Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Leon, Mexico and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,191 in Leon, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Leon
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Leon Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Leon

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,191

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,191 per month in Leon vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Leon $1,191
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,930 per month in Leon vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Leon $1,930
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,669 per month in Leon vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Leon $2,669
Chiang Mai $1,979

Leon costs about 27% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Leon and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Leon 12% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.96 MX$204

$2.24 ฿75.7

389.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.8 MX$1,003

$19.00 ฿642

183.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.66 MX$161

$5.55 ฿188

56.04%

Cappuccino

$4.01 MX$74.8

$1.67 ฿56.6

140.12%

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

$1.55 MX$28.88

$0.64 ฿21.56

142.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 MX$22.85

$0.31 ฿10.32

296.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.92 MX$54.4

$2.36 ฿79.6

23.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.86 MX$71.9

$3.66 ฿124

5.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 MX$32.57

$1.95 ฿65.8

-10.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.72 MX$50.7

$1.44 ฿48.51

88.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MX$32.01

$1.33 ฿45.07

29.32%

Eggs

$3.27 MX$60.9

$2.28 ฿77.1

43.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.81 MX$127

$16.45 ฿556

-58.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.52 MX$140

$2.78 ฿94.0

170.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.83 MX$202

$9.31 ฿314

16.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.37 MX$44.23

$2.35 ฿79.5

0.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.47

$0.97 ฿32.82

41.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 MX$33.27

$1.60 ฿53.9

11.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.83

$1.50 ฿50.7

-4.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 MX$36.63

$1.28 ฿43.15

53.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 MX$38.64

$1.10 ฿37.22

88.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 MX$24.85

$0.71 ฿23.84

87.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 MX$13.58

$0.49 ฿16.38

48.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 MX$125

$4.14 ฿140

62.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.26 MX$247

$17.52 ฿592

-24.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 MX$43.41

$1.61 ฿54.5

44.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 MX$66.8

$2.78 ฿94.0

28.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 MX$14.55

$0.87 ฿29.33

-10.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.94 MX$707

$54.1 ฿1,827

-29.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.72 MX$50.8

$1.16 ฿39.08

134.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.62 MX$48.85

$0.53 ฿17.82

394.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.76 MX$275

$2.42 ฿81.8

509.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 MX$26.06

$1.45 ฿48.93

-3.45%

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

$24.5K MX$457.4K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

16.52%

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

$23.3K MX$433.6K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-13.65%

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

$21.19 MX$395

$62.2 ฿2,100

-65.92%

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

$39.64 MX$739

$12.17 ฿411

225.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.5 MX$1,072

$20.12 ฿680

185.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.72 MX$685

$37.31 ฿1,260

-1.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.64 MX$627

$3.77 ฿127

792.31%

Cinema Ticket

$6.48 MX$121

$6.49 ฿219

-0.15%

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

$178 MX$3,320

$736 ฿24.9K

-75.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,783 MX$70.5K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-74.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.6 MX$1,036

$53.4 ฿1,802

4.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.2 MX$1,215

$24.64 ฿832

164.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.5 MX$1,818

$91.5 ฿3,089

6.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,163

$71.9 ฿2,429

61.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$525 MX$9,783

$482 ฿16.3K

8.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$362 MX$6,746

$309 ฿10.4K

17.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.4K

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-23.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$678 MX$12.6K

$633 ฿21.4K

7.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$528 MX$9,838

$590 ฿19.9K

-10.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.6

5.57

108.26%

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

Last update for Leon: 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

Leon

$362 30.4%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 14.6% $53

Groceries & Markets

Leon

$259 21.7%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 9.5% $25

Eating Out

Leon

$195 16.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 60.3% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Leon

$150 12.6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 27.8% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Leon

$118 9.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 20.2% $24

Getting Around

Leon

$57 4.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 7.9% $4.5

Sport & Entertainment

Leon

$50 4.2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 1.2% $0.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $525 in Leon 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 run about 12% higher in Chiang Mai, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $54 in Leon versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $259 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Leon

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

17:02 5:02 PM

06:02 6:02 AM

13 h ahead of Leon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,579,803

127,240

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 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 MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Leon Chiang Mai 15,040 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Leon
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

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

Leon costs about 27% 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 $1,787 per month in Leon and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $525 in Leon and $482 in Chiang Mai. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Kindergarten costs $178 per month in Leon 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 10% more in Leon, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,191 in Leon 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 $1,191 in Leon. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.