Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Chang-hua

For one person, living is cheaper in Chang-hua: $852 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Chiang Mai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Chang-hua
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Chang-hua Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Chang-hua

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Chang-hua

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 Chang-hua actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $852 in Chang-hua, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Chang-hua $852

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,325 in Chang-hua, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Chang-hua $1,325

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,799 in Chang-hua, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Chang-hua $1,799

Chiang Mai costs about 10% more than Chang-hua, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Chiang Mai and Chang-hua are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Chang-hua 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$3.74 NT$121

-40.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$32.20 NT$1,044

-40.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$5.77 NT$187

-3.81%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$1.66 NT$53.8

0.60%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$0.93 NT$30.18

-31.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$0.55 NT$17.71

-43.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$1.37 NT$44.37

72.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$2.21 NT$71.6

65.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$2.26 NT$73.2

-13.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$2.02 NT$65.6

-28.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$2.79 NT$90.5

-52.33%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$2.73 NT$88.6

-16.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$15.78 NT$512

4.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$9.82 NT$318

-71.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$20.95 NT$679

-55.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

$4.85 NT$157

-51.55%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$3.16 NT$102

-69.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$2.88 NT$93.3

-44.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$3.09 NT$100

-51.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$2.66 NT$86.3

-51.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$2.08 NT$67.5

-47.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$1.67 NT$54.1

-57.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$0.80 NT$25.79

-38.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$3.83 NT$124

8.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$9.19 NT$298

90.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.40 NT$45.48

15.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.15 NT$69.8

29.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

$1.50 NT$48.73

-42.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

$34.11 NT$1,106

58.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$2.58 NT$83.7

-55.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

$0.79 NT$25.54

-32.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$8.99 NT$292

-73.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.04 NT$33.72

39.42%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

$34.5K NT$1.1M

-39.00%

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$23.4K NT$760.1K

14.93%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

$30.39 NT$985

104.57%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$16.96 NT$550

-28.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$18.24 NT$592

10.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$31.70 NT$1,028

17.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$9.40 NT$305

-30.96%

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

$736 ฿24.9K

$614 NT$19.9K

19.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

$7,800 NT$252.9K

89.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$48.48 NT$1,572

10.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$15.10 NT$490

63.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

$76.1 NT$2,469

20.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$48.18 NT$1,562

49.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$255 NT$8,259

89.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$168 NT$5,432

84.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$490 NT$15.9K

105.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$170 NT$5,510

272.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$2,897 NT$93.9K

-18.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$1,606 NT$52.1K

-1.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$1,973 NT$64.0K

-70.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.2

153.18%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chang-hua: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Chang-hua

$168 19.7% 45.8% $141

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Chang-hua

$352 41.4% 50.4% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Chang-hua

$85 9.9% 22.2% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Chang-hua

$66 7.7% 30.6% $29

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Chang-hua

$84 9.9% 8.7% $6.8

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Chang-hua

$47 5.5% 24% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Chang-hua

$51 5.9% 0.5% $0.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $255 in Chang-hua. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Chang-hua are about 3.3 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $32 in Chang-hua. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $352 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇹🇼 Chang-hua

🕒 Local time

19:00 7:00 PM

20:00 8:00 PM

1 h ahead of Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

226,564

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.09 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Chang-hua 2,310 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Chang-hua

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 Chang-hua: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 10% more than Chang-hua, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,403 per month in Chiang Mai and $1,277 in Chang-hua. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chang-hua, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $255 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $936 in Chiang Mai and $852 in Chang-hua. That’s a gap of about 10%.

Public transport costs about 37% less in Chang-hua. 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 $852 in Chang-hua. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Chang-hua – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.