Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Burlington, VT and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $3,098 in Burlington, VT, rent and utilities included – about $26,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

147

Cost of Living Index in Burlington, VT
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Burlington, VT Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Burlington, VT

🇺🇸 United States

$3,098

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,098 in Burlington, VT versus $935 in Chiang Mai.

Burlington, VT $3,098
Chiang Mai $935

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,642 in Burlington, VT versus $1,467 in Chiang Mai.

Burlington, VT $4,642
Chiang Mai $1,467

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,187 in Burlington, VT versus $1,999 in Chiang Mai.

Burlington, VT $6,187
Chiang Mai $1,999

Living in Burlington, VT is roughly 231% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Burlington, VT is 129% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.36 $22.36

$2.13 ฿71.8

949.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.7 $79.7

$18.62 ฿626

328.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.21 $12.21

$5.60 ฿188

118.04%

Cappuccino

$5.03 $5.03

$1.66 ฿55.9

203.01%

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

$2.89 $2.89

$0.65 ฿21.75

344.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 $2.37

$0.30 ฿10.25

690.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.15 $8.15

$2.32 ฿78.1

251.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.22 $8.22

$3.67 ฿123

123.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 $1.26

$2.02 ฿67.8

-37.62%

White Bread (500g)

$4.59 $4.59

$1.41 ฿47.34

225.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.91 $5.91

$1.39 ฿46.79

325.18%

Eggs

$4.48 $4.48

$2.37 ฿79.6

89.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.38 $15.38

$16.52 ฿555

-6.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.25 $12.25

$2.67 ฿89.8

358.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.07 $19.07

$9.02 ฿303

111.42%

Apples (1kg)

$7.25 $7.25

$2.40 ฿80.6

202.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 $2.03

$1.04 ฿35.01

95.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.49 $5.49

$1.66 ฿55.8

230.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.37 $7.37

$1.56 ฿52.4

372.44%

Potato (1kg)

$4.41 $4.41

$1.24 ฿41.61

255.65%

Onion (1kg)

$3.95 $3.95

$1.09 ฿36.53

262.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.02 $3.02

$0.76 ฿25.61

297.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.85 $2.85

$0.51 ฿17.29

458.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.26 $12.26

$4.12 ฿139

197.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.20 $15.20

$17.93 ฿603

-15.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 $1.78

$1.62 ฿54.6

9.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.46 $4.46

$2.82 ฿94.9

58.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$0.93 ฿31.42

112.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.8 $50.8

$52.9 ฿1,778

-4.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.55 $2.55

$1.18 ฿39.56

116.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.79 $1.79

$0.17 ฿5.76

952.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.73 $27.73

$1.81 ฿60.9

1432.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.47 ฿49.51

-22.45%

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

$27.3K $27.3K

$21.0K ฿706.4K

29.99%

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

$26.6K $26.6K

$26.5K ฿891.4K

0.34%

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

$151 $151

$62.6 ฿2,103

141.29%

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

$55.6 $55.6

$11.60 ฿390

379.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.1 $62.1

$20.30 ฿683

206.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.0 $64.0

$37.88 ฿1,274

68.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.22 $28.22

$3.70 ฿124

662.70%

Cinema Ticket

$12.15 $12.15

$6.51 ฿219

86.64%

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

$1,267 $1,267

$727 ฿24.4K

74.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.1K $21.1K

$16.6K ฿557.2K

27.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.7 $59.7

$53.5 ฿1,800

11.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.3 $51.3

$24.80 ฿834

106.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.2 $70.2

$90.4 ฿3,039

-22.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$155 $155

$72.0 ฿2,420

115.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,426 $2,426

$481 ฿16.2K

404.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,678 $1,678

$310 ฿10.4K

441.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,601 $3,601

$1,058 ฿35.6K

240.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,943 $2,943

$659 ฿22.1K

346.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,831 $3,831

$2,418 ฿81.3K

58.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,217 $3,217

$1,609 ฿54.1K

99.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,442 $4,442

$595 ฿20.0K

646.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.7

5.57

20.29%

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

Last update for Burlington, VT: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Burlington, VT

$1.7K 54.2%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 81.5% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Burlington, VT

$487 15.7%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 51.5% $251

Eating Out

Burlington, VT

$354 11.4%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 78.4% $278

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Burlington, VT

$269 8.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 64.8% $174

Clothing & Footwear

Burlington, VT

$151 4.9%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 28.4% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Burlington, VT

$88 2.9%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 42.3% $37

Getting Around

Burlington, VT

$70 2.3%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 16.4% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,426 in Burlington, VT and $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Burlington, VT pays about 7.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $80 in Burlington, VT vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $487 vs $237 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Burlington, VT

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

14:50 2:50 PM

02:50 2:50 AM

12 h ahead of Burlington, VT

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

44,743

127,240

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.888 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 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 4, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.13 USD (1 USD = 0.888 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Burlington, VT Chiang Mai 12,940 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Chiang Mai is about 70% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Burlington, VT is about 7.5 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: $2,426 in Burlington, VT versus $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Burlington, VT runs roughly 4% less than in Chiang Mai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $1,267 in Burlington, VT versus $727 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

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