Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Campbell River

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,387 in Campbell River, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Campbell River
Learn more

Campbell River Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Campbell River

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,387

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Campbell River

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 Campbell River actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $2,387 in Campbell River.

Chiang Mai $936
Campbell River $2,387

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $3,509 in Campbell River.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Campbell River $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $4,631 in Campbell River.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Campbell River $4,631

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 61% less than in Campbell River, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Campbell River is 75% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$19.49 CA$27.24

-88.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$72.2 CA$101

-73.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$10.79 CA$15.08

-48.56%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$4.37 CA$6.11

-61.78%

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

$0.64 ฿21.53

$2.30 CA$3.21

-72.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.30

$0.97 CA$1.35

-68.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$5.75 CA$8.04

-58.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$6.30 CA$8.80

-41.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$2.79 CA$3.90

-30.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.45

$2.98 CA$4.16

-51.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.01

$4.07 CA$5.69

-67.32%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$4.30 CA$6.02

-46.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$8.36 CA$11.68

96.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$9.75 CA$13.63

-71.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$14.64 CA$20.47

-36.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$3.13 CA$4.38

-24.92%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.78

$1.46 CA$2.04

-33.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$3.47 CA$4.85

-53.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$3.55 CA$4.96

-57.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.10

$3.59 CA$5.02

-64.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.17

$2.80 CA$3.91

-60.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.81

$3.25 CA$4.54

-78.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$2.57 CA$3.59

-80.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$15.12 CA$21.13

-72.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$18.18 CA$25.42

-3.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$4.00 CA$5.59

-59.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$3.54 CA$4.95

-21.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.29

$1.39 CA$1.94

-37.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.03

$2.72 CA$3.80

-57.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.79

$1.57 CA$2.20

-66.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

$34.74 CA$48.55

-93.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.87

$1.29 CA$1.80

12.40%

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

$21.1K ฿710.3K

$28.2K CA$39.4K

-25.22%

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

$26.9K ฿908.7K

$21.4K CA$29.9K

25.86%

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

$62.2 ฿2,097

$53.2 CA$74.4

16.82%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$43.75 CA$61.2

-72.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$61.3 CA$85.6

-67.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$46.64 CA$65.2

-20.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$10.72 CA$14.98

-39.46%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$890 CA$1,244

-17.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.0K

$23.7K CA$33.1K

-37.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,800

$44.31 CA$61.9

20.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$44.23 CA$61.8

-44.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,086

$71.0 CA$99.3

28.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,426

$92.1 CA$129

-21.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$1,482 CA$2,072

-67.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$1,347 CA$1,883

-77.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$2,236 CA$3,125

-55.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$2,179 CA$3,045

-70.93%

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)

$590 ฿19.9K

$2,313 CA$3,233

-74.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.31

29.23%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Campbell River: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Campbell River

$1.3K 56.4% 336% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Campbell River

$389 16.3% 65.8% $154

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Campbell River

$113 4.8% 4.3% $4.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Campbell River

$158 6.6% 67.5% $64

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Campbell River

$295 12.4% 280% $218

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Campbell River

$16 * 0.7% 73.7% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Campbell River

$68 2.9% 35.4% $18

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

Campbell River pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $72 in Campbell River for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $389 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇨🇦 Campbell River

🕒 Local time

20:12 8:12 PM

06:12 6:12 AM

14 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

36,455

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 CAD = 0.715 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.715 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Campbell River 11,220 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Campbell River

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 Campbell River: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 61% lower than in Campbell River. 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 75% 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 $1,482 in Campbell River. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 66% higher in Campbell River. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $936 per month in Chiang Mai versus $2,387 in Campbell River – Chiang Mai is about 61% 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.

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