Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bourges and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $1,937 in Bourges, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in Bourges
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Bourges Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bourges

🇫🇷 France

$1,937

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,937 in Bourges versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Bourges $1,937
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,009 in Bourges versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Bourges $3,009
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,081 in Bourges versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Bourges $4,081
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Bourges is roughly 106% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bourges is 43% above, Chiang Mai is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.67 €14.83

$2.26 ฿75.4

637.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.1 €71.2

$19.18 ฿641

317.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.27 €11.81

$5.59 ฿187

137.39%

Cappuccino

$5.09 €4.52

$1.72 ฿57.6

195.93%

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

$4.60 €4.09

$0.64 ฿21.54

618.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 €2.51

$0.33 ฿11.18

754.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.88 €7.01

$2.36 ฿78.7

233.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.90 €6.13

$3.90 ฿130

76.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 €1.01

$2.05 ฿68.6

-44.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.47 €2.20

$1.40 ฿46.70

76.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 €1.95

$1.28 ฿42.89

71.88%

Eggs

$4.39 €3.91

$2.25 ฿75.3

95.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.00 €19.57

$16.94 ฿566

29.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.69 €12.17

$2.74 ฿91.6

399.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.35 €19.88

$9.36 ฿313

138.78%

Apples (1kg)

$3.32 €2.95

$2.40 ฿80.3

38.33%

Banana (1kg)

$2.22 €1.98

$1.01 ฿33.92

119.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.89 €2.57

$1.61 ฿53.9

79.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.31 €3.83

$1.52 ฿50.7

183.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 €1.77

$1.28 ฿42.90

55.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.48 €2.21

$1.11 ฿37.22

123.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.91 €1.69

$0.72 ฿24.09

165.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.52 ฿17.54

69.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.52 €12.92

$4.33 ฿145

235.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.83 €7.85

$17.73 ฿593

-50.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 €2.38

$1.63 ฿54.4

63.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 €3.11

$2.85 ฿95.3

22.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.85 ฿28.31

120.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.81 €43.41

$53.9 ฿1,801

-9.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.23 €8.21

$1.17 ฿39.18

688.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 €1.33

$0.57 ฿19.00

163.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$45.30 €40.30

$2.37 ฿79.2

1811.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.01

$1.45 ฿48.32

55.17%

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

$34.1K €30.4K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

66.73%

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

$34.5K €30.7K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

30.26%

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

$243 €216

$62.3 ฿2,083

289.36%

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

$7.81 €6.95

$12.27 ฿410

-36.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.20 €26.86

$19.97 ฿668

51.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.97 €32.00

$37.91 ฿1,267

-5.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$14.57 €12.96

$6.71 ฿224

117.14%

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

$1,795 €1,597

$797 ฿26.6K

125.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.1K €9,018

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-31.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$108 €96.4

$53.3 ฿1,780

103.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.7 €46.03

$25.05 ฿837

106.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 €106

$91.6 ฿3,062

30.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$160 €142

$73.5 ฿2,455

117.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$627 €558

$464 ฿15.5K

35.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$609 €542

$305 ฿10.2K

100.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,186 €1,055

$915 ฿30.6K

29.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,121 €997

$552 ฿18.5K

103.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,900 €3,469

$1,912 ฿63.9K

103.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,026 €2,691

$1,438 ฿48.1K

110.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,821 €2,510

$595 ฿19.9K

374.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.4

5.57

-38.96%

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

Last update for Bourges: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bourges

$609 31.5%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 50% $305

Groceries & Markets

Bourges

$394 20.4%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 39.6% $156

Eating Out

Bourges

$317 16.4%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 75.1% $238

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bourges

$281 14.5%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 66.3% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Bourges

$198 10.2%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 44.6% $88

Getting Around

Bourges

$73 3.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 16% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Bourges

$65 3.4%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 21.1% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $627 in Bourges and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bourges pays 374% 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: $80.0 in Bourges vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $394 vs $238 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Bourges

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

10:00 10:00 AM

15:00 3:00 PM

5 h ahead of Bourges

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

63,702

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Bourges Chiang Mai 8,970 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bourges
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

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

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 106% lower than in Bourges. 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 374% higher in Bourges, 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: $627 in Bourges versus $464 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 $19.00 versus $80.0 in Bourges. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,937 per month in Bourges versus $938 in Chiang Mai – a 106% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $1,937 in Bourges, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Bourges. 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, Bourges 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 106% less than in Bourges. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.