Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St.James and Chiang Mai

For one person, living costs are similar in St.James and in Chiang Mai: $917 and $936 a month, rent and utilities included.

44

Cost of Living Index in St.James
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St.James Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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St.James

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$917

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $917 per month in St.James vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

St.James $917
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,593 per month in St.James vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

St.James $1,593
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,270 per month in St.James vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

St.James $2,270
Chiang Mai $1,979

St.James and Chiang Mai have comparable living costs – the differences are in the details.

Both St.James and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – St.James 33% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.13 TTD 68.0

$2.24 ฿75.6

352.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.4 TTD 593

$19.00 ฿641

365.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.03 TTD 60.6

$5.55 ฿187

62.70%

Cappuccino

$3.65 TTD 24.49

$1.67 ฿56.5

118.56%

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

$0.99 TTD 6.67

$0.64 ฿21.55

54.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 TTD 5.15

$0.31 ฿10.31

148.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 TTD 15.06

$2.36 ฿79.6

-4.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 TTD 24.62

$3.66 ฿124

0.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.51 TTD 16.85

$1.95 ฿65.8

28.72%

White Bread (500g)

$2.48 TTD 16.67

$1.44 ฿48.48

72.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 TTD 18.82

$1.33 ฿45.04

110.53%

Eggs

$4.43 TTD 29.73

$2.28 ฿77.1

94.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.57 TTD 44.06

$16.45 ฿555

-60.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.90 TTD 66.4

$2.78 ฿93.9

256.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.79 TTD 79.1

$9.31 ฿314

26.64%

Apples (1kg)

$5.66 TTD 37.97

$2.35 ฿79.4

140.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.97 TTD 19.90

$0.97 ฿32.80

206.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.75 TTD 25.19

$1.60 ฿53.9

134.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 TTD 28.70

$1.50 ฿50.6

185.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.21 TTD 14.84

$1.28 ฿43.12

72.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 TTD 12.54

$1.10 ฿37.19

70.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.91 TTD 12.84

$0.71 ฿23.82

169.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 TTD 9.08

$0.49 ฿16.37

175.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.73 TTD 38.48

$4.14 ฿140

38.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.28 TTD 129

$17.52 ฿591

10.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.21 TTD 14.82

$1.61 ฿54.5

37.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 TTD 20.13

$2.78 ฿94.0

7.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.01 TTD 6.78

$1.16 ฿39.06

-12.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 TTD 8.26

$0.53 ฿17.80

132.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.65 TTD 98.3

$2.42 ฿81.8

505.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 TTD 7.83

$1.45 ฿48.90

-19.31%

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

$37.2K TTD 249.9K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

76.87%

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

$40.7K TTD 273.4K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

51.25%

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

$90.2 TTD 605

$62.2 ฿2,098

45.13%

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

$50.9 TTD 341

$12.17 ฿411

318.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.0 TTD 376

$20.12 ฿679

178.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 TTD 60.8

$6.49 ฿219

39.60%

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

$398 TTD 2,669

$736 ฿24.8K

-45.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K TTD 73.1K

$14.8K ฿498.3K

-26.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.3 TTD 364

$53.4 ฿1,801

1.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.3 TTD 344

$24.64 ฿831

108.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$148 TTD 996

$91.5 ฿3,087

62.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 TTD 693

$71.9 ฿2,428

43.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

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 %)

5.75

5.57

3.23%

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

Last update for St.James: October 24, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

St.James

$356 38.8%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 34.1% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St.James

$197 21.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 52.1% $103

Eating Out

St.James

$178 19.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 56.3% $100

Clothing & Footwear

St.James

$161 17.5%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 32.4% $52

Sport & Entertainment

St.James

$18 * 2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 178% $32

Getting Around

St.James

$7.2 * 0.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 757% $54

Accommodation & Living

St.James

- * 0%

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88 in St.James versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $356 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇹 St.James

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

00:07 12:07 AM

11:07 11:07 AM

11 h ahead of St.James

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,342

127,240

💱 Currency

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.133 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TTD – Trinidad and Tobago Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago Dollar ($)

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 TTD (1 TTD = 0.133 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).

USD to TTD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St.James Chiang Mai 16,100 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

St.James
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

St.James vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,375 per month in St.James and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Interestingly, groceries are about 34% cheaper in Chiang Mai – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88 in St.James and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $917 in St.James and $936 in Chiang Mai, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $917 in St.James to $936 in Chiang Mai. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.