Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Bardwell Park, NSW

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,500 in Bardwell Park, NSW, rent and utilities included – about $18,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
122

Cost of Living Index in Bardwell Park, NSW
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Bardwell Park, NSW Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Bardwell Park, NSW

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,500

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Bardwell Park, NSW

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 Bardwell Park, NSW actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $2,500 in Bardwell Park, NSW.

Chiang Mai $936
Bardwell Park, NSW $2,500

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $3,594 in Bardwell Park, NSW.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Bardwell Park, NSW $3,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $4,688 in Bardwell Park, NSW.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Bardwell Park, NSW $4,688

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 63% less than in Bardwell Park, NSW, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Bardwell Park, NSW is 84% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.5

$17.22 A$24.39

-86.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿640

$82.6 A$117

-77.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$10.64 A$15.07

-47.84%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.4

$3.91 A$5.54

-57.29%

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

$0.64 ฿21.51

$2.94 A$4.16

-78.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.29

$2.32 A$3.29

-86.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$7.49 A$10.61

-68.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿123

$7.72 A$10.93

-52.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.58 A$2.23

23.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.41

$2.67 A$3.79

-46.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.97

$2.30 A$3.25

-42.17%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$5.08 A$7.20

-55.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿554

$9.43 A$13.36

74.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$9.18 A$13.01

-69.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$14.66 A$20.77

-36.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.3

$3.72 A$5.27

-36.83%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.75

$2.99 A$4.23

-67.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.8

$3.27 A$4.63

-51.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$4.62 A$6.55

-67.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.06

$2.77 A$3.93

-53.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.14

$2.37 A$3.36

-53.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.79

$2.32 A$3.28

-69.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.34

$1.54 A$2.19

-68.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$41.41 A$58.7

-90.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿590

$14.28 A$20.23

22.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.4

$4.59 A$6.50

-64.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$5.36 A$7.60

-48.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.27

$2.71 A$3.84

-67.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,823

$88.5 A$125

-38.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.00

$3.53 A$5.01

-67.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.78

$1.59 A$2.26

-66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.6

$40.76 A$57.8

-94.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.82

$1.33 A$1.88

9.02%

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

$21.1K ฿709.7K

$29.0K A$41.1K

-27.46%

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

$26.9K ฿907.9K

$26.3K A$37.2K

2.56%

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

$62.2 ฿2,095

$188 A$266

-66.84%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$27.38 A$38.79

-55.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿678

$57.9 A$82.0

-65.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,257

$55.5 A$78.7

-32.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$17.68 A$25.04

-78.68%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$13.82 A$19.58

-53.04%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$2,172 A$3,077

-66.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿497.6K

$20.8K A$29.4K

-28.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,799

$76.1 A$108

-29.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿830

$54.2 A$76.8

-54.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,083

$110 A$155

-16.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,424

$124 A$176

-42.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$1,400 A$1,983

-65.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$1,212 A$1,717

-74.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$2,256 A$3,196

-55.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.3K

$1,789 A$2,535

-64.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.6K

$5,938 A$8,412

-60.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$5,025 A$7,118

-68.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$5,686 A$8,055

-89.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.9

-5.59%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Bardwell Park, NSW: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$1.2K 48.5% 293% $903

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$366 14.6% 56.2% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$164 6.6% 50.9% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$273 10.9% 189% $178

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$291 11.6% 275% $213

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$111 4.4% 80.6% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$83 3.3% 65.5% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Chiang Mai and $1,400 in Bardwell Park, NSW. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bardwell Park, NSW pays about 9.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $83 in Bardwell Park, NSW for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $366 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇦🇺 Bardwell Park, NSW

🕒 Local time

08:57 8:57 AM

12:57 12:57 PM

4 h ahead of Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

2,209

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1 AUD = 0.706 USD

1 AUD = 0.634 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.706 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.634 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Bardwell Park, NSW 8,050 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Bardwell Park, NSW

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 Bardwell Park, NSW: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 63% lower than in Bardwell Park, NSW. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 90% lower in Chiang Mai. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $482 in Chiang Mai versus $1,400 in Bardwell Park, NSW. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 56% higher in Bardwell Park, NSW. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $83 in Bardwell Park, NSW. 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.

Safety-wise, Chiang Mai and Bardwell Park, NSW 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 63% less than in Bardwell Park, NSW. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.