Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oaxaca de Juarez and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,124 in Oaxaca de Juarez, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Oaxaca de Juarez
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Oaxaca de Juarez Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Oaxaca de Juarez

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,124

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,124 per month in Oaxaca de Juarez vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Oaxaca de Juarez $1,124
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,735 per month in Oaxaca de Juarez vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Oaxaca de Juarez $1,735
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,347 per month in Oaxaca de Juarez vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Oaxaca de Juarez $2,347
Chiang Mai $1,979

Oaxaca de Juarez costs about 20% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Oaxaca de Juarez and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Oaxaca de Juarez 17% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.41 MX$120

$2.24 ฿75.6

186.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.43 MX$609

$19.00 ฿641

70.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.88 MX$148

$5.55 ฿187

41.98%

Cappuccino

$2.72 MX$51.1

$1.67 ฿56.5

62.87%

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

$1.44 MX$26.96

$0.64 ฿21.54

125.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.80 MX$14.97

$0.31 ฿10.31

158.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.38 MX$44.68

$2.36 ฿79.5

0.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 MX$69.8

$3.66 ฿124

1.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 MX$24.44

$1.95 ฿65.7

-33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.95 MX$55.4

$1.44 ฿48.46

104.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.06 MX$19.81

$1.33 ฿45.03

-20.30%

Eggs

$1.65 MX$31.03

$2.28 ฿77.1

-27.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.46 MX$121

$16.45 ฿555

-60.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.46 MX$102

$2.78 ฿93.9

96.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.74 MX$202

$9.31 ฿314

15.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.09 MX$39.28

$2.35 ฿79.4

-11.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.16 MX$21.80

$0.97 ฿32.79

19.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 MX$34.63

$1.60 ฿53.9

15.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.55 MX$10.41

$1.50 ฿50.6

-63.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$37.60

$1.28 ฿43.11

56.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 MX$35.86

$1.10 ฿37.18

73.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$20.02

$0.71 ฿23.82

50.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 MX$17.05

$0.49 ฿16.36

85.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.13 MX$77.6

$4.14 ฿140

-0.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.29 MX$174

$17.52 ฿591

-46.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 MX$27.00

$1.61 ฿54.5

-10.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 MX$49.42

$2.78 ฿93.9

-5.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.72

$0.87 ฿29.30

-40.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.88 MX$72.8

$1.16 ฿39.04

234.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 MX$36.24

$0.53 ฿17.80

264.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.94 MX$205

$2.42 ฿81.7

352.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 MX$25.48

$1.45 ฿48.88

-6.21%

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

$23.8K MX$446.0K

$21.1K ฿710.5K

12.80%

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

$23.9K MX$449.1K

$26.9K ฿909.0K

-11.21%

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

$59.8 MX$1,123

$62.2 ฿2,098

-3.76%

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

$10.73 MX$201

$12.17 ฿411

-11.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.45 MX$440

$20.12 ฿679

16.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.86 MX$823

$37.31 ฿1,259

17.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$5.35 MX$100

$6.49 ฿219

-17.57%

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

$419 MX$7,871

$736 ฿24.8K

-43.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.3K MX$362.9K

$14.8K ฿498.2K

30.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 MX$990

$53.4 ฿1,801

-1.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.5 MX$1,136

$24.64 ฿831

145.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 MX$1,877

$91.5 ฿3,087

9.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.7 MX$1,758

$71.9 ฿2,427

30.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$703 MX$13.2K

$482 ฿16.3K

45.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 MX$8,815

$309 ฿10.4K

52.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,168 MX$21.9K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

16.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$871 MX$16.3K

$633 ฿21.4K

37.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.96

5.57

96.77%

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

Last update for Oaxaca de Juarez: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Oaxaca de Juarez

$470 41.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 34.2% $161

Groceries & Markets

Oaxaca de Juarez

$216 19.2%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 8.6% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Oaxaca de Juarez

$138 12.3%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 21.3% $29

Eating Out

Oaxaca de Juarez

$136 12.1%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 42.9% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oaxaca de Juarez

$94 8.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 0.5% $0.5

Sport & Entertainment

Oaxaca de Juarez

$55 4.9%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 7.8% $4.3

Getting Around

Oaxaca de Juarez

$16 * 1.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 293% $46

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $703 in Oaxaca de Juarez 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $216 in Oaxaca de Juarez vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Oaxaca de Juarez wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Oaxaca de Juarez

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

21:17 9:17 PM

10:17 10:17 AM

13 h ahead of Oaxaca de Juarez

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

258,913

127,240

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Oaxaca de Juarez Chiang Mai 15,670 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Oaxaca de Juarez
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

Oaxaca de Juarez vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Oaxaca de Juarez costs about 20% 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 $1,685 per month in Oaxaca de Juarez 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 $703 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Oaxaca de Juarez and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 8% cheaper in Oaxaca de Juarez – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,124 in Oaxaca de Juarez 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 $1,124 in Oaxaca de Juarez. 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.