Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Steinkjer and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,773 in Steinkjer, rent and utilities included – about $22,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Steinkjer
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Steinkjer Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Steinkjer

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,773

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,773 per month in Steinkjer vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Steinkjer $2,773
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $3,905 per month in Steinkjer vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Steinkjer $3,905
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $5,037 per month in Steinkjer vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Steinkjer $5,037
Chiang Mai $1,914

Steinkjer costs about 196% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Steinkjer sits 105% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.51 NOK 193

$2.26 ฿75.4

807.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.2 NOK 548

$19.18 ฿641

203.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.52 NOK 127

$5.59 ฿187

141.86%

Cappuccino

$4.62 NOK 43.52

$1.72 ฿57.6

168.60%

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

$5.75 NOK 54.2

$0.64 ฿21.54

798.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 NOK 39.99

$0.33 ฿11.18

1187.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$10.33 NOK 97.3

$2.36 ฿78.7

337.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.20 NOK 58.3

$3.90 ฿130

58.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.46 NOK 23.13

$2.05 ฿68.6

20.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.46 NOK 32.61

$1.40 ฿46.70

147.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.60 NOK 33.88

$1.28 ฿42.89

181.25%

Eggs

$4.95 NOK 46.62

$2.25 ฿75.3

120.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.85 NOK 121

$16.94 ฿566

-24.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.08 NOK 151

$2.74 ฿91.6

486.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$28.53 NOK 269

$9.36 ฿313

204.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.91 NOK 36.76

$2.40 ฿80.3

62.92%

Banana (1kg)

$2.93 NOK 27.59

$1.01 ฿33.92

190.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.90 NOK 36.70

$1.61 ฿53.9

142.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.71 NOK 53.8

$1.52 ฿50.7

275.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.89 NOK 27.18

$1.28 ฿42.90

125.78%

Onion (1kg)

$3.07 NOK 28.89

$1.11 ฿37.22

176.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.78 NOK 26.17

$0.72 ฿24.09

286.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.23 NOK 20.96

$0.52 ฿17.54

328.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.67 NOK 166

$4.33 ฿145

308.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.14 NOK 171

$17.73 ฿593

2.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.50 NOK 32.92

$1.63 ฿54.4

114.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.65 NOK 43.77

$2.85 ฿95.3

63.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.21 NOK 39.65

$0.85 ฿28.31

395.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.6 NOK 805

$53.9 ฿1,801

58.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.24 NOK 87.0

$1.17 ฿39.18

689.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 NOK 15.17

$0.57 ฿19.00

182.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.4 NOK 550

$2.37 ฿79.2

2365.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.47 NOK 23.27

$1.45 ฿48.32

70.34%

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

$45.4K NOK 427.7K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

121.90%

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

$45.4K NOK 427.8K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

71.39%

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

$266 NOK 2,505

$62.3 ฿2,083

326.94%

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

$35.46 NOK 334

$12.27 ฿410

189.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$81.8 NOK 770

$19.97 ฿668

309.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 NOK 510

$37.91 ฿1,267

42.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$41.52 NOK 391

$3.76 ฿126

1004.26%

Cinema Ticket

$15.71 NOK 148

$6.71 ฿224

134.13%

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

$293 NOK 2,763

$797 ฿26.6K

-63.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,447 NOK 41.9K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-70.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 NOK 989

$53.3 ฿1,780

97.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.2 NOK 482

$25.05 ฿837

104.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 NOK 1,109

$91.6 ฿3,062

28.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 NOK 1,453

$73.5 ฿2,455

110.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,200 NOK 11.3K

$464 ฿15.5K

158.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,133 NOK 10.7K

$305 ฿10.2K

271.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,078 NOK 19.6K

$915 ฿30.6K

127.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,580 NOK 14.9K

$552 ฿18.5K

186.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,718 NOK 63.2K

$1,912 ฿63.9K

251.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,607 NOK 34.0K

$1,438 ฿48.1K

150.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.32

5.57

-4.49%

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

Last update for Steinkjer: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Steinkjer

$1.1K 40.9%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 73.1% $828

Groceries & Markets

Steinkjer

$495 17.9%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 51.9% $257

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Steinkjer

$383 13.8%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 75.3% $289

Eating Out

Steinkjer

$364 13.1%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 78.3% $285

Clothing & Footwear

Steinkjer

$193 7%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 43.2% $83

Getting Around

Steinkjer

$120 4.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 48.8% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Steinkjer

$86 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 40% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,200 in Steinkjer versus $464 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $58.0 in Steinkjer versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $495 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Steinkjer

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

17:51 5:51 PM

22:51 10:51 PM

5 h ahead of Steinkjer

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,066

127,240

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Steinkjer Chiang Mai 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Steinkjer
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

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

Steinkjer costs about 196% 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 $4,160 per month in Steinkjer and $1,408 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $293 per month in Steinkjer and $797 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 108% more in Steinkjer, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in Steinkjer at $2,773. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Steinkjer it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $2,773 in Steinkjer. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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