Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Huainan and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Huainan: $714 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Huainan
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Huainan Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Huainan

🇨🇳 China

$714

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $714 per month in Huainan vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Huainan $714
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,133 per month in Huainan vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Huainan $1,133
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,552 per month in Huainan vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Huainan $1,552
Chiang Mai $1,979

Huainan is about 24% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Huainan and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Huainan 48% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.86 ¥19.05

$2.24 ฿75.7

27.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.17 ¥141

$19.00 ฿642

11.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.98 ¥33.15

$5.55 ฿188

-10.27%

Cappuccino

$3.04 ¥20.26

$1.67 ฿56.6

82.04%

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

$0.46 ¥3.09

$0.64 ฿21.56

-28.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.79

$0.31 ฿10.32

-12.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.87 ¥5.76

$2.36 ฿79.6

-63.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 ¥13.64

$3.66 ฿124

-43.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 ¥12.54

$1.95 ฿65.8

-3.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 ¥10.63

$1.44 ฿48.51

11.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.96 ¥6.39

$1.33 ฿45.07

-27.82%

Eggs

$1.56 ¥10.36

$2.28 ฿77.1

-31.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.72 ¥84.7

$16.45 ฿556

-22.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.14 ¥20.87

$2.78 ฿94.0

12.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.33 ¥68.7

$9.31 ฿314

10.96%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ¥12.38

$2.35 ฿79.5

-20.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 ¥8.09

$0.97 ฿32.82

25.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 ¥9.78

$1.60 ฿53.9

-8.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.11 ¥7.36

$1.50 ฿50.7

-26.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.71 ¥4.72

$1.28 ฿43.15

-44.53%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 ¥6.30

$1.10 ฿37.22

-13.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 ¥4.04

$0.71 ฿23.84

-14.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ¥3.39

$0.49 ฿16.38

4.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 ¥20.92

$4.14 ฿140

-24.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.42 ¥69.4

$17.52 ฿592

-40.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ¥4.98

$1.61 ฿54.5

-53.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 ¥11.07

$2.78 ฿94.0

-40.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.94

$0.87 ฿29.33

-66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.84 ¥112

$54.1 ฿1,827

-68.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.42 ¥9.46

$1.16 ฿39.08

22.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 ¥2.17

$0.53 ฿17.82

-37.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.58 ¥43.78

$2.42 ฿81.8

171.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 ¥7.52

$1.45 ฿48.93

-22.07%

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

$19.3K ¥128.2K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

-8.50%

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

$17.4K ¥116.0K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-35.32%

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

$45.61 ¥304

$62.2 ฿2,100

-26.64%

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

$9.78 ¥65.1

$12.17 ฿411

-19.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.60 ¥77.2

$20.12 ฿680

-42.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.04 ¥273

$37.31 ฿1,260

10.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.19 ¥94.4

$3.77 ฿127

276.39%

Cinema Ticket

$5.87 ¥39.09

$6.49 ฿219

-9.55%

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

$328 ¥2,181

$736 ฿24.9K

-55.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K ¥112.6K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

14.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.83 ¥292

$53.4 ฿1,802

-17.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.89 ¥199

$24.64 ฿832

21.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.7 ¥471

$91.5 ฿3,089

-22.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.2 ¥474

$71.9 ฿2,429

-1.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$277 ¥1,841

$482 ฿16.3K

-42.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ¥1,277

$309 ฿10.4K

-37.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$583 ¥3,878

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-42.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$364 ¥2,425

$633 ฿21.4K

-42.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,075 ¥20.5K

$2,363 ฿79.8K

30.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,001 ¥13.3K

$1,589 ฿53.7K

25.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

5.57

-30.16%

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

Last update for Huainan: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Huainan

$198 27.8%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 18.2% $36

Accommodation & Living

Huainan

$192 26.9%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 61% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Huainan

$97 13.6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 11.9% $12

Eating Out

Huainan

$86 12%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 9.5% $8.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Huainan

$67 9.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 41% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Huainan

$53 7.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 4.8% $2.5

Getting Around

Huainan

$21 3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 191% $40

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $277 in Huainan 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $21 in Huainan versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $198 in Huainan vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Huainan wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Huainan

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

06:14 6:14 AM

05:14 5:14 AM

1 h behind Huainan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,033,528

127,240

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 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 CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Huainan Chiang Mai 2,370 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Huainan
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 31% more than Huainan, 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 $1,070 per month in Huainan 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 Huainan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $277 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Kindergarten costs $328 per month in Huainan 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 18% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

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