Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Barbara and Chiang Mai Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Barbara and Chiang Mai

😐 Solo nomad: Santa Barbara is 69.4% more expensive than Chiang Mai without rent, and 82.5% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Santa Barbara is 76.8% more expensive than Chiang Mai without rent, and 70.8% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.77 ₡5,091

$2.03 ฿64.3

430.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.0 ₡27.9K

$18.59 ฿590

217.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.79 ₡4,630

$7.48 ฿237

30.88%

Cappuccino

$3.79 ₡1,794

$2.00 ฿63.3

89.50%

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

$2.08 ₡982

$0.85 ฿26.87

144.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 ₡782

$0.35 ฿11.15

371.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.04 ₡1,440

$2.21 ฿70.2

37.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.59 ₡2,169

$3.76 ฿119

22.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.98 ₡936

$1.72 ฿54.5

15.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 ₡1,349

$1.63 ฿51.8

74.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 ₡1,054

$1.16 ฿36.75

92.24%

Eggs

$3.01 ₡1,423

$1.98 ฿62.8

52.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.78 ₡4,149

$15.93 ฿505

-44.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.24 ₡4,368

$3.17 ฿100

191.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.88 ₡6,562

$10.90 ฿346

27.34%

Apples (1kg)

$4.41 ₡2,083

$2.65 ฿83.9

66.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 ₡605

$1.22 ฿38.79

4.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.42 ₡1,144

$1.70 ฿53.8

42.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.46 ₡1,637

$1.59 ฿50.4

117.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.94 ₡1,392

$1.32 ฿42.00

122.73%

Onion (1kg)

$3.01 ₡1,424

$1.17 ฿37.07

157.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 ₡325

$0.68 ฿21.50

1.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.97 ₡1,402

$0.56 ฿17.68

430.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.34 ₡2,526

$4.51 ฿143

18.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.60 ₡5,958

$19.07 ฿605

-33.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.52 ₡1,193

$1.77 ฿56.2

42.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ₡1,345

$3.18 ฿101

-10.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.00 ₡475

$0.96 ฿30.54

4.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.90 ฿599

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 ₡871

$1.36 ฿43.07

35.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.95 ₡448

$1.35 ฿42.89

-29.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ₡3,650

$8.03 ฿255

-3.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ₡693

$1.24 ฿39.43

18.55%

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

$38.1K ₡18.0M

$21.2K ฿671.3K

80.14%

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

$32.7K ₡15.4M

$21.8K ฿690.1K

50.17%

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

$67.0 ₡31.7K

$71.2 ฿2,260

-5.91%

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

$25.57 ₡12.1K

$14.09 ฿447

81.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.2 ₡28.4K

$17.47 ฿554

244.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.7 ₡27.3K

$42.07 ฿1,335

37.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.75 ₡11.2K

$6.88 ฿218

245.20%

Cinema Ticket

$8.93 ₡4,223

$5.94 ฿188

50.34%

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

$566 ₡267.7K

$307 ฿9,750

84.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K ₡6.1M

$14.8K ฿469.3K

-13.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.3 ₡29.9K

$55.7 ฿1,766

13.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.2 ₡24.2K

$26.79 ฿850

91.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 ₡59.9K

$83.2 ฿2,640

52.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 ₡51.0K

$70.1 ฿2,224

53.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$752 ₡355.4K

$427 ฿13.6K

75.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$589 ₡278.6K

$237 ฿7,521

148.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,536 ₡726.1K

$802 ฿25.4K

91.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$955 ₡451.5K

$503 ฿16.0K

89.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,796 ₡849.3K

$2,061 ฿65.4K

-12.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,795 ₡848.4K

$1,533 ฿48.6K

17.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$654 ฿20.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

80.00%

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

Last update for Santa Barbara: February 28, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: March 1, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Similar cities

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

Belgrade

🇷🇸 Serbia

Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

Riga

🇱🇻 Latvia

Thessaloniki

🇬🇷 Greece

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

Sharjah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates