Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cayey and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $2,156 in Cayey, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Cayey
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Cayey Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Cayey

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$2,156

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,156 in Cayey versus $935 in Chiang Mai.

Cayey $2,156
Chiang Mai $935

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,430 in Cayey versus $1,467 in Chiang Mai.

Cayey $3,430
Chiang Mai $1,467

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,704 in Cayey versus $1,999 in Chiang Mai.

Cayey $4,704
Chiang Mai $1,999

Living in Cayey is roughly 131% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cayey is 59% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.05 $19.05

$2.13 ฿71.8

794.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.6 $83.6

$18.62 ฿626

348.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.04 $9.04

$5.60 ฿188

61.43%

Cappuccino

$3.52 $3.52

$1.66 ฿55.9

112.05%

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

$1.83 $1.83

$0.65 ฿21.75

181.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 $1.49

$0.30 ฿10.25

396.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 $2.98

$2.32 ฿78.1

28.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.12 $5.12

$3.67 ฿123

39.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.19 $2.19

$2.02 ฿67.8

8.42%

White Bread (500g)

$3.61 $3.61

$1.41 ฿47.34

156.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 $2.35

$1.39 ฿46.79

69.06%

Eggs

$7.33 $7.33

$2.37 ฿79.6

209.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.51 $12.51

$16.52 ฿555

-24.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.59 $9.59

$2.67 ฿89.8

259.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.27 $13.27

$9.02 ฿303

47.12%

Apples (1kg)

$5.09 $5.09

$2.40 ฿80.6

112.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.65 $2.65

$1.04 ฿35.01

154.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.79 $4.79

$1.66 ฿55.8

188.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.88 $4.88

$1.56 ฿52.4

212.82%

Potato (1kg)

$3.73 $3.73

$1.24 ฿41.61

200.81%

Onion (1kg)

$4.04 $4.04

$1.09 ฿36.53

270.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.37 $3.37

$0.76 ฿25.61

343.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 $1.57

$0.51 ฿17.29

207.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.22 $12.22

$4.12 ฿139

196.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.40 $15.40

$17.93 ฿603

-14.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 $3.13

$1.62 ฿54.6

93.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 $3.96

$2.82 ฿94.9

40.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.42

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,778

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.55 $2.55

$1.18 ฿39.56

116.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 $1.52

$0.17 ฿5.76

794.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.65 $41.65

$1.81 ฿60.9

2201.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.47 ฿49.51

-30.61%

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

$35.0K $35.0K

$21.0K ฿706.4K

66.47%

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

$27.6K $27.6K

$26.5K ฿891.4K

4.03%

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

$318 $318

$62.6 ฿2,103

408.66%

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

$70.5 $70.5

$11.60 ฿390

507.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.7 $69.7

$20.30 ฿683

243.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.63 $40.63

$37.88 ฿1,274

7.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$10.09 $10.09

$6.51 ฿219

54.99%

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

$812 $812

$727 ฿24.4K

11.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K $12.5K

$16.6K ฿557.2K

-24.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.0 $57.0

$53.5 ฿1,800

6.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.8 $60.8

$24.80 ฿834

145.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 $108

$90.4 ฿3,039

19.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 $113

$72.0 ฿2,420

57.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,215 $1,215

$481 ฿16.2K

152.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$801 $801

$310 ฿10.4K

158.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,414 $2,414

$1,058 ฿35.6K

128.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,784 $1,784

$659 ฿22.1K

170.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,643 $3,643

$595 ฿20.0K

512.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

5.57

17.59%

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

Last update for Cayey: 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

Cayey

$801 37.2%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 61.3% $491

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cayey

$458 21.3%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 79.4% $364

Groceries & Markets

Cayey

$413 19.2%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 42.7% $176

Eating Out

Cayey

$260 12.1%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 70.6% $184

Clothing & Footwear

Cayey

$153 7.1%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 29% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Cayey

$61 2.8%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 16.3% $9.9

Getting Around

Cayey

$10 * 0.5%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 479% $49

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 $1,215 in Cayey and $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cayey pays about 6.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $84 in Cayey vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $413 vs $237 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Cayey

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

16:26 4:26 PM

03:26 3:26 AM

11 h ahead of Cayey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,999

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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Cayey Chiang Mai 15,600 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Cayey
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,156 in Cayey and $935 in Chiang Mai, so Chiang Mai is about 57% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Cayey is about 6.1 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: $1,215 in Cayey versus $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $812 in Cayey versus $727 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $84 in Cayey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.

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