Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karmøy and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $2,721 in Karmøy, rent and utilities included – about $21,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

131

Cost of Living Index in Karmøy
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Karmøy Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Karmøy

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,721

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,721 per month in Karmøy vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Karmøy $2,721
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $4,116 per month in Karmøy vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Karmøy $4,116
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $5,510 per month in Karmøy vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Karmøy $5,510
Chiang Mai $1,999

Karmøy costs about 191% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Karmøy sits 101% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.58 NOK 203

$2.13 ฿71.6

913.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 NOK 1,010

$18.62 ฿624

477.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.18 NOK 152

$5.60 ฿188

188.93%

Cappuccino

$5.40 NOK 50.7

$1.66 ฿55.8

225.30%

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

$4.29 NOK 40.33

$0.65 ฿21.69

560.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 NOK 30.51

$0.30 ฿10.22

983.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.04 NOK 113

$2.32 ฿77.9

418.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.56 NOK 99.2

$3.67 ฿123

187.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.57 NOK 24.19

$2.02 ฿67.6

27.23%

White Bread (500g)

$3.66 NOK 34.39

$1.41 ฿47.21

159.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.96 NOK 37.23

$1.39 ฿46.67

184.89%

Eggs

$5.05 NOK 47.42

$2.37 ฿79.4

113.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.40 NOK 126

$16.52 ฿554

-18.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.11 NOK 151

$2.67 ฿89.5

503.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.83 NOK 299

$9.02 ฿302

252.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.42 NOK 32.14

$2.40 ฿80.4

42.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.67 NOK 25.13

$1.04 ฿34.91

156.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.60 NOK 33.84

$1.66 ฿55.6

116.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.05 NOK 47.42

$1.56 ฿52.3

223.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.57 NOK 24.13

$1.24 ฿41.50

107.26%

Onion (1kg)

$2.97 NOK 27.92

$1.09 ฿36.44

172.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.07 NOK 28.86

$0.76 ฿25.54

303.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 NOK 22.79

$0.51 ฿17.24

374.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.96 NOK 169

$4.12 ฿138

335.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.70 NOK 157

$17.93 ฿601

-6.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.46 NOK 32.50

$1.62 ฿54.4

113.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.31 NOK 40.52

$2.82 ฿94.6

52.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.68 NOK 44.02

$0.93 ฿31.33

403.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.0 NOK 809

$52.9 ฿1,773

62.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$12.26 NOK 115

$1.18 ฿39.45

938.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.83 NOK 17.21

$0.17 ฿5.75

976.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$72.7 NOK 683

$1.81 ฿60.8

3914.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.41 NOK 22.62

$1.47 ฿49.38

63.95%

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

$49.9K NOK 468.8K

$21.0K ฿704.5K

137.35%

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

$44.5K NOK 418.2K

$26.5K ฿889.1K

67.79%

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

$277 NOK 2,601

$62.6 ฿2,098

342.31%

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

$33.72 NOK 317

$11.60 ฿389

190.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.9 NOK 525

$20.30 ฿681

175.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.75 NOK 468

$37.88 ฿1,270

31.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$37.27 NOK 350

$3.70 ฿124

907.30%

Cinema Ticket

$17.37 NOK 163

$6.51 ฿218

166.82%

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

$241 NOK 2,267

$727 ฿24.4K

-66.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K NOK 124.4K

$16.6K ฿555.7K

-20.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 NOK 965

$53.5 ฿1,795

91.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 NOK 540

$24.80 ฿832

131.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 NOK 1,219

$90.4 ฿3,031

43.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 NOK 1,530

$72.0 ฿2,413

126.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,262 NOK 11.9K

$481 ฿16.1K

162.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 NOK 9,789

$310 ฿10.4K

236.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,042 NOK 19.2K

$1,058 ฿35.5K

92.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 NOK 16.1K

$659 ฿22.1K

159.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,491 NOK 61.0K

$2,418 ฿81.1K

168.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,250 NOK 39.9K

$1,609 ฿53.9K

164.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,008 NOK 37.7K

$595 ฿19.9K

573.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

5.57

-11.31%

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

Last update for Karmøy: November 2, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Karmøy

$1K 38.3%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 70.2% $731

Groceries & Markets

Karmøy

$502 18.4%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 52.8% $265

Eating Out

Karmøy

$397 14.6%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 80.7% $321

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karmøy

$366 13.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 74.2% $272

Clothing & Footwear

Karmøy

$204 7.5%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 46.8% $95

Getting Around

Karmøy

$126 4.6%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 53.5% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Karmøy

$84 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 39.8% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,262 in Karmøy versus $481 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 Karmøy are about 6.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in Karmøy versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $502 vs $237 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Karmøy

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

20:12 8:12 PM

02:12 2:12 AM

6 h ahead of Karmøy

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,404

127,240

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.64 USD

100 NOK = 9.47 EUR

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.4 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.56 NOK (100 NOK = 9.47 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.53 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Karmøy Chiang Mai 8,430 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Karmøy
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

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

Karmøy costs about 191% 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 $4,082 per month in Karmøy 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 $481 there versus $1,262 in Karmøy.

Kindergarten costs $241 per month in Karmøy and $727 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 112% more in Karmøy, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,721 in Karmøy and $935 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 $935 in Chiang Mai to $2,721 in Karmøy. 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.

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