Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Narvik and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,530 in Narvik, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Narvik
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Narvik Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Narvik

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,530

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,530 per month in Narvik vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Narvik $2,530
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,868 per month in Narvik vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Narvik $3,868
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $5,205 per month in Narvik vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Narvik $5,205
Chiang Mai $1,979

Narvik costs about 170% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Narvik sits 86% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$32.33 NOK 297

$2.24 ฿75.6

1343.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$96.1 NOK 883

$19.00 ฿641

405.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.33 NOK 150

$5.55 ฿187

194.23%

Cappuccino

$4.91 NOK 45.08

$1.67 ฿56.5

194.01%

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

$3.00 NOK 27.53

$0.64 ฿21.54

368.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 NOK 26.36

$0.31 ฿10.31

825.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.76 NOK 108

$2.36 ฿79.5

398.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.36 NOK 114

$3.66 ฿124

237.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.59 NOK 23.83

$1.95 ฿65.7

32.82%

White Bread (500g)

$3.34 NOK 30.65

$1.44 ฿48.46

131.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 NOK 24.89

$1.33 ฿45.03

103.76%

Eggs

$5.24 NOK 48.17

$2.28 ฿77.1

129.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.24 NOK 113

$16.45 ฿555

-25.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.93 NOK 137

$2.78 ฿93.9

437.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.20 NOK 213

$9.31 ฿314

149.19%

Apples (1kg)

$4.01 NOK 36.89

$2.35 ฿79.4

70.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 NOK 20.19

$0.97 ฿32.79

126.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.86 NOK 44.62

$1.60 ฿53.9

203.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.49 NOK 41.21

$1.50 ฿50.6

199.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.65 NOK 24.38

$1.28 ฿43.11

107.03%

Onion (1kg)

$5.00 NOK 45.92

$1.10 ฿37.18

354.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.97 NOK 27.31

$0.71 ฿23.82

318.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 NOK 19.57

$0.49 ฿16.36

334.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$16.63 NOK 153

$4.14 ฿140

301.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.47 NOK 160

$17.52 ฿591

-0.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.52 NOK 32.30

$1.61 ฿54.5

118.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.84 NOK 35.27

$2.78 ฿93.9

38.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.66 NOK 42.84

$0.87 ฿29.30

435.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.8 NOK 852

$54.1 ฿1,825

71.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$16.25 NOK 149

$1.16 ฿39.04

1300.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.19 NOK 20.10

$0.53 ฿17.80

313.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$54.6 NOK 501

$2.42 ฿81.7

2154.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.43 NOK 22.35

$1.45 ฿48.88

67.59%

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

$41.5K NOK 381.2K

$21.1K ฿710.5K

97.02%

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

$38.0K NOK 348.9K

$26.9K ฿909.0K

40.97%

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

$267 NOK 2,451

$62.2 ฿2,098

329.15%

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

$50.6 NOK 465

$12.17 ฿411

315.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$86.3 NOK 793

$20.12 ฿679

328.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.6 NOK 520

$37.31 ฿1,259

51.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.50 NOK 243

$3.77 ฿127

602.92%

Cinema Ticket

$18.00 NOK 165

$6.49 ฿219

177.35%

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

$317 NOK 2,908

$736 ฿24.8K

-57.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,842 NOK 72.0K

$14.8K ฿498.2K

-46.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$128 NOK 1,173

$53.4 ฿1,801

139.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.69 NOK 328

$24.64 ฿831

44.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$143 NOK 1,315

$91.5 ฿3,087

56.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$170 NOK 1,565

$71.9 ฿2,427

136.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$942 NOK 8,659

$482 ฿16.3K

95.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$745 NOK 6,841

$309 ฿10.4K

141.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,668 NOK 15.3K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

65.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,264 NOK 11.6K

$633 ฿21.4K

99.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,411 NOK 49.7K

$2,363 ฿79.7K

128.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,898 NOK 45.0K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

208.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,630 NOK 33.4K

$590 ฿19.9K

515.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.01

5.57

-10.05%

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

Last update for Narvik: 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

Narvik

$745 29.4%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 58.5% $436

Eating Out

Narvik

$474 18.7%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 83.6% $396

Groceries & Markets

Narvik

$463 18.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 49.4% $228

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Narvik

$404 16%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 76.6% $309

Clothing & Footwear

Narvik

$215 8.5%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 49.4% $106

Getting Around

Narvik

$139 5.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 55.7% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Narvik

$93 3.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 45.7% $42

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $942 in Narvik 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 Narvik are about 6.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $96 in Narvik versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $463 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Narvik

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

23:05 11:05 PM

05:05 5:05 AM

6 h ahead of Narvik

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,183

127,240

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.88 USD

100 NOK = 9.75 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.19 NOK (1 NOK = 0.109 USD). 1 EUR = 10.26 NOK (100 NOK = 9.75 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

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Between locations

Narvik Chiang Mai 7,730 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Narvik
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

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

Narvik costs about 170% 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 $3,796 per month in Narvik 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 $942 in Narvik.

Kindergarten costs $317 per month in Narvik 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 97% more in Narvik, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,530 in Narvik 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 $2,530 in Narvik. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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