Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between La Merced and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in La Merced: $558 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in La Merced
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La Merced Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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La Merced

🇵🇪 Peru

$558

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $558 per month in La Merced vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

La Merced $558
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $910 per month in La Merced vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

La Merced $910
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $1,263 per month in La Merced vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

La Merced $1,263
Chiang Mai $1,999

La Merced is about 40% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both La Merced and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – La Merced 59% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.38 PEN 15.10

$2.13 ฿71.8

105.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.86 PEN 120

$18.62 ฿626

87.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.01 PEN 24.19

$5.60 ฿188

25.18%

Cappuccino

$3.18 PEN 10.97

$1.66 ฿55.9

91.57%

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

$1.08 PEN 3.72

$0.65 ฿21.75

66.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.24

$0.30 ฿10.25

116.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.57 PEN 8.86

$2.32 ฿78.1

10.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 PEN 14.81

$3.67 ฿123

16.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 PEN 5.44

$2.02 ฿67.8

-21.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 PEN 7.15

$1.41 ฿47.34

46.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 PEN 4.43

$1.39 ฿46.79

-7.91%

Eggs

$2.35 PEN 8.11

$2.37 ฿79.6

-0.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.33 PEN 25.29

$16.52 ฿555

-55.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.78 PEN 19.94

$2.67 ฿89.8

116.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.68 PEN 29.94

$9.02 ฿303

-3.77%

Apples (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.17

$2.40 ฿80.6

-61.67%

Banana (1kg)

$0.45 PEN 1.56

$1.04 ฿35.01

-56.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.30 PEN 1.04

$1.66 ฿55.8

-81.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.71 PEN 2.46

$1.56 ฿52.4

-54.49%

Potato (1kg)

$0.28 PEN 0.96

$1.24 ฿41.61

-77.42%

Onion (1kg)

$0.45 PEN 1.55

$1.09 ฿36.53

-58.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 PEN 2.07

$0.76 ฿25.61

-21.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 3.01

$0.51 ฿17.29

70.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.63 PEN 19.42

$4.12 ฿139

36.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.33 PEN 25.30

$17.93 ฿603

-59.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 PEN 6.56

$1.62 ฿54.6

17.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 PEN 10.61

$2.82 ฿94.9

9.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.42

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,778

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 PEN 11.84

$1.18 ฿39.56

190.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 PEN 7.14

$0.17 ฿5.76

1117.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.64 PEN 26.37

$1.81 ฿60.9

322.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.64 PEN 5.65

$1.47 ฿49.51

11.56%

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

$21.7K PEN 75.0K

$21.0K ฿706.4K

3.51%

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

$28.9K PEN 99.8K

$26.5K ฿891.4K

9.14%

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

$66.7 PEN 230

$62.6 ฿2,103

6.54%

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

$15.80 PEN 54.5

$11.60 ฿390

36.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.06 PEN 93.4

$20.30 ฿683

33.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,274

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$7.14 PEN 24.63

$6.51 ฿219

9.68%

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

$318 PEN 1,096

$727 ฿24.4K

-56.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.7K PEN 43.6K

$16.6K ฿557.2K

-23.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 PEN 184

$53.5 ฿1,800

-0.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.12 PEN 121

$24.80 ฿834

41.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.7 PEN 289

$90.4 ฿3,039

-7.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.1 PEN 273

$72.0 ฿2,420

9.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

5.57

57.63%

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

Last update for La Merced: October 31, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

La Merced

$185 33.1%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 27.9% $52

Eating Out

La Merced

$123 22%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 37.5% $46

Clothing & Footwear

La Merced

$113 20.3%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 4.2% $4.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

La Merced

$110 19.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 13.7% $15

Sport & Entertainment

La Merced

$14 * 2.6%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 256% $37

Getting Around

La Merced

$14 * 2.5%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 326% $45

Accommodation & Living

La Merced

- * 0%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

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 $35 in La Merced versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $185 in La Merced vs $237 in Chiang Mai – so La Merced wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇵🇪 La Merced

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

18:49 6:49 PM

06:49 6:49 AM

12 h ahead of La Merced

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.29 USD

1 PEN = 0.258 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3.45 PEN (1 PEN = 0.29 USD). 1 EUR = 3.88 PEN (1 PEN = 0.258 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

La Merced Chiang Mai 18,940 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

La Merced
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

La Merced vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 68% more than La Merced, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $837 per month in La Merced and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $35 in La Merced and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 28% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in La Merced, where all-in costs run around $558, than in Chiang Mai at $935. In La Merced it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $558 in La Merced to $935 in Chiang Mai. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.