Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cavan and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,477 in Cavan, rent and utilities included – about $18,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Cavan
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Cavan Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Cavan

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,477

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,477 in Cavan versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Cavan $2,477
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,769 in Cavan versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Cavan $3,769
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,061 in Cavan versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Cavan $5,061
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Cavan is roughly 165% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cavan is 82% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.56 €14.83

$2.24 ฿75.6

639.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.7 €79.5

$19.00 ฿641

367.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.90 €15.14

$5.55 ฿187

204.50%

Cappuccino

$3.31 €2.97

$1.67 ฿56.5

98.20%

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

$3.44 €3.08

$0.64 ฿21.54

437.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 €1.78

$0.31 ฿10.31

541.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.92 €5.30

$2.36 ฿79.5

150.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 €5.85

$3.66 ฿124

78.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 €1.08

$1.95 ฿65.7

-38.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 €2.00

$1.44 ฿48.46

54.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 €1.42

$1.33 ฿45.03

18.80%

Eggs

$4.33 €3.88

$2.28 ฿77.1

89.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.11 €11.74

$16.45 ฿555

-20.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.86 €14.21

$2.78 ฿93.9

470.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.90 €8.87

$9.31 ฿314

6.34%

Apples (1kg)

$5.62 €5.03

$2.35 ฿79.4

139.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.72 €2.43

$0.97 ฿32.79

180.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.85 €6.14

$1.60 ฿53.9

328.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.95 €4.43

$1.50 ฿50.6

230.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.75 €2.47

$1.28 ฿43.11

114.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 €1.03

$1.10 ฿37.18

4.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 €1.12

$0.71 ฿23.82

76.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 €0.99

$0.49 ฿16.36

126.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.33 €16.42

$4.14 ฿140

342.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.51 €12.10

$17.52 ฿591

-22.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.52 €4.05

$1.61 ฿54.5

180.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 €4.96

$2.78 ฿93.9

99.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.30

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$310 €277

$54.1 ฿1,825

472.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 €5.12

$1.16 ฿39.04

392.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.37 €10.18

$2.42 ฿81.7

369.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 €1.84

$1.45 ฿48.88

41.38%

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

$36.1K €32.4K

$21.1K ฿710.5K

71.65%

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

$36.2K €32.4K

$26.9K ฿909.0K

34.30%

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

$244 €219

$62.2 ฿2,098

293.20%

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

$22.39 €20.05

$12.17 ฿411

83.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.03 €43.91

$20.12 ฿679

143.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$110 €98.5

$37.31 ฿1,259

194.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.01 €29.56

$3.77 ฿127

775.60%

Cinema Ticket

$22.75 €20.37

$6.49 ฿219

250.54%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.0 €81.5

$53.4 ฿1,801

70.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.63 €24.74

$24.64 ฿831

12.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.6 €81.1

$91.5 ฿3,087

-0.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$33.52 €30.02

$71.9 ฿2,427

-53.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,150 €1,030

$482 ฿16.3K

138.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$901 €807

$309 ฿10.4K

191.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,116 €1,895

$1,006 ฿33.9K

110.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,595 €1,429

$633 ฿21.4K

151.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,898 €2,595

$590 ฿19.9K

391.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.05

5.57

-27.29%

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

Last update for Cavan: 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

Cavan

$901 36.4%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 65.7% $593

Groceries & Markets

Cavan

$392 15.8%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 40.3% $158

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cavan

$316 12.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 70.1% $221

Getting Around

Cavan

$316 * 12.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 80.6% $254

Eating Out

Cavan

$287 11.6%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 73% $210

Sport & Entertainment

Cavan

$156 6.3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 67.7% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Cavan

$109 4.4%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 0.5% $0.6

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 $1,150 in Cavan and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cavan pays about 4.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $89 in Cavan vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $392 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Cavan

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

20:19 8:19 PM

03:19 3:19 AM

7 h ahead of Cavan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cavan Chiang Mai 9,340 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cavan
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,477 in Cavan and $936 in Chiang Mai, so Chiang Mai is about 62% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Cavan is about 4.9 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: $1,150 in Cavan versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 67% higher in Cavan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,477 per month in Cavan versus $936 in Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai is about 62% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.

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, Cavan and Chiang Mai are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Cavan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.