Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Burlington and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,737 in Burlington, rent and utilities included – about $21,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

130

Cost of Living Index in Burlington
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Burlington Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Burlington

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,737

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,737 per month in Burlington vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Burlington $2,737
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,881 per month in Burlington vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Burlington $3,881
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $5,025 per month in Burlington vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Burlington $5,025
Chiang Mai $1,979

Burlington costs about 193% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Burlington sits 101% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.84 CA$30.51

$2.24 ฿75.6

875.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.3 CA$101

$19.00 ฿641

280.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.60 CA$14.80

$5.55 ฿187

90.99%

Cappuccino

$3.31 CA$4.62

$1.67 ฿56.5

98.20%

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

$2.00 CA$2.80

$0.64 ฿21.55

212.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 CA$2.17

$0.31 ฿10.31

400.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.57 CA$7.79

$2.36 ฿79.6

136.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.11 CA$8.53

$3.66 ฿124

66.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.60 CA$3.63

$1.95 ฿65.8

33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.86 CA$4.00

$1.44 ฿48.48

98.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.78 CA$5.28

$1.33 ฿45.04

184.21%

Eggs

$3.76 CA$5.25

$2.28 ฿77.1

64.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.00 CA$13.97

$16.45 ฿555

-39.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.59 CA$14.79

$2.78 ฿93.9

280.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.78 CA$20.65

$9.31 ฿314

58.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.83 CA$5.36

$2.35 ฿79.4

62.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 CA$2.07

$0.97 ฿32.80

52.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 CA$3.73

$1.60 ฿53.9

66.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.65 CA$5.10

$1.50 ฿50.6

143.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 CA$2.74

$1.28 ฿43.12

53.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.92 CA$2.68

$1.10 ฿37.19

74.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.09 CA$2.92

$0.71 ฿23.82

194.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 CA$2.06

$0.49 ฿16.37

200.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.64 CA$19.06

$4.14 ฿140

229.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.79 CA$15.08

$17.52 ฿591

-38.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 CA$3.92

$1.61 ฿54.5

73.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 CA$4.09

$2.78 ฿94.0

5.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.65 CA$3.70

$0.87 ฿29.31

204.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$99.8 CA$139

$54.1 ฿1,826

84.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.09 CA$7.12

$1.16 ฿39.06

338.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.44 CA$3.40

$0.53 ฿17.80

360.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$43.32 CA$60.5

$2.42 ฿81.8

1690.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 CA$1.67

$1.45 ฿48.90

-17.93%

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

$27.8K CA$38.8K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

31.96%

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

$21.7K CA$30.4K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

-19.32%

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

$144 CA$201

$62.2 ฿2,098

131.57%

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

$44.16 CA$61.7

$12.17 ฿411

262.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.4 CA$94.2

$20.12 ฿679

234.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.66 CA$61.0

$37.31 ฿1,259

17.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.23 CA$42.23

$3.77 ฿127

701.86%

Cinema Ticket

$16.13 CA$22.54

$6.49 ฿219

148.54%

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

$902 CA$1,261

$736 ฿24.8K

22.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.0K CA$26.6K

$14.8K ฿498.3K

28.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.3 CA$96.8

$53.4 ฿1,801

29.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.5 CA$91.5

$24.64 ฿831

165.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 CA$140

$91.5 ฿3,087

9.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.8 CA$139

$71.9 ฿2,428

38.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,729 CA$2,415

$482 ฿16.3K

258.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,480 CA$2,068

$309 ฿10.4K

379.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,599 CA$3,631

$1,006 ฿33.9K

158.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,176 CA$3,041

$633 ฿21.4K

243.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,270 CA$7,363

$2,363 ฿79.8K

123.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,145 CA$5,790

$1,589 ฿53.6K

160.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,285 CA$4,590

$590 ฿19.9K

457.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.52

5.57

-18.85%

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

Last update for Burlington: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Burlington

$1.5K 54.1%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 79.1% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Burlington

$346 12.7%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 32.3% $112

Eating Out

Burlington

$300 11%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 74.2% $223

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Burlington

$256 9.3%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 63% $161

Clothing & Footwear

Burlington

$151 5.5%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 27.9% $42

Getting Around

Burlington

$128 4.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 51.9% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Burlington

$76 2.8%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 33.8% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,729 in Burlington 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 Burlington are about 5.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $72 in Burlington versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $346 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Burlington

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

02:33 2:33 AM

14:33 2:33 PM

12 h ahead of Burlington

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

183,314

127,240

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Burlington Chiang Mai 13,110 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Burlington
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

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

Yes – Burlington is pricier by about 193%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,105 per month in Burlington 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 $1,729 in Burlington.

Kindergarten costs $902 per month in Burlington and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 48% more in Burlington, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,737 in Burlington 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, Burlington makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.