Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Carlton and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $2,253 in Carlton, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Carlton
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Carlton Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Carlton

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,253

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,253 in Carlton versus $925 in Chiang Mai.

Carlton $2,253
Chiang Mai $925

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,284 in Carlton versus $1,414 in Chiang Mai.

Carlton $3,284
Chiang Mai $1,414

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,315 in Carlton versus $1,903 in Chiang Mai.

Carlton $4,315
Chiang Mai $1,903

Living in Carlton is roughly 144% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Carlton is 66% above, Chiang Mai is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.35 A$24.96

$2.29 ฿76.5

657.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.5 A$100.0

$19.64 ฿656

253.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 A$14.66

$5.61 ฿188

81.64%

Cappuccino

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.66 ฿55.6

82.53%

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

$2.63 A$3.78

$0.70 ฿23.40

275.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 A$3.04

$0.31 ฿10.24

580.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.54 A$9.41

$2.41 ฿80.4

171.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.57 A$9.46

$3.71 ฿124

77.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 A$1.92

$1.95 ฿65.3

-31.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 A$2.98

$1.41 ฿47.03

46.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 A$1.92

$1.31 ฿43.62

2.29%

Eggs

$3.27 A$4.70

$2.18 ฿72.9

50.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.29 A$14.81

$16.65 ฿556

-38.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.98 A$14.37

$2.76 ฿92.2

261.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.85 A$21.37

$9.11 ฿304

63.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$2.39 ฿80.0

37.24%

Banana (1kg)

$2.84 A$4.09

$1.03 ฿34.26

175.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.21 A$4.62

$1.63 ฿54.4

96.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.51 A$6.49

$1.50 ฿50.0

200.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$1.29 ฿43.13

91.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.14 A$3.08

$1.11 ฿37.03

92.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.17 A$3.13

$0.72 ฿24.08

201.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 A$1.30

$0.53 ฿17.59

69.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.29 A$36.39

$4.31 ฿144

486.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.37 A$14.92

$17.95 ฿600

-42.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$1.58 ฿52.9

260.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.21 A$7.50

$2.84 ฿95.0

83.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.05 A$4.39

$0.86 ฿28.86

254.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.2 A$118

$53.3 ฿1,780

54.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.53 A$5.07

$1.21 ฿40.29

191.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 A$1.77

$0.57 ฿18.99

115.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.49 A$38.12

$2.35 ฿78.6

1027.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 A$1.88

$1.44 ฿47.96

-9.72%

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

$18.1K A$26.1K

$20.7K ฿692.8K

-12.65%

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

$14.0K A$20.1K

$26.8K ฿895.7K

-47.89%

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

$92.2 A$133

$62.3 ฿2,083

47.95%

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

$27.31 A$39.30

$12.11 ฿405

125.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.00 A$67.6

$19.94 ฿666

135.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.64 A$45.53

$37.07 ฿1,239

-14.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.38 A$25.01

$3.78 ฿126

359.79%

Cinema Ticket

$13.20 A$19.00

$6.50 ฿217

103.08%

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

$2,076 A$2,987

$793 ฿26.5K

161.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K A$17.8K

$14.8K ฿494.9K

-16.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.3 A$114

$53.7 ฿1,796

47.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.34 A$71.0

$24.62 ฿823

100.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.7 A$100

$90.9 ฿3,036

-23.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$71.1 ฿2,378

88.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,395 A$2,007

$455 ฿15.2K

206.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 A$1,679

$298 ฿9,954

291.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,121 A$3,052

$908 ฿30.4K

133.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,784 A$2,568

$554 ฿18.5K

222.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,783 A$8,322

$1,931 ฿64.5K

199.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,967 A$7,148

$1,445 ฿48.3K

243.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,754 A$8,280

$591 ฿19.7K

873.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

5.57

5.92%

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

Last update for Carlton: October 18, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Carlton

$1.2K 51.8%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 74.5% $869

Groceries & Markets

Carlton

$338 15%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 30.2% $102

Eating Out

Carlton

$271 12%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 70.9% $192

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Carlton

$167 7.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 43.3% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Carlton

$150 6.6%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 27.7% $41

Getting Around

Carlton

$104 4.6%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 41.6% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Carlton

$58 2.6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 13.8% $8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,395 in Carlton and $455 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Carlton pays 874% 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: $69.0 in Carlton vs $20.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $338 vs $235 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Carlton

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

21:52 9:52 PM

17:52 5:52 PM

4 h behind Carlton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,001

127,240

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 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 AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Carlton Chiang Mai 7,920 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Carlton
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

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

Carlton and Chiang Mai differ by about 144% in total monthly costs ($2,253 vs $925 including rent). Chiang Mai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 874% higher in Carlton, 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: $1,395 in Carlton versus $455 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,076 in Carlton versus $793 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Carlton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $925 in Chiang Mai versus $2,253 in Carlton, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Carlton. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Carlton 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 144% less than in Carlton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.