Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brea, CA and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $3,719 in Brea, CA, rent and utilities included – about $33,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

179

Cost of Living Index in Brea, CA
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Brea, CA Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Brea, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$3,719

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,719 in Brea, CA versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Brea, CA $3,719
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,091 in Brea, CA versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Brea, CA $5,091
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,462 in Brea, CA versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Brea, CA $6,462
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Brea, CA is roughly 298% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Brea, CA is 173% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.79 $24.79

$2.24 ฿75.5

1006.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$76.7 $76.7

$19.00 ฿640

303.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.77 $11.77

$5.55 ฿187

112.07%

Cappuccino

$5.65 $5.65

$1.67 ฿56.4

238.32%

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

$2.70 $2.70

$0.64 ฿21.51

321.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 $1.97

$0.31 ฿10.29

535.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.18 $7.18

$2.36 ฿79.5

204.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.65 $9.65

$3.66 ฿123

163.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 $1.18

$1.95 ฿65.7

-39.49%

White Bread (500g)

$5.05 $5.05

$1.44 ฿48.41

250.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.25 $4.25

$1.33 ฿44.97

219.55%

Eggs

$4.88 $4.88

$2.28 ฿77.0

114.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.46 $15.46

$16.45 ฿554

-6.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.76 $8.76

$2.78 ฿93.8

215.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.03 $14.03

$9.31 ฿314

50.70%

Apples (1kg)

$4.83 $4.83

$2.35 ฿79.3

105.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.79 $1.79

$0.97 ฿32.75

84.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.10 $4.10

$1.60 ฿53.8

156.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.45 $5.45

$1.50 ฿50.6

263.33%

Potato (1kg)

$3.69 $3.69

$1.28 ฿43.06

188.28%

Onion (1kg)

$3.16 $3.16

$1.10 ฿37.14

187.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.11 $2.11

$0.71 ฿23.79

197.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.23 $2.23

$0.49 ฿16.34

355.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.66 $11.66

$4.14 ฿140

181.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.05 $15.05

$17.52 ฿590

-14.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 $1.68

$1.61 ฿54.4

4.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 $3.12

$2.78 ฿93.8

12.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.27

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,823

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.44 $4.44

$1.16 ฿39.00

282.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.84 $1.84

$0.53 ฿17.78

247.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.19 $36.19

$2.42 ฿81.6

1395.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.59 $1.59

$1.45 ฿48.82

9.66%

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

$28.0K $28.0K

$21.1K ฿709.7K

32.92%

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

$26.2K $26.2K

$26.9K ฿907.9K

-2.77%

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

$213 $213

$62.2 ฿2,095

242.46%

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

$70.5 $70.5

$12.17 ฿410

478.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.5 $69.5

$20.12 ฿678

245.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.44 $29.44

$37.31 ฿1,257

-21.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.83 $19.83

$3.77 ฿127

425.99%

Cinema Ticket

$20.18 $20.18

$6.49 ฿219

210.94%

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

$1,192 $1,192

$736 ฿24.8K

61.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$43.2K $43.2K

$14.8K ฿497.6K

192.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.5 $62.5

$53.4 ฿1,799

17.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.36 $41.36

$24.64 ฿830

67.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.1 $81.1

$91.5 ฿3,083

-11.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 $105

$71.9 ฿2,424

46.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,199 $2,199

$482 ฿16.3K

356.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,370 $2,370

$309 ฿10.4K

667.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,161 $3,161

$1,006 ฿33.9K

214.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,482 $3,482

$633 ฿21.3K

449.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,704 $5,704

$2,363 ฿79.6K

141.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,126 $6,126

$1,589 ฿53.6K

285.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$10.2K $10.2K

$590 ฿19.9K

1624.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.31

5.57

13.29%

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

Last update for Brea, CA: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brea, CA

$2.4K 63.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 87% $2.1K

Groceries & Markets

Brea, CA

$407 10.9%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 42.4% $173

Eating Out

Brea, CA

$375 10.1%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 79.3% $298

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brea, CA

$353 9.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 73.2% $258

Clothing & Footwear

Brea, CA

$131 3.5%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 16.8% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Brea, CA

$70 1.9%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 28% $20

Getting Around

Brea, CA

$14 * 0.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 350% $48

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,199 in Brea, CA and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brea, CA pays about 17 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $77 in Brea, CA vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $407 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Brea, CA

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

19:53 7:53 PM

10:53 10:53 AM

15 h ahead of Brea, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,585

127,240

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 3, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.77 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Brea, CA Chiang Mai 12,970 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Brea, CA
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

Brea, CA vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 75% lower than in Brea, CA. 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 in Brea, CA is about 17 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: $2,199 in Brea, CA versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,192 in Brea, CA versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $77 in Brea, CA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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 Brea, CA, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Brea, CA and Chiang Mai are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Chiang Mai wins on affordability, Brea, CA on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.