Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Tacarigua

For one person, living is cheaper in Tacarigua: $765 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 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
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Tacarigua
Learn more

Tacarigua Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Tacarigua

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$765

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $765 in Tacarigua, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Tacarigua $765

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,312 in Tacarigua, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Tacarigua $1,312

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,858 in Tacarigua, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Tacarigua $1,858

Chiang Mai costs about 22% more than Tacarigua, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Chiang Mai and Tacarigua are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Tacarigua 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$10.18 TTD 68.3

-78.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$59.2 TTD 397

-67.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$7.93 TTD 53.2

-30.01%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$3.76 TTD 25.23

-55.59%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$0.99 TTD 6.66

-35.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$0.72 TTD 4.85

-56.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$1.89 TTD 12.68

24.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$2.55 TTD 17.12

43.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.97 TTD 13.25

-1.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$2.28 TTD 15.27

-36.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$2.79 TTD 18.75

-52.33%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$3.85 TTD 25.84

-40.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$6.61 TTD 44.35

148.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$10.11 TTD 67.8

-72.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$8.99 TTD 60.3

3.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$5.39 TTD 36.20

-56.40%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$2.47 TTD 16.58

-60.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$3.61 TTD 24.19

-55.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$4.22 TTD 28.30

-64.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$0.71 TTD 4.79

80.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$0.76 TTD 5.11

44.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$1.49 TTD 10.02

-52.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$1.15 TTD 7.69

-57.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$5.50 TTD 36.91

-24.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$17.42 TTD 117

0.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.51 TTD 10.11

6.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.97 TTD 19.95

-6.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$0.86 TTD 5.78

34.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$0.93 TTD 6.25

-43.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$14.51 TTD 97.4

-83.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$1.16 TTD 7.76

25.00%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$36.3K TTD 243.6K

-41.99%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$41.0K TTD 274.9K

-34.24%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$44.88 TTD 301

38.52%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$41.74 TTD 280

-70.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$44.94 TTD 302

-55.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$9.09 TTD 61.0

-28.60%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$406 TTD 2,725

81.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$11.0K TTD 73.9K

34.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$55.4 TTD 372

-3.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$37.45 TTD 251

-34.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$89.9 TTD 603

1.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$89.9 TTD 603

-20.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.75

-3.13%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Tacarigua: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Tacarigua

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Tacarigua

$315 41.2% 34.6% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Tacarigua

$123 16% 12.9% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Tacarigua

$132 17.2% 39.3% $37

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Tacarigua

$172 22.5% 121% $94

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Tacarigua

$5.5 * 0.7% 91% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Tacarigua

$18 * 2.4% 63.8% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $59 in Tacarigua. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $315 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇹🇹 Tacarigua

🕒 Local time

09:01 9:01 AM

22:01 10:01 PM

11 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

15,067

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, 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 = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 TTD (1 TTD = 0.133 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Tacarigua 16,100 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Tacarigua

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 Tacarigua: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 22% more than Tacarigua, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. 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 $1,148 in Tacarigua. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai and $59 in Tacarigua. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 26% cheaper in Chiang Mai – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $936 in Chiang Mai and $765 in Tacarigua, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $765 in Tacarigua to $936 in Chiang Mai. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.