Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Blackburn and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,051 in Blackburn, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

98

Cost of Living Index in Blackburn
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Blackburn Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Blackburn

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,051

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,051 per month in Blackburn vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Blackburn $2,051
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,022 per month in Blackburn vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Blackburn $3,022
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,994 per month in Blackburn vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Blackburn $3,994
Chiang Mai $1,979

Blackburn costs about 119% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Blackburn sits 51% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.47 £10.89

$2.24 ฿75.7

545.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.6 £41.88

$19.00 ฿642

192.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.49 £6.39

$5.55 ฿188

52.97%

Cappuccino

$4.07 £3.07

$1.67 ฿56.6

143.71%

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

$2.62 £1.97

$0.64 ฿21.56

309.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 £1.10

$0.31 ฿10.32

370.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.25 £3.20

$2.36 ฿79.6

80.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.21 £3.92

$3.66 ฿124

42.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.95 ฿65.8

-14.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 £1.13

$1.44 ฿48.51

4.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.38 £1.79

$1.33 ฿45.07

78.95%

Eggs

$3.65 £2.75

$2.28 ฿77.1

60.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.77 £8.10

$16.45 ฿556

-34.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.57 £6.45

$2.78 ฿94.0

208.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.73 £11.84

$9.31 ฿314

68.96%

Apples (1kg)

$1.65 £1.24

$2.35 ฿79.5

-29.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 £1.23

$0.97 ฿32.82

69.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 £1.75

$1.60 ฿53.9

45.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$1.50 ฿50.7

102.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 £1.12

$1.28 ฿43.15

15.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 £1.14

$1.10 ฿37.22

37.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.45 £0.34

$0.71 ฿23.84

-36.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 £0.53

$0.49 ฿16.38

42.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.06 £15.10

$4.14 ฿140

384.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.40 £7.07

$17.52 ฿592

-46.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 £1.70

$1.61 ฿54.5

40.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.78 ฿94.0

-26.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.73 £2.06

$0.87 ฿29.33

213.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.4 £56.0

$54.1 ฿1,827

37.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.72 £2.05

$1.16 ฿39.08

134.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 £1.56

$0.53 ฿17.82

290.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.21 £13.71

$2.42 ฿81.8

652.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.45 ฿48.93

39.31%

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

$38.9K £29.3K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

84.66%

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

$40.6K £30.6K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

50.79%

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

$246 £185

$62.2 ฿2,100

295.14%

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

$16.94 £12.75

$12.17 ฿411

39.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.45 £22.16

$20.12 ฿680

46.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.49 £33.48

$37.31 ฿1,260

19.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.03 £9.06

$3.77 ฿127

219.10%

Cinema Ticket

$9.57 £7.20

$6.49 ฿219

47.46%

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

$1,052 £792

$736 ฿24.9K

42.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.7K £16.4K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

47.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.5 £67.4

$53.4 ฿1,802

67.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.85 £35.26

$24.64 ฿832

90.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.9 £66.9

$91.5 ฿3,089

-2.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.1 £52.0

$71.9 ฿2,429

-4.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,213 £913

$482 ฿16.3K

151.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$954 £718

$309 ฿10.4K

208.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,873 £1,410

$1,006 ฿34.0K

86.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,655 £1,245

$633 ฿21.4K

161.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,107 £3,844

$2,363 ฿79.8K

116.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,845 £2,894

$1,589 ฿53.7K

141.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,155 £1,622

$590 ฿19.9K

265.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.99

5.57

-10.41%

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

Last update for Blackburn: 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

Blackburn

$954 46.5%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 67.6% $645

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Blackburn

$292 14.2%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 67.7% $198

Groceries & Markets

Blackburn

$273 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 14% $38

Eating Out

Blackburn

$238 11.6%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 67.4% $161

Clothing & Footwear

Blackburn

$132 6.5%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 18% $24

Getting Around

Blackburn

$98 4.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 37.6% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Blackburn

$64 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 21% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,213 in Blackburn versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Blackburn are about 3.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $56 in Blackburn versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $273 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Blackburn

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

01:22 1:22 AM

08:22 8:22 AM

7 h ahead of Blackburn

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

105,000

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 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).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Blackburn Chiang Mai 9,060 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Blackburn
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $2,051 in Blackburn, $936 in Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai comes out roughly 54% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,076 per month in Blackburn and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $482 there versus $1,213 in Blackburn.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,051 in Blackburn and $936 in Chiang Mai. That makes Chiang Mai about 54% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 27% less in Chiang Mai. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,051 in Blackburn and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Blackburn makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.