Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rockhampton and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,987 in Rockhampton, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

95

Cost of Living Index in Rockhampton
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Rockhampton Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Rockhampton

🇦🇺 Australia

$1,987

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,987 per month in Rockhampton vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Rockhampton $1,987
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,229 per month in Rockhampton vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Rockhampton $3,229
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,471 per month in Rockhampton vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Rockhampton $4,471
Chiang Mai $1,979

Rockhampton costs about 112% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Rockhampton sits 46% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.51 A$29.05

$2.24 ฿75.5

815.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.9 A$119

$19.00 ฿640

341.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.90 A$14.03

$5.55 ฿187

78.38%

Cappuccino

$5.01 A$7.10

$1.67 ฿56.4

200.00%

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

$2.40 A$3.40

$0.64 ฿21.51

275.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 A$3.93

$0.31 ฿10.29

793.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.66 A$10.85

$2.36 ฿79.5

224.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.47 A$9.16

$3.66 ฿123

76.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.38 A$3.37

$1.95 ฿65.7

22.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.34 A$3.32

$1.44 ฿48.41

62.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 A$3.07

$1.33 ฿44.97

63.16%

Eggs

$3.84 A$5.44

$2.28 ฿77.0

68.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.86 A$9.72

$16.45 ฿554

-58.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.15 A$15.80

$2.78 ฿93.8

301.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.74 A$22.29

$9.31 ฿314

69.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.77

$2.35 ฿79.3

13.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.06 A$2.92

$0.97 ฿32.75

112.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 A$2.65

$1.60 ฿53.8

16.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.95 A$7.02

$1.50 ฿50.6

230.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 A$2.82

$1.28 ฿43.06

55.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.29

$1.10 ฿37.14

110.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.92 A$2.73

$0.71 ฿23.79

170.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.23 A$3.16

$0.49 ฿16.34

355.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$37.33 A$52.9

$4.14 ฿140

801.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.17 A$21.49

$17.52 ฿590

-13.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.52 A$4.98

$1.61 ฿54.4

118.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.93 A$8.40

$2.78 ฿93.8

113.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.72 A$2.44

$0.87 ฿29.27

97.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.2 A$89.6

$54.1 ฿1,823

16.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.46 A$4.89

$1.16 ฿39.00

198.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.76 A$2.50

$0.53 ฿17.78

232.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.29 A$55.7

$2.42 ฿81.6

1523.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 A$1.72

$1.45 ฿48.82

-16.55%

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

$29.8K A$42.3K

$21.1K ฿709.7K

41.66%

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

$22.9K A$32.4K

$26.9K ฿907.9K

-15.08%

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

$203 A$288

$62.2 ฿2,095

227.26%

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

$23.89 A$33.84

$12.17 ฿410

96.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.6 A$95.8

$20.12 ฿678

236.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.77 A$56.3

$37.31 ฿1,257

6.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.23 A$20.16

$3.77 ฿127

277.45%

Cinema Ticket

$15.89 A$22.51

$6.49 ฿219

144.84%

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

$1,776 A$2,516

$736 ฿24.8K

141.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,584 A$9,328

$14.8K ฿497.6K

-55.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$127 A$181

$53.4 ฿1,799

138.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.5 A$84.3

$24.64 ฿830

141.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$141 A$200

$91.5 ฿3,083

54.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.0 A$90.6

$71.9 ฿2,424

-11.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$819 A$1,161

$482 ฿16.3K

69.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$678 A$961

$309 ฿10.4K

119.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,625 A$2,302

$1,006 ฿33.9K

61.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 A$2,194

$633 ฿21.3K

144.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,315 A$4,696

$590 ฿19.9K

462.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.27

5.57

12.57%

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

Last update for Rockhampton: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rockhampton

$678 34.1%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 54.5% $369

Groceries & Markets

Rockhampton

$358 18%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 34.5% $123

Eating Out

Rockhampton

$326 16.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 76.2% $248

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rockhampton

$295 14.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 68% $201

Clothing & Footwear

Rockhampton

$176 8.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 38.4% $68

Getting Around

Rockhampton

$82 4.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 25.5% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Rockhampton

$72 3.6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 29.7% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $819 in Rockhampton 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 Rockhampton are about 5.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $84 in Rockhampton versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $358 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Rockhampton

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

18:59 6:59 PM

15:59 3:59 PM

3 h behind Rockhampton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

63,151

127,240

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.706 USD

1 AUD = 0.633 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.706 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.633 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.61 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rockhampton Chiang Mai 7,300 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Rockhampton
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

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

Rockhampton costs about 112% 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 $2,981 per month in Rockhampton 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 $819 in Rockhampton.

Kindergarten costs $1,776 per month in Rockhampton 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 53% more in Rockhampton, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,987 in Rockhampton 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, Rockhampton makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.