Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and As-salimiyah

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,328 in As-salimiyah, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in As-salimiyah
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As-salimiyah Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

As-salimiyah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,328

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in As-salimiyah

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Chiang Mai and in As-salimiyah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,328 in As-salimiyah, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
As-salimiyah $1,328

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,190 in As-salimiyah, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
As-salimiyah $2,190

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,051 in As-salimiyah, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
As-salimiyah $3,051

Chiang Mai is about 30% cheaper than As-salimiyah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Chiang Mai and As-salimiyah are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, As-salimiyah 2% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$8.23 KWD 2.54

-72.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$38.19 KWD 11.77

-50.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$9.10 KWD 2.81

-39.01%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 KWD 1.01

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 KWD 0.50

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$4.48 KWD 1.38

-62.72%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$0.75 KWD 0.23

-14.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$0.29 KWD 0.09

6.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.31 KWD 0.40

48.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$0.75 KWD 0.23

92.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$1.97 KWD 0.61

-32.49%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$2.13 KWD 0.66

7.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$4.43 KWD 1.36

271.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$5.31 KWD 1.64

-47.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$9.46 KWD 2.92

-1.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$2.14 KWD 0.66

9.81%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$1.62 KWD 0.50

-40.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.25 KWD 0.39

28.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.47 KWD 0.45

2.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$1.36 KWD 0.42

-5.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$0.82 KWD 0.25

34.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$1.57 KWD 0.48

-54.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$0.50 KWD 0.15

-2.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.23 KWD 1.00

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 KWD 0.31

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 KWD 0.44

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$2.71 KWD 0.84

52.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

$0.84 KWD 0.26

3.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

$48.79 KWD 15.04

10.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$3.31 KWD 1.02

-64.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$3.31 KWD 1.02

-83.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$15.94 KWD 4.91

-84.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$0.36 KWD 0.11

302.78%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$23.4K KWD 7,222

-10.14%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$20.1K KWD 6,202

33.88%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$32.30 KWD 9.95

92.48%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$21.28 KWD 6.56

-42.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$30.14 KWD 9.29

-33.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$97.8 KWD 30.15

-61.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$64.0 KWD 19.71

-94.10%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$11.14 KWD 3.43

-41.74%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$275 KWD 84.9

167.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$6,338 KWD 1,953

132.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$36.80 KWD 11.34

45.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$39.01 KWD 12.02

-36.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$89.2 KWD 27.50

2.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$64.7 KWD 19.94

11.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$896 KWD 276

-46.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$642 KWD 198

-51.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,771 KWD 546

-43.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,388 KWD 428

-54.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$2,815 KWD 867

-79.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.53

-14.70%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for As-salimiyah: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

As-salimiyah

$642 48.4% 108% $333

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

As-salimiyah

$156 11.7% 33.5% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

As-salimiyah

$103 7.8% 4.8% $5.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

As-salimiyah

$84 6.3% 11.4% $11

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

As-salimiyah

$151 11.4% 94.7% $73

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

As-salimiyah

$72 5.4% 17.3% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

As-salimiyah

$120 9% 139% $70

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $896 in As-salimiyah. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in As-salimiyah are about 4.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $38 in As-salimiyah. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Chiang Mai vs $156 in As-salimiyah – so As-salimiyah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇰🇼 As-salimiyah

🕒 Local time

02:12 2:12 AM

22:12 10:12 PM

4 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

147,649

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 KWD = 3.24 USD

1 KWD = 2.91 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KWD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.24 USD). 1 EUR = 0.344 KWD (1 KWD = 2.91 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai As-salimiyah 5,260 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
As-salimiyah

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

Chiang Mai vs As-salimiyah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – As-salimiyah is pricier by about 42%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,403 per month in Chiang Mai and $1,992 in As-salimiyah. 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $482 there versus $896 in As-salimiyah.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,328 in As-salimiyah. That makes Chiang Mai about 30% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 10% less in As-salimiyah. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,328 in As-salimiyah. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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