Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bury and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,330 in Bury, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Bury
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Bury Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bury

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,330

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,330 per month in Bury vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Bury $2,330
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $2,653 per month in Bury vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Bury $2,653
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $2,977 per month in Bury vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Bury $2,977
Chiang Mai $1,914

Bury costs about 148% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Bury sits 73% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.91 £19.44

$2.26 ฿75.4

1046.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.8 £60.6

$19.18 ฿641

321.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.61 £7.96

$5.59 ฿187

89.80%

Cappuccino

$4.80 £3.60

$1.72 ฿57.6

179.07%

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

$1.76 £1.32

$0.64 ฿21.54

175.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 £0.91

$0.33 ฿11.18

269.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.04 £3.78

$2.36 ฿78.7

113.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.70 £3.53

$3.90 ฿130

20.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 £1.07

$2.05 ฿68.6

-30.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.40 ฿46.70

30.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.48 £1.86

$1.28 ฿42.89

93.75%

Eggs

$4.05 £3.04

$2.25 ฿75.3

80.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.38 £7.03

$16.94 ฿566

-44.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.37 £6.28

$2.74 ฿91.6

205.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.56 £12.42

$9.36 ฿313

76.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 £2.41

$2.40 ฿80.3

33.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.01 ฿33.92

53.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.07 £2.30

$1.61 ฿53.9

90.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.54

$1.52 ฿50.7

122.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 £0.86

$1.28 ฿42.90

-10.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.57 £1.18

$1.11 ฿37.22

41.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 £0.87

$0.72 ฿24.09

61.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 £0.94

$0.52 ฿17.54

140.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.50 £17.63

$4.33 ฿145

442.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.09 £7.57

$17.73 ฿593

-43.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.28 £2.46

$1.63 ฿54.4

101.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 £2.20

$2.85 ฿95.3

2.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.71 £2.03

$0.85 ฿28.31

218.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 £80.5

$53.9 ฿1,801

99.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.75 £3.57

$1.17 ฿39.18

305.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.76 £1.32

$0.57 ฿19.00

208.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.94 £23.96

$2.37 ฿79.2

1247.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.45 ฿48.32

33.10%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

87.63%

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

$40.8K £30.6K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

53.82%

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

$368 £276

$62.3 ฿2,083

490.97%

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

$17.45 £13.09

$12.27 ฿410

42.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.15 £32.37

$19.97 ฿668

116.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.66 £37.26

$37.91 ฿1,267

30.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$11.38 £8.53

$6.71 ฿224

69.60%

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

$1,568 £1,176

$797 ฿26.6K

96.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿495.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.9 £63.7

$53.3 ฿1,780

59.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.72 £29.80

$25.05 ฿837

58.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.3 £54.2

$91.6 ฿3,062

-21.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 £82.3

$73.5 ฿2,455

49.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,114 £836

$464 ฿15.5K

140.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$914 £686

$305 ฿10.2K

200.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$915 ฿30.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$552 ฿18.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,912 ฿63.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,438 ฿48.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.2

5.57

-6.64%

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

Last update for Bury: 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

Bury

$914 39.2%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 66.7% $610

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bury

$429 18.4%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 78% $334

Eating Out

Bury

$343 14.7%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 77% $264

Groceries & Markets

Bury

$301 12.9%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 21.1% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Bury

$138 5.9%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 20.6% $28

Getting Around

Bury

$132 5.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 53.5% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Bury

$72 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 29.1% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,114 in Bury versus $464 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $81.0 in Bury versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $301 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bury

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

02:18 2:18 AM

08:18 8:18 AM

6 h ahead of Bury

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,015

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bury Chiang Mai 8,910 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bury
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

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

Bury costs about 148% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,495 per month in Bury and $1,408 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,330 in Bury and $938 in Chiang Mai. That's a gap of about 148%.

Public transport costs about 99% less in Chiang Mai. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in Bury at $2,330. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bury it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $2,330 in Bury. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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