Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Skelleftea

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,985 in Skelleftea, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 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
96

Cost of Living Index in Skelleftea
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Skelleftea Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Skelleftea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,985

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,985 in Skelleftea, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Skelleftea $1,985

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,004 in Skelleftea, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Skelleftea $3,004

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $4,022 in Skelleftea, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Skelleftea $4,022

Chiang Mai is about 53% cheaper than Skelleftea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Skelleftea is 46% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$16.15 SEK 159

-86.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$81.2 SEK 798

-76.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$13.15 SEK 129

-57.79%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$4.66 SEK 45.72

-64.16%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$2.57 SEK 25.26

-75.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$2.32 SEK 22.74

-86.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$8.25 SEK 81.0

-71.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$8.06 SEK 79.2

-54.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.58 SEK 15.51

23.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$2.58 SEK 25.37

-44.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$4.81 SEK 47.23

-72.35%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$5.23 SEK 51.4

-56.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$11.26 SEK 111

46.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$10.82 SEK 106

-74.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$24.52 SEK 241

-62.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$3.33 SEK 32.66

-29.43%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$2.39 SEK 23.47

-59.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$3.23 SEK 31.69

-50.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$3.63 SEK 35.65

-58.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$2.28 SEK 22.38

-43.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$1.62 SEK 15.93

-32.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$2.21 SEK 21.71

-67.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$1.52 SEK 14.89

-67.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$7.24 SEK 71.1

-42.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$15.13 SEK 149

15.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.79 SEK 17.59

-10.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$1.68 SEK 16.48

65.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

$2.89 SEK 28.37

-69.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

$52.5 SEK 515

3.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$8.23 SEK 80.8

-85.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$1.72 SEK 16.88

-69.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$59.7 SEK 586

-95.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$1.76 SEK 17.26

-17.61%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$32.8K SEK 321.6K

-35.70%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$32.1K SEK 315.3K

-16.09%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$106 SEK 1,038

-41.20%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$25.42 SEK 250

-52.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$50.9 SEK 500

-60.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$37.99 SEK 373

-1.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$26.32 SEK 258

-85.68%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$14.82 SEK 146

-56.21%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$145 SEK 1,424

407.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$5,606 SEK 55.1K

163.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$95.9 SEK 941

-44.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$39.55 SEK 388

-37.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$81.4 SEK 800

12.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$155 SEK 1,518

-53.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$1,176 SEK 11.6K

-59.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$801 SEK 7,865

-61.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,579 SEK 15.5K

-36.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,218 SEK 12.0K

-48.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$4,014 SEK 39.4K

-41.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$2,789 SEK 27.4K

-43.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$2,595 SEK 25.5K

-77.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.9

42.82%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Skelleftea: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Skelleftea

$801 40.4% 159% $492

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Skelleftea

$385 19.4% 64.3% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Skelleftea

$167 8.4% 53.9% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Skelleftea

$182 9.2% 92.7% $88

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Skelleftea

$301 15.2% 289% $224

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Skelleftea

$81 4.1% 31.8% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Skelleftea

$68 3.4% 34.5% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $1,176 in Skelleftea. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Skelleftea are about 4.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $81 in Skelleftea. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $385 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇸🇪 Skelleftea

🕒 Local time

21:30 9:30 PM

15:30 3:30 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

32,775

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 SEK = 10.18 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.82 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.13 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Skelleftea 7,560 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Skelleftea

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 Skelleftea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Skelleftea costs about 112% 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 $2,978 in Skelleftea. 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 $1,176 in Skelleftea.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $145 in Skelleftea. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 64% more in Skelleftea, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,985 in Skelleftea. 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 $1,985 in Skelleftea. 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, Skelleftea makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.