Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sacramento, CA and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $3,000 in Sacramento, CA, rent and utilities included – about $24,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

143

Cost of Living Index in Sacramento, CA
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Sacramento, CA Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Sacramento, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$3,000

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,000 per month in Sacramento, CA vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sacramento, CA $3,000
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $4,471 per month in Sacramento, CA vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sacramento, CA $4,471
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $5,943 per month in Sacramento, CA vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sacramento, CA $5,943
Chiang Mai $1,979

Sacramento, CA costs about 221% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sacramento, CA sits 120% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.12 $21.12

$2.24 ฿75.6

842.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$99.6 $99.6

$19.00 ฿641

424.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.26 $12.26

$5.55 ฿187

120.90%

Cappuccino

$5.19 $5.19

$1.67 ฿56.5

210.78%

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

$2.91 $2.91

$0.64 ฿21.55

354.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 $2.94

$0.31 ฿10.31

848.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.85 $7.85

$2.36 ฿79.6

232.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.83 $7.83

$3.66 ฿124

113.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 $1.31

$1.95 ฿65.8

-32.82%

White Bread (500g)

$4.16 $4.16

$1.44 ฿48.48

188.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.59 $4.59

$1.33 ฿45.04

245.11%

Eggs

$5.87 $5.87

$2.28 ฿77.1

157.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.16 $15.16

$16.45 ฿555

-7.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.14 $15.14

$2.78 ฿93.9

444.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.50 $18.50

$9.31 ฿314

98.71%

Apples (1kg)

$4.98 $4.98

$2.35 ฿79.4

111.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 $1.95

$0.97 ฿32.80

101.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.41 $4.41

$1.60 ฿53.9

175.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.67 $5.67

$1.50 ฿50.6

278.00%

Potato (1kg)

$3.67 $3.67

$1.28 ฿43.12

186.72%

Onion (1kg)

$3.31 $3.31

$1.10 ฿37.19

200.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.40 $2.40

$0.71 ฿23.82

238.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.61 $2.61

$0.49 ฿16.37

432.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.83 $11.83

$4.14 ฿140

185.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.21 $14.21

$17.52 ฿591

-18.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 $2.59

$1.61 ฿54.5

60.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 $3.65

$2.78 ฿94.0

31.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.57 $2.57

$0.87 ฿29.31

195.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100.0 $100.0

$54.1 ฿1,826

84.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.06 $4.06

$1.16 ฿39.06

250.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 $1.92

$0.53 ฿17.80

262.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.35 $25.35

$2.42 ฿81.8

947.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.62 $1.62

$1.45 ฿48.90

11.72%

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

$34.5K $34.5K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

63.97%

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

$26.7K $26.7K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

-1.08%

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

$231 $231

$62.2 ฿2,098

271.29%

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

$61.0 $61.0

$12.17 ฿411

401.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.0 $69.0

$20.12 ฿679

243.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.12 $31.12

$37.31 ฿1,259

-16.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.69 $40.69

$3.77 ฿127

979.31%

Cinema Ticket

$17.25 $17.25

$6.49 ฿219

165.79%

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

$1,532 $1,532

$736 ฿24.8K

108.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.0K $19.0K

$14.8K ฿498.3K

28.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.5 $60.5

$53.4 ฿1,801

13.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.13 $47.13

$24.64 ฿831

91.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.1 $93.1

$91.5 ฿3,087

1.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 $131

$71.9 ฿2,428

81.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,986 $1,986

$482 ฿16.3K

311.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,491 $1,491

$309 ฿10.4K

382.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,109 $3,109

$1,006 ฿33.9K

209.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,505 $2,505

$633 ฿21.4K

295.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,486 $5,486

$2,363 ฿79.8K

132.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,428 $3,428

$1,589 ฿53.6K

115.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,815 $4,815

$590 ฿19.9K

716.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.59

5.57

18.31%

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

Last update for Sacramento, CA: 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

Sacramento, CA

$1.5K 49.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 79.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Sacramento, CA

$463 15.4%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 49.4% $229

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sacramento, CA

$361 12%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 73.8% $266

Eating Out

Sacramento, CA

$346 11.5%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 77.6% $269

Clothing & Footwear

Sacramento, CA

$149 5%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 27.2% $41

Getting Around

Sacramento, CA

$124 4.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 50.5% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Sacramento, CA

$66 2.2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 23.4% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,986 in Sacramento, CA 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 Sacramento, CA are about 8.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $100 in Sacramento, CA 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

🇺🇸 Sacramento, CA

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

20:41 8:41 PM

11:41 11:41 AM

15 h ahead of Sacramento, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

524,943

127,240

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 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 November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

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Sacramento, CA Chiang Mai 12,370 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Sacramento, CA
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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

Sacramento, CA vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sacramento, CA costs about 221% 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 $4,500 per month in Sacramento, CA 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 $1,986 in Sacramento, CA.

Kindergarten costs $1,532 per month in Sacramento, CA 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 98% more in Sacramento, CA, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $3,000 in Sacramento, CA 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 $3,000 in Sacramento, CA. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sacramento, CA makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.