Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Narita and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,203 in Narita, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Narita
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Narita Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Narita

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,203

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,203 per month in Narita vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Narita $1,203
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,912 per month in Narita vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Narita $1,912
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,620 per month in Narita vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Narita $2,620
Chiang Mai $1,979

Narita costs about 29% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.73 ¥904

$2.24 ฿75.6

155.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.80 ¥6,592

$19.00 ฿641

120.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.42 ¥697

$5.55 ฿187

-20.36%

Cappuccino

$3.25 ¥513

$1.67 ฿56.5

94.61%

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

$0.78 ¥124

$0.64 ฿21.55

21.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 ¥116

$0.31 ฿10.31

135.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.07 ¥326

$2.36 ฿79.6

-12.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 ¥508

$3.66 ฿124

-12.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ¥196

$1.95 ฿65.8

-35.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 ¥272

$1.44 ฿48.48

19.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.63 ¥573

$1.33 ฿45.04

172.93%

Eggs

$1.98 ¥313

$2.28 ฿77.1

-13.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.31 ¥1,626

$16.45 ฿555

-37.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.13 ¥966

$2.78 ฿93.9

120.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.34 ¥2,262

$9.31 ฿314

54.03%

Apples (1kg)

$5.83 ¥919

$2.35 ฿79.4

148.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.73 ¥431

$0.97 ฿32.80

181.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.91 ¥460

$1.60 ฿53.9

81.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.16 ¥656

$1.50 ฿50.6

177.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 ¥417

$1.28 ฿43.12

106.25%

Onion (1kg)

$2.69 ¥423

$1.10 ฿37.19

144.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 ¥206

$0.71 ฿23.82

83.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 ¥129

$0.49 ฿16.37

67.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.78 ¥596

$4.14 ฿140

-8.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 ¥980

$17.52 ฿591

-64.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 ¥283

$1.61 ฿54.5

11.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 ¥329

$2.78 ฿94.0

-24.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.48 ¥234

$0.87 ฿29.31

70.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$64.9 ¥10.2K

$54.1 ฿1,826

20.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.25 ¥512

$1.16 ฿39.06

180.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 ¥255

$0.53 ฿17.80

205.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.95 ¥3,303

$2.42 ฿81.8

765.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 ¥162

$1.45 ฿48.90

-28.97%

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

$21.8K ¥3.4M

$21.1K ฿710.7K

3.46%

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

$16.1K ¥2.5M

$26.9K ฿909.3K

-40.33%

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

$131 ¥20.6K

$62.2 ฿2,098

110.25%

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

$24.14 ¥3,806

$12.17 ฿411

98.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.35 ¥4,470

$20.12 ฿679

40.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ¥8,254

$37.31 ฿1,259

40.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$11.49 ¥1,811

$6.49 ฿219

77.04%

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

$828 ¥130.6K

$736 ฿24.8K

12.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ¥2.3M

$14.8K ฿498.3K

0.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.3 ¥9,818

$53.4 ฿1,801

16.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.42 ¥5,742

$24.64 ฿831

47.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.0 ¥9,620

$91.5 ฿3,087

-33.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 ¥16.5K

$71.9 ฿2,428

45.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$540 ¥85.1K

$482 ฿16.3K

11.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 ¥52.6K

$309 ฿10.4K

8.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$901 ¥142.1K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-10.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$700 ¥110.3K

$633 ฿21.4K

10.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,825 ¥603.2K

$2,363 ฿79.8K

61.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,316 ¥365.3K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

45.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,258 ¥198.3K

$590 ฿19.9K

113.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.64

5.57

-52.60%

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

Last update for Narita: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Narita

$334 27.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 7.4% $25

Groceries & Markets

Narita

$289 24%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 18.8% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Narita

$183 15.2%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 48.4% $89

Eating Out

Narita

$121 10.1%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 35.9% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Narita

$119 9.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 8.7% $10

Getting Around

Narita

$82 6.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 25.3% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Narita

$75 6.3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 33.2% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $540 in Narita 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 Narita are about 2.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $42 in Narita versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $289 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Narita

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

20:11 8:11 PM

18:11 6:11 PM

2 h behind Narita

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

131,613

127,240

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Narita Chiang Mai 4,460 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Narita
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

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

Narita costs about 29% more than Chiang Mai, 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 $1,805 per month in Narita 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 $540 in Narita.

Kindergarten costs $828 per month in Narita 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 23% more in Narita, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,203 in Narita and $936 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.

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