Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Kerak

For one person, living costs are similar in Chiang Mai and in Kerak: $936 and $954 a month, rent and utilities included.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Kerak
Learn more

Kerak Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Kerak

🇯🇴 Jordan

$954

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $954 in Kerak, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Kerak $954

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,497 in Kerak, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Kerak $1,497

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,040 in Kerak, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Kerak $2,040

Chiang Mai is about 2% cheaper than Kerak, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Chiang Mai and Kerak are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Kerak 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$2.88 JOD 2.04

-22.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$71.6 JOD 50.7

-73.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$5.71 JOD 4.04

-2.80%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$0.69 JOD 0.49

142.03%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$0.50 JOD 0.35

28.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$0.34 JOD 0.24

-8.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$8.55 JOD 6.05

-72.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$11.00 JOD 7.78

-66.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.38 JOD 0.98

41.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$0.36 JOD 0.26

300.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$0.88 JOD 0.62

51.14%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$1.72 JOD 1.22

32.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$6.92 JOD 4.90

137.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$4.11 JOD 2.91

-32.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$12.51 JOD 8.85

-25.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

$1.43 JOD 1.01

64.34%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$1.43 JOD 1.01

-32.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.38 JOD 0.98

15.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$0.44 JOD 0.31

240.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$0.88 JOD 0.62

45.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$0.81 JOD 0.57

35.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$0.62 JOD 0.44

14.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$0.67 JOD 0.47

-26.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$3.77 JOD 2.67

9.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$20.99 JOD 14.85

-16.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$4.93 JOD 3.49

-67.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$4.92 JOD 3.48

-43.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$0.60 JOD 0.42

93.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

$1.42 JOD 1.01

-62.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$7.17 JOD 5.07

-66.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.68 JOD 1.19

-13.69%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

$32.4K JOD 22.9K

-34.98%

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$34.3K JOD 24.3K

-21.45%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

$113 JOD 80.1

-45.10%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$15.71 JOD 11.12

-22.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$27.68 JOD 19.59

-27.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$42.67 JOD 30.20

-12.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$11.17 JOD 7.90

-41.90%

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

$736 ฿24.9K

$140 JOD 99.3

424.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

$3,380 JOD 2,392

336.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$63.8 JOD 45.13

-16.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$79.2 JOD 56.1

-68.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

$127 JOD 89.7

-27.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$83.6 JOD 59.2

-13.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$186 JOD 132

158.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$228 JOD 162

35.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$278 JOD 197

262.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$325 JOD 230

94.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$213 JOD 151

1008.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$286 JOD 202

455.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$509 JOD 360

15.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.94

-19.74%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Kerak: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Kerak

$228 23.9% 26.1% $81

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Kerak

$221 23.2% 5.6% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Kerak

$159 16.7% 46.4% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Kerak

$157 16.4% 65.8% $62

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Kerak

$117 12.2% 50.3% $39

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Kerak

$7.7 * 0.8% 87.5% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Kerak

$65 6.8% 29.3% $15

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $186 in Kerak. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 16% higher in Chiang Mai, 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 $72 in Kerak. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Chiang Mai vs $221 in Kerak – so Kerak wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇯🇴 Kerak

🕒 Local time

22:02 10:02 PM

18:02 6:02 PM

4 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

21,678

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Jordanian Dinar JOD د.ا

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 JOD = 1.41 USD

1 JOD = 1.27 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JOD, 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).

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.788 JOD (1 JOD = 1.27 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Kerak 6,440 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Kerak

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 Kerak: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kerak costs about 2% more than Chiang Mai, 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 $1,432 in Kerak. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kerak, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $186 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai and $72 in Kerak. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 6% cheaper in Kerak – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $954 in Kerak. 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 $954 in Kerak. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.