Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubbo and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,592 in Dubbo, rent and utilities included – about $19,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

124

Cost of Living Index in Dubbo
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Dubbo Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Dubbo

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,592

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Dubbo and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,592 per month in Dubbo vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Dubbo $2,592
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,679 per month in Dubbo vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Dubbo $3,679
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,766 per month in Dubbo vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Dubbo $4,766
Chiang Mai $1,979

Dubbo costs about 177% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Dubbo sits 90% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$24.88

$2.24 ฿75.6

678.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.5 A$118

$19.00 ฿641

334.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.67 A$15.23

$5.55 ฿187

92.25%

Cappuccino

$3.99 A$5.69

$1.67 ฿56.5

138.92%

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

$2.82 A$4.03

$0.64 ฿21.53

340.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 A$3.18

$0.31 ฿10.30

619.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.50 A$12.14

$2.36 ฿79.5

260.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.43 A$9.17

$3.66 ฿124

75.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 A$2.16

$1.95 ฿65.7

-22.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 A$3.81

$1.44 ฿48.45

85.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.29 A$3.26

$1.33 ฿45.01

72.18%

Eggs

$4.81 A$6.86

$2.28 ฿77.0

110.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.43 A$13.45

$16.45 ฿555

-42.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.47 A$13.52

$2.78 ฿93.8

240.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.85 A$21.19

$9.31 ฿314

59.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.41 A$4.86

$2.35 ฿79.4

45.11%

Banana (1kg)

$3.90 A$5.57

$0.97 ฿32.78

302.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 A$4.06

$1.60 ฿53.9

77.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.91 A$8.43

$1.50 ฿50.6

294.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.49 A$3.55

$1.28 ฿43.10

94.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.49

$1.10 ฿37.17

121.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.34

$0.71 ฿23.81

229.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 A$2.37

$0.49 ฿16.36

238.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$32.98 A$47.08

$4.14 ฿140

696.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.27 A$20.37

$17.52 ฿591

-18.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.80 A$6.85

$1.61 ฿54.5

198.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.90 A$6.99

$2.78 ฿93.9

76.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.72 A$3.89

$0.87 ฿29.29

212.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.7 A$121

$54.1 ฿1,825

56.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.61 A$5.15

$1.16 ฿39.03

211.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 A$2.24

$0.53 ฿17.79

196.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$38.12 A$54.4

$2.42 ฿81.7

1475.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 A$1.85

$1.45 ฿48.87

-10.34%

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

$28.9K A$41.2K

$21.1K ฿710.3K

37.14%

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

$26.1K A$37.2K

$26.9K ฿908.7K

-3.29%

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

$211 A$301

$62.2 ฿2,097

238.68%

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

$27.72 A$39.56

$12.17 ฿410

127.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$83.6 A$119

$20.12 ฿679

315.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 A$80.5

$37.31 ฿1,259

51.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.87 A$25.50

$3.77 ฿127

374.01%

Cinema Ticket

$14.23 A$20.31

$6.49 ฿219

119.26%

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

$2,197 A$3,136

$736 ฿24.8K

198.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K A$25.2K

$14.8K ฿498.0K

19.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.5 A$111

$53.4 ฿1,800

45.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.9 A$78.3

$24.64 ฿831

122.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 A$153

$91.5 ฿3,086

17.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 A$175

$71.9 ฿2,426

70.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 A$1,384

$482 ฿16.3K

101.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,245 A$1,776

$309 ฿10.4K

302.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 A$2,342

$1,006 ฿33.9K

63.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,795 A$2,561

$633 ฿21.4K

183.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,741 A$2,484

$2,363 ฿79.7K

-26.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,558 A$7,933

$1,589 ฿53.6K

249.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,213 A$3,158

$590 ฿19.9K

275.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

5.57

5.92%

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

Last update for Dubbo: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubbo

$1.2K 48%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 75.2% $936

Groceries & Markets

Dubbo

$376 14.5%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 37.6% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubbo

$322 12.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 70.6% $227

Eating Out

Dubbo

$295 11.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 73.7% $217

Clothing & Footwear

Dubbo

$163 6.3%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 33.3% $54

Getting Around

Dubbo

$107 4.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 42.7% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Dubbo

$85 3.3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 40.7% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $970 in Dubbo versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Dubbo are about 3.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $83 in Dubbo versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $376 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Dubbo

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

10:58 10:58 AM

06:58 6:58 AM

4 h behind Dubbo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,808

127,240

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.701 USD

1 AUD = 0.625 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.701 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.625 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubbo Chiang Mai 7,750 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubbo
Chiang Mai

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

Dubbo vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dubbo costs about 177% 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 $3,887 per month in Dubbo and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. 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 $970 in Dubbo.

Kindergarten costs $2,197 per month in Dubbo and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 60% more in Dubbo, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,592 in Dubbo and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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