Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Elverum

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,805 in Elverum, rent and utilities included – about $22,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
135

Cost of Living Index in Elverum
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Elverum Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Elverum

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,805

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Elverum

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,805 in Elverum, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Elverum $2,805

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $4,229 in Elverum, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Elverum $4,229

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $5,654 in Elverum, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Elverum $5,654

Chiang Mai is about 67% cheaper than Elverum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Elverum is 106% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$21.64 NOK 201

-89.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$110 NOK 1,024

-82.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$16.40 NOK 152

-66.16%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$5.58 NOK 51.8

-70.07%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$5.64 NOK 52.4

-88.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$4.26 NOK 39.56

-92.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$13.68 NOK 127

-82.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$13.07 NOK 121

-72.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$2.63 NOK 24.47

-25.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$3.61 NOK 33.50

-60.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$3.73 NOK 34.63

-64.34%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$4.93 NOK 45.84

-53.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$13.56 NOK 126

21.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$16.69 NOK 155

-83.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$32.85 NOK 305

-71.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

$3.92 NOK 36.45

-40.05%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$2.94 NOK 27.33

-67.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$3.82 NOK 35.50

-58.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$5.64 NOK 52.4

-73.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$2.98 NOK 27.67

-57.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$3.11 NOK 28.86

-64.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$2.88 NOK 26.76

-75.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$2.27 NOK 21.12

-78.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$17.64 NOK 164

-76.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$18.67 NOK 173

-6.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$3.53 NOK 32.82

-54.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$4.57 NOK 42.43

-39.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

$4.17 NOK 38.74

-79.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

$81.5 NOK 757

-33.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$9.49 NOK 88.1

-87.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

$1.66 NOK 15.46

-68.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$60.4 NOK 562

-96.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$2.60 NOK 24.20

-44.23%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

$47.4K NOK 440.7K

-55.60%

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$46.5K NOK 432.4K

-42.12%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

$275 NOK 2,556

-77.41%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$35.85 NOK 333

-66.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$83.0 NOK 771

-75.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$56.1 NOK 521

-33.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$38.16 NOK 355

-90.12%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$19.20 NOK 178

-66.20%

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

$736 ฿24.9K

$301 NOK 2,793

144.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

$4,543 NOK 42.2K

224.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$111 NOK 1,029

-51.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$52.2 NOK 485

-52.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

$122 NOK 1,137

-25.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$157 NOK 1,462

-54.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$1,228 NOK 11.4K

-60.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$1,059 NOK 9,838

-70.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$2,054 NOK 19.1K

-51.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,735 NOK 16.1K

-63.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$6,437 NOK 59.8K

-63.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$4,241 NOK 39.4K

-62.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$4,272 NOK 39.7K

-86.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.32

4.70%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Elverum: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Elverum

$1.1K 37.8% 243% $750

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Elverum

$519 18.5% 121% $284

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Elverum

$199 7.1% 83.4% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Elverum

$394 14.1% 317% $300

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Elverum

$423 15.1% 446% $346

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Elverum

$116 4.1% 89% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Elverum

$95 3.4% 87.9% $44

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $1,228 in Elverum. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Elverum are about 7.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $110 in Elverum. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $519 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇳🇴 Elverum

🕒 Local time

03:39 3:39 AM

21:39 9:39 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

21,775

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 NOK = 10.76 USD

100 NOK = 9.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, 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 = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.29 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.34 NOK (100 NOK = 9.67 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Elverum 8,040 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Elverum

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 Elverum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elverum costs about 200% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. 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 $4,207 in Elverum. 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 $1,228 in Elverum.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $301 in Elverum. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 121% more in Elverum, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $2,805 in Elverum. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $2,805 in Elverum. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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, Elverum makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.