Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hearst and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,168 in Hearst, rent and utilities included – about $14,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

109

Cost of Living Index in Hearst
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Hearst Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Hearst

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,168

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hearst 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 Hearst and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,168 per month in Hearst vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Hearst $2,168
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,065 per month in Hearst vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Hearst $3,065
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,962 per month in Hearst vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Hearst $3,962
Chiang Mai $1,979

Hearst costs about 132% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Hearst sits 59% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.72 CA$22.07

$2.24 ฿75.7

601.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.1 CA$99.8

$19.00 ฿642

274.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.08 CA$15.55

$5.55 ฿188

99.64%

Cappuccino

$3.25 CA$4.55

$1.67 ฿56.6

94.61%

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

$2.05 CA$2.87

$0.64 ฿21.56

220.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 CA$2.65

$0.31 ฿10.32

509.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.52 CA$7.74

$2.36 ฿79.6

133.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 CA$7.45

$3.66 ฿124

45.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.05 CA$2.88

$1.95 ฿65.8

5.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 CA$3.59

$1.44 ฿48.51

77.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.20 CA$4.49

$1.33 ฿45.07

140.60%

Eggs

$3.41 CA$4.79

$2.28 ฿77.1

49.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.15 CA$14.24

$16.45 ฿556

-38.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.37 CA$15.96

$2.78 ฿94.0

308.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.51 CA$20.36

$9.31 ฿314

55.85%

Apples (1kg)

$3.87 CA$5.43

$2.35 ฿79.5

64.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 CA$1.96

$0.97 ฿32.82

44.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.94 CA$5.53

$1.60 ฿53.9

146.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.72 CA$5.22

$1.50 ฿50.7

148.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 CA$3.29

$1.28 ฿43.15

82.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.38 CA$3.34

$1.10 ฿37.22

116.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.50 CA$3.51

$0.71 ฿23.84

252.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 CA$2.34

$0.49 ฿16.38

238.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.08 CA$19.77

$4.14 ฿140

240.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.63 CA$16.32

$17.52 ฿592

-33.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 CA$3.93

$1.61 ฿54.5

73.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 CA$4.45

$2.78 ฿94.0

14.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.37 CA$3.33

$0.87 ฿29.33

172.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.5 CA$77.9

$54.1 ฿1,827

2.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 CA$4.66

$1.16 ฿39.08

186.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 CA$2.01

$0.53 ฿17.82

169.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.10 CA$36.63

$2.42 ฿81.8

978.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 CA$1.90

$1.45 ฿48.93

-6.21%

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

$28.0K CA$39.3K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

32.81%

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

$21.4K CA$30.1K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-20.40%

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

$138 CA$194

$62.2 ฿2,100

122.13%

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

$41.68 CA$58.5

$12.17 ฿411

242.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.9 CA$77.1

$20.12 ฿680

172.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.53 CA$52.7

$37.31 ฿1,260

0.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.52 CA$26.00

$3.77 ฿127

391.25%

Cinema Ticket

$10.63 CA$14.92

$6.49 ฿219

63.79%

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

$611 CA$857

$736 ฿24.9K

-17.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K CA$20.6K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-0.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 CA$78.8

$53.4 ฿1,802

5.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.55 CA$55.5

$24.64 ฿832

60.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.5 CA$120

$91.5 ฿3,089

-6.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 CA$146

$71.9 ฿2,429

44.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,334 CA$1,872

$482 ฿16.3K

176.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,068 CA$1,499

$309 ฿10.4K

245.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,968 CA$2,762

$1,006 ฿34.0K

95.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,445 CA$2,028

$633 ฿21.4K

128.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,927 CA$5,511

$2,363 ฿79.8K

66.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,050 CA$4,281

$1,589 ฿53.7K

91.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,273 CA$4,593

$590 ฿19.9K

454.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.68

5.57

-15.98%

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

Last update for Hearst: October 24, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hearst

$1.1K 49.3%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 71.1% $759

Groceries & Markets

Hearst

$351 16.2%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 33.2% $116

Eating Out

Hearst

$252 11.6%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 69.2% $174

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hearst

$235 10.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 59.7% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Hearst

$128 5.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 15.4% $20

Getting Around

Hearst

$75 3.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 18.7% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Hearst

$59 2.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 14.5% $8.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,334 in Hearst 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 Hearst are about 5.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71 in Hearst versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $351 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Hearst

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

17:21 5:21 PM

04:21 4:21 AM

11 h ahead of Hearst

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

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Between locations

Hearst Chiang Mai 12,400 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Hearst
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

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

Hearst costs about 132% 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 $3,253 per month in Hearst 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 $1,334 in Hearst.

Kindergarten costs $611 per month in Hearst 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 50% more in Hearst, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,168 in Hearst and $936 in Chiang Mai. 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 $2,168 in Hearst. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Hearst makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.