Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Miguel Hidalgo and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $1,149 in Miguel Hidalgo, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Miguel Hidalgo
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Miguel Hidalgo Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Miguel Hidalgo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,149

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,149 per month in Miguel Hidalgo vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Miguel Hidalgo $1,149
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $1,960 per month in Miguel Hidalgo vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Miguel Hidalgo $1,960
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $2,771 per month in Miguel Hidalgo vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Miguel Hidalgo $2,771
Chiang Mai $1,914

Miguel Hidalgo costs about 22% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Miguel Hidalgo and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Miguel Hidalgo 15% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$203

$2.26 ฿75.4

385.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.1 MX$1,590

$19.18 ฿641

348.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.69 MX$161

$5.59 ฿187

55.46%

Cappuccino

$3.58 MX$66.1

$1.72 ฿57.6

108.14%

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

$1.33 MX$24.51

$0.64 ฿21.54

107.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 MX$19.54

$0.33 ฿11.18

221.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.39 MX$44.15

$2.36 ฿78.7

1.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 MX$114

$3.90 ฿130

57.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 MX$30.83

$2.05 ฿68.6

-18.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 MX$47.72

$1.40 ฿46.70

84.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.51

$1.28 ฿42.89

33.59%

Eggs

$2.41 MX$44.61

$2.25 ฿75.3

7.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.30 MX$153

$16.94 ฿566

-51.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.23 MX$171

$2.74 ฿91.6

236.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.37 MX$210

$9.36 ฿313

21.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.40 ฿80.3

17.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 MX$27.94

$1.01 ฿33.92

49.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.83

$1.61 ฿53.9

16.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 MX$34.00

$1.52 ฿50.7

21.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.55

$1.28 ฿42.90

58.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$34.99

$1.11 ฿37.22

70.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 MX$26.33

$0.72 ฿24.09

97.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 MX$21.12

$0.52 ฿17.54

119.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.28 MX$79.2

$4.33 ฿145

-1.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.69 MX$198

$17.73 ฿593

-39.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 MX$33.23

$1.63 ฿54.4

10.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 MX$59.0

$2.85 ฿95.3

12.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 MX$11.75

$0.85 ฿28.31

-24.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.73 MX$50.4

$1.17 ฿39.18

133.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.01 MX$37.22

$0.57 ฿19.00

252.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.79 MX$218

$2.37 ฿79.2

397.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 MX$27.66

$1.45 ฿48.32

3.45%

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

$20.8K MX$384.6K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

1.65%

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

$24.4K MX$450.7K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

-8.01%

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

$30.58 MX$565

$62.3 ฿2,083

-50.94%

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

$22.81 MX$421

$12.27 ฿410

85.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.86 MX$589

$19.97 ฿668

59.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.90 MX$867

$37.91 ฿1,267

23.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 MX$371

$3.76 ฿126

434.57%

Cinema Ticket

$5.13 MX$94.8

$6.71 ฿224

-23.55%

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

$215 MX$3,975

$797 ฿26.6K

-73.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,122 MX$76.2K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-72.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.8 MX$1,363

$53.3 ฿1,780

38.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.32 MX$763

$25.05 ฿837

64.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.8 MX$1,752

$91.6 ฿3,062

3.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.5 MX$1,653

$73.5 ฿2,455

21.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$603 MX$11.1K

$464 ฿15.5K

30.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$396 MX$7,309

$305 ฿10.2K

29.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,034 MX$19.1K

$915 ฿30.6K

13.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$763 MX$14.1K

$552 ฿18.5K

38.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,950 MX$36.0K

$1,912 ฿63.9K

1.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,157 MX$21.4K

$1,438 ฿48.1K

-19.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$541 MX$9,994

$595 ฿19.9K

-9.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.57

102.87%

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

Last update for Miguel Hidalgo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Miguel Hidalgo

$396 34.4%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 23% $91

Groceries & Markets

Miguel Hidalgo

$270 23.5%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 11.9% $32

Eating Out

Miguel Hidalgo

$191 16.6%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 58.5% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Miguel Hidalgo

$135 11.7%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 18.7% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Miguel Hidalgo

$85 7.4%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 11% $9.3

Sport & Entertainment

Miguel Hidalgo

$57 5%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 10.2% $5.8

Getting Around

Miguel Hidalgo

$15 * 1.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 300% $46

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $603 in Miguel Hidalgo versus $464 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 10% 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 $86.0 in Miguel Hidalgo versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $270 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Miguel Hidalgo

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

00:29 12:29 AM

13:29 1:29 PM

13 h ahead of Miguel Hidalgo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

414,470

127,240

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Miguel Hidalgo Chiang Mai 15,330 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Miguel Hidalgo
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

Miguel Hidalgo vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Miguel Hidalgo costs about 22% 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 $1,723 per month in Miguel Hidalgo and $1,408 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $86.0 in Miguel Hidalgo and $19.00 in Chiang Mai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 13% more in Miguel Hidalgo, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in Miguel Hidalgo at $1,149. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Miguel Hidalgo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $1,149 in Miguel Hidalgo. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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