Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Umm As-summaq

For one person, living is cheaper in Umm As-summaq: $732 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Umm As-summaq
Learn more

Umm As-summaq Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Umm As-summaq

🇯🇴 Jordan

$732

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Umm As-summaq

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 Umm As-summaq actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $732 in Umm As-summaq, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Umm As-summaq $732

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,294 in Umm As-summaq, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Umm As-summaq $1,294

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,855 in Umm As-summaq, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Umm As-summaq $1,855

Chiang Mai costs about 28% more than Umm As-summaq, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Chiang Mai and Umm As-summaq are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Umm As-summaq 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$7.00 JOD 4.95

-68.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$71.9 JOD 50.9

-73.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$7.13 JOD 5.05

-22.16%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$2.89 JOD 2.05

-42.21%

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

$0.64 ฿21.54

$0.60 JOD 0.43

6.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$0.55 JOD 0.39

-43.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$6.96 JOD 4.93

-66.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$8.50 JOD 6.02

-56.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.38 JOD 0.97

41.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.46

$0.70 JOD 0.49

105.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.03

$1.45 JOD 1.03

-8.28%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$2.31 JOD 1.64

-1.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$9.24 JOD 6.54

78.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$2.80 JOD 1.98

-0.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$12.52 JOD 8.87

-25.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$2.48 JOD 1.76

-5.24%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.79

$1.98 JOD 1.40

-51.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.79 JOD 1.27

-10.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$0.78 JOD 0.55

92.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.11

$0.88 JOD 0.62

45.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.18

$0.84 JOD 0.60

30.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$0.63 JOD 0.44

12.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$0.71 JOD 0.50

-30.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$2.83 JOD 2.01

46.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$17.20 JOD 12.17

1.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$4.13 JOD 2.93

-61.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$4.13 JOD 2.93

-32.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.30

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.04

$0.59 JOD 0.42

96.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$1.44 JOD 1.02

-63.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

$6.89 JOD 4.88

-64.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.88

$1.69 JOD 1.20

-14.20%

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

$21.1K ฿710.5K

$32.5K JOD 23.0K

-35.11%

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

$26.9K ฿909.0K

$33.9K JOD 24.0K

-20.50%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$53.5 JOD 37.89

16.16%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$15.66 JOD 11.09

-22.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$32.32 JOD 22.89

-37.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$55.3 JOD 39.18

-32.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$49.17 JOD 34.81

-92.33%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$11.44 JOD 8.10

-43.27%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$353 JOD 250

108.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.2K

$5,702 JOD 4,037

158.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$56.3 JOD 39.85

-5.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$64.7 JOD 45.81

-61.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$124 JOD 87.5

-25.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,427

$82.4 JOD 58.3

-12.69%

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

$773 JOD 547

30.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

$1,668 JOD 1,181

41.64%

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

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 Umm As-summaq: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Umm As-summaq

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Umm As-summaq

$229 31.3% 2.2% $5.3

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Umm As-summaq

$147 20.1% 35.4% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Umm As-summaq

$102 13.9% 7.5% $7.1

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Umm As-summaq

$168 23% 117% $91

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Umm As-summaq

$7.8 * 1.1% 87.3% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Umm As-summaq

$78 10.7% 55.5% $28

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 $72 in Umm As-summaq. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Chiang Mai vs $229 in Umm As-summaq – so Umm As-summaq wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇯🇴 Umm As-summaq

🕒 Local time

05:41 5:41 AM

01:41 1:41 AM

4 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

18,274

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Jordanian Dinar JOD د.ا

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 JOD = 1.41 USD

1 JOD = 1.26 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 31, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.791 JOD (1 JOD = 1.26 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Umm As-summaq 6,420 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Umm As-summaq

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 Umm As-summaq: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 28% more than Umm As-summaq, 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 $1,098 in Umm As-summaq. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $936 in Chiang Mai and $732 in Umm As-summaq. That makes Umm As-summaq about 22% cheaper.

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

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $732 in Umm As-summaq to $936 in Chiang Mai. 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.