Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mountain Home, ID and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $2,430 in Mountain Home, ID, rent and utilities included – about $18,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

124

Cost of Living Index in Mountain Home, ID
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Mountain Home, ID Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Mountain Home, ID

🇺🇸 United States

$2,430

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,430 per month in Mountain Home, ID vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Mountain Home, ID $2,430
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $3,678 per month in Mountain Home, ID vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Mountain Home, ID $3,678
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $4,927 per month in Mountain Home, ID vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Mountain Home, ID $4,927
Chiang Mai $1,903

Mountain Home, ID costs about 163% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Mountain Home, ID sits 79% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.76 $18.76

$2.29 ฿77.2

719.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.5 $71.5

$19.64 ฿663

264.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.64 $12.64

$5.61 ฿189

125.31%

Cappuccino

$5.55 $5.55

$1.66 ฿56.1

234.34%

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

$2.82 $2.82

$0.70 ฿23.62

302.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 $2.19

$0.31 ฿10.33

606.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.97 $5.97

$2.41 ฿81.2

147.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.48 $6.48

$3.71 ฿125

74.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.08 $1.08

$1.95 ฿65.9

-44.62%

White Bread (500g)

$3.62 $3.62

$1.41 ฿47.48

156.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.26 $4.26

$1.31 ฿44.04

225.19%

Eggs

$4.22 $4.22

$2.18 ฿73.6

93.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.80 $12.80

$16.65 ฿562

-23.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.72 $11.72

$2.76 ฿93.1

324.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.77 $16.77

$9.11 ฿307

84.08%

Apples (1kg)

$4.89 $4.89

$2.39 ฿80.7

104.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 $1.65

$1.03 ฿34.59

60.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.18 $4.18

$1.63 ฿54.9

156.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.65 $4.65

$1.50 ฿50.5

210.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.86 $2.86

$1.29 ฿43.54

121.71%

Onion (1kg)

$3.00 $3.00

$1.11 ฿37.38

170.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.19 $2.19

$0.72 ฿24.31

204.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 $2.56

$0.53 ฿17.76

383.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.22 $10.22

$4.31 ฿145

137.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.94 $14.94

$17.95 ฿605

-16.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 $1.99

$1.58 ฿53.4

25.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 $3.46

$2.84 ฿95.9

21.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 $2.26

$0.86 ฿29.14

162.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ฿1,798

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 $2.67

$1.21 ฿40.67

120.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.73 $1.73

$0.57 ฿19.17

203.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.44 $26.44

$2.35 ฿79.4

1025.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 $1.19

$1.44 ฿48.42

-17.36%

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

$27.0K $27.0K

$20.7K ฿699.4K

30.42%

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

$25.7K $25.7K

$26.8K ฿904.2K

-4.29%

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

$196 $196

$62.3 ฿2,103

213.80%

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

$58.9 $58.9

$12.11 ฿409

386.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.1 $70.1

$19.94 ฿673

251.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.47 $46.47

$37.07 ฿1,251

25.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$13.81 $13.81

$6.50 ฿219

112.46%

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

$1,333 $1,333

$793 ฿26.7K

68.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K $20.0K

$14.8K ฿499.6K

34.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 $53.5

$53.7 ฿1,813

-0.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.22 $45.22

$24.62 ฿831

83.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.2 $80.2

$90.9 ฿3,065

-11.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 $120

$71.1 ฿2,400

69.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,607 $1,607

$455 ฿15.4K

252.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,155 $1,155

$298 ฿10.0K

287.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,354 $2,354

$908 ฿30.6K

159.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,133 $2,133

$554 ฿18.7K

285.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,447 $2,447

$1,931 ฿65.1K

26.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,373 $2,373

$1,445 ฿48.7K

64.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$591 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.57

5.57

17.95%

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

Last update for Mountain Home, ID: October 18, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mountain Home, ID

$1.2K 47.5%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 74.2% $857

Groceries & Markets

Mountain Home, ID

$403 16.6%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 41.6% $168

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mountain Home, ID

$325 13.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 70.9% $230

Eating Out

Mountain Home, ID

$317 13.1%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 75.2% $239

Clothing & Footwear

Mountain Home, ID

$135 5.5%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 19.7% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Mountain Home, ID

$74 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 32.4% $24

Getting Around

Mountain Home, ID

$20 * 0.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 198% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,607 in Mountain Home, ID versus $455 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $72 in Mountain Home, ID versus $20 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $403 vs $235 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Mountain Home, ID

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

13:00 1:00 PM

02:00 2:00 AM

13 h ahead of Mountain Home, ID

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,656

127,240

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.893 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.893 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.8 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mountain Home, ID Chiang Mai 12,270 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Mountain Home, ID
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

Mountain Home, ID vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mountain Home, ID costs about 163% 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 $3,645 per month in Mountain Home, ID and $1,388 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 $455 there versus $1,607 in Mountain Home, ID.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $72 in Mountain Home, ID and $20 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 71% more in Mountain Home, ID, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,430 in Mountain Home, ID and $925 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.