJ
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

Bergen County, NJ vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $4,319 in Bergen County, NJ and $936 in Chiang Mai, so Chiang Mai is about 78% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Bergen County, NJ is about 9.2 times higher, 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: $2,727 in Bergen County, NJ versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $85 in Bergen County, NJ. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $4,319 per month in Bergen County, NJ versus $936 in Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai is about 78% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Chiang Mai is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Chiang Mai is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bergen County, NJ, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 78% less than in Bergen County, NJ. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.