Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Starkville, MS and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,787 in Starkville, MS, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Starkville, MS
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Starkville, MS Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Starkville, MS

🇺🇸 United States

$1,787

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,787 per month in Starkville, MS vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Starkville, MS $1,787
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $2,731 per month in Starkville, MS vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Starkville, MS $2,731
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,676 per month in Starkville, MS vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Starkville, MS $3,676
Chiang Mai $1,979

Starkville, MS costs about 91% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.92 $14.92

$2.24 ฿75.5

566.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.2 $60.2

$19.00 ฿640

216.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.35 $8.35

$5.55 ฿187

50.45%

Cappuccino

$4.19 $4.19

$1.67 ฿56.4

150.90%

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

$2.37 $2.37

$0.64 ฿21.51

270.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 $1.84

$0.31 ฿10.29

493.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.09 $4.09

$2.36 ฿79.5

73.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.98 $6.98

$3.66 ฿123

90.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 $0.87

$1.95 ฿65.7

-55.38%

White Bread (500g)

$3.19 $3.19

$1.44 ฿48.41

121.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.62 $2.62

$1.33 ฿44.97

96.99%

Eggs

$4.22 $4.22

$2.28 ฿77.0

85.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.77 $9.77

$16.45 ฿554

-40.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.62 $11.62

$2.78 ฿93.8

317.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 $15.00

$9.31 ฿314

61.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 $3.86

$2.35 ฿79.3

64.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 $1.39

$0.97 ฿32.75

43.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 $3.30

$1.60 ฿53.8

106.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.04 $3.04

$1.50 ฿50.6

102.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 $2.15

$1.28 ฿43.06

67.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.26 $2.26

$1.10 ฿37.14

105.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.19 $2.19

$0.71 ฿23.79

208.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 $1.93

$0.49 ฿16.34

293.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.43 $8.43

$4.14 ฿140

103.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.86 $9.86

$17.52 ฿590

-43.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 $1.73

$1.61 ฿54.4

7.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 $3.15

$2.78 ฿93.8

13.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.27

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,823

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.18 $4.18

$1.16 ฿39.00

260.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 $1.87

$0.53 ฿17.78

252.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.65 $32.65

$2.42 ฿81.6

1249.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 $0.86

$1.45 ฿48.82

-40.69%

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

$30.0K $30.0K

$21.1K ฿709.7K

42.35%

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

$25.5K $25.5K

$26.9K ฿907.9K

-5.51%

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

$168 $168

$62.2 ฿2,095

170.84%

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

$29.80 $29.80

$12.17 ฿410

144.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.7 $53.7

$20.12 ฿678

166.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.46 $17.46

$37.31 ฿1,257

-53.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$8.04 $8.04

$6.49 ฿219

23.88%

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

$1,567 $1,567

$736 ฿24.8K

112.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,234 $8,234

$14.8K ฿497.6K

-44.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$74.9 $74.9

$53.4 ฿1,799

40.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.5 $53.5

$24.64 ฿830

117.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.6 $87.6

$91.5 ฿3,083

-4.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$171 $171

$71.9 ฿2,424

137.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$946 $946

$482 ฿16.3K

96.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$735 $735

$309 ฿10.4K

137.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,536 $1,536

$1,006 ฿33.9K

52.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,344 $1,344

$633 ฿21.3K

112.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,185 $2,185

$2,363 ฿79.6K

-7.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,184 $2,184

$1,589 ฿53.6K

37.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,153 $4,153

$590 ฿19.9K

604.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.65

5.57

19.39%

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

Last update for Starkville, MS: 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

Starkville, MS

$735 41.1%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 57.9% $426

Groceries & Markets

Starkville, MS

$334 18.7%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 29.8% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Starkville, MS

$252 14.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 62.5% $157

Eating Out

Starkville, MS

$246 13.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 68.4% $168

Clothing & Footwear

Starkville, MS

$174 9.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 37.5% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Starkville, MS

$34 1.9%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 49.9% $17

Getting Around

Starkville, MS

$14 * 0.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 354% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $946 in Starkville, MS 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 Starkville, MS are about 7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60 in Starkville, MS versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $334 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Starkville, MS

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

20:46 8:46 PM

08:46 8:46 AM

12 h ahead of Starkville, MS

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,638

127,240

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 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 October 29, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Starkville, MS Chiang Mai 14,150 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Starkville, MS
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

Starkville, MS vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Starkville, MS costs about 91% 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 $2,681 per month in Starkville, MS 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 $946 in Starkville, MS.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60 in Starkville, MS and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 43% more in Starkville, MS, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,787 in Starkville, MS 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.

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