Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lillestrom and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,741 in Lillestrom, rent and utilities included – about $21,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

132

Cost of Living Index in Lillestrom
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Lillestrom Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Lillestrom

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,741

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,741 per month in Lillestrom vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lillestrom $2,741
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $4,180 per month in Lillestrom vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lillestrom $4,180
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $5,619 per month in Lillestrom vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lillestrom $5,619
Chiang Mai $1,979

Lillestrom costs about 193% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lillestrom 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

$21.75 NOK 202

$2.24 ฿75.6

870.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$125 NOK 1,157

$19.00 ฿641

557.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.47 NOK 106

$5.55 ฿187

106.67%

Cappuccino

$6.10 NOK 56.6

$1.67 ฿56.5

265.27%

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

$4.24 NOK 39.29

$0.64 ฿21.53

562.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 NOK 29.97

$0.31 ฿10.30

941.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.28 NOK 114

$2.36 ฿79.5

420.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.79 NOK 100

$3.66 ฿124

194.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.53 NOK 23.43

$1.95 ฿65.7

29.74%

White Bread (500g)

$3.87 NOK 35.89

$1.44 ฿48.45

168.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.21 NOK 39.00

$1.33 ฿45.01

216.54%

Eggs

$5.97 NOK 55.3

$2.28 ฿77.0

161.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.55 NOK 126

$16.45 ฿555

-17.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.90 NOK 129

$2.78 ฿93.8

400.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$28.81 NOK 267

$9.31 ฿314

209.45%

Apples (1kg)

$3.54 NOK 32.84

$2.35 ฿79.4

50.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.86 NOK 26.48

$0.97 ฿32.78

194.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.25 NOK 39.44

$1.60 ฿53.9

165.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.49 NOK 50.8

$1.50 ฿50.6

266.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.91 NOK 27.00

$1.28 ฿43.10

127.34%

Onion (1kg)

$3.62 NOK 33.57

$1.10 ฿37.17

229.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.85 NOK 17.13

$0.71 ฿23.81

160.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 NOK 22.48

$0.49 ฿16.36

395.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.85 NOK 165

$4.14 ฿140

331.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.97 NOK 157

$17.52 ฿591

-3.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.58 NOK 51.7

$1.61 ฿54.5

246.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.87 NOK 54.4

$2.78 ฿93.9

111.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.82 NOK 44.63

$0.87 ฿29.29

454.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.7 NOK 794

$54.1 ฿1,825

58.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$10.53 NOK 97.6

$1.16 ฿39.03

807.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 NOK 16.46

$0.53 ฿17.79

235.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$70.1 NOK 650

$2.42 ฿81.7

2797.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.27 NOK 21.01

$1.45 ฿48.87

56.55%

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

$48.9K NOK 453.3K

$21.1K ฿710.3K

132.24%

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

$40.7K NOK 377.6K

$26.9K ฿908.7K

51.22%

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

$276 NOK 2,558

$62.2 ฿2,097

343.90%

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

$39.04 NOK 362

$12.17 ฿410

220.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.8 NOK 470

$20.12 ฿679

152.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.3 NOK 467

$37.31 ฿1,259

34.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$37.67 NOK 349

$3.77 ฿127

899.20%

Cinema Ticket

$17.42 NOK 161

$6.49 ฿219

168.41%

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

$325 NOK 3,009

$736 ฿24.8K

-55.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.5K NOK 124.8K

$14.8K ฿498.0K

-8.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 NOK 937

$53.4 ฿1,800

89.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.7 NOK 535

$24.64 ฿831

134.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 NOK 1,204

$91.5 ฿3,086

41.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 NOK 1,471

$71.9 ฿2,426

120.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,312 NOK 12.2K

$482 ฿16.3K

172.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,063 NOK 9,855

$309 ฿10.4K

244.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,112 NOK 19.6K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

109.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,733 NOK 16.1K

$633 ฿21.4K

173.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,073 NOK 56.3K

$2,363 ฿79.7K

157.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,918 NOK 36.3K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

146.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,803 NOK 35.3K

$590 ฿19.9K

544.91%

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 Lillestrom: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lillestrom

$1.1K 38.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 70.9% $754

Groceries & Markets

Lillestrom

$507 18.5%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 53.7% $272

Eating Out

Lillestrom

$394 14.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 80.3% $317

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lillestrom

$366 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 74.2% $271

Clothing & Footwear

Lillestrom

$201 7.4%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 46% $93

Getting Around

Lillestrom

$124 4.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 50.7% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Lillestrom

$85 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 41% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,312 in Lillestrom 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 Lillestrom are about 6.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $125 in Lillestrom versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $507 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Lillestrom

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

16:16 4:16 PM

22:16 10:16 PM

6 h ahead of Lillestrom

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

94,585

127,240

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.79 USD

100 NOK = 9.67 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.27 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.34 NOK (100 NOK = 9.67 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lillestrom Chiang Mai 8,090 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lillestrom
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

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

Lillestrom costs about 193% 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 $4,112 per month in Lillestrom 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 $1,312 in Lillestrom.

Kindergarten costs $325 per month in Lillestrom 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 116% more in Lillestrom, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,741 in Lillestrom and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $936 versus $2,741 in Lillestrom. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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, Lillestrom makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.