Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stockton-on-Tees and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $1,692 in Stockton-on-Tees, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

82

Cost of Living Index in Stockton-on-Tees
Learn more

Stockton-on-Tees Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Stockton-on-Tees

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,692

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,692 per month in Stockton-on-Tees vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Stockton-on-Tees $1,692
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $2,431 per month in Stockton-on-Tees vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Stockton-on-Tees $2,431
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $3,170 per month in Stockton-on-Tees vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Stockton-on-Tees $3,170
Chiang Mai $1,903

Stockton-on-Tees costs about 83% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Stockton-on-Tees sits 25% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.37 £10.03

$2.29 ฿76.5

483.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.7 £51.5

$19.64 ฿656

249.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.50 £7.88

$5.61 ฿188

87.17%

Cappuccino

$3.39 £2.54

$1.66 ฿55.6

104.22%

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

$2.38 £1.78

$0.70 ฿23.40

240.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.52

$0.31 ฿10.24

554.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.60 £3.45

$2.41 ฿80.4

90.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 £3.10

$3.71 ฿124

11.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 £0.92

$1.95 ฿65.3

-36.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 £0.79

$1.41 ฿47.03

-25.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.38 £1.04

$1.31 ฿43.62

5.34%

Eggs

$3.57 £2.68

$2.18 ฿72.9

63.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.63 £5.72

$16.65 ฿556

-54.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.06 £5.29

$2.76 ฿92.2

155.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 £10.49

$9.11 ฿304

53.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.47 £1.85

$2.39 ฿80.0

3.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.03 ฿34.26

55.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.24 £1.68

$1.63 ฿54.4

37.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 £1.37

$1.50 ฿50.0

21.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.29 ฿43.13

33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 £0.96

$1.11 ฿37.03

15.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.87

$0.72 ฿24.08

59.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 £1.18

$0.53 ฿17.59

196.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.04 £17.29

$4.31 ฿144

434.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.02 £6.02

$17.95 ฿600

-55.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.01 £2.25

$1.58 ฿52.9

90.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.75 £2.81

$2.84 ฿95.0

32.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.94 £2.96

$0.86 ฿28.86

358.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$62.7 £47.01

$53.3 ฿1,780

17.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 £3.34

$1.21 ฿40.29

267.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ฿18.99

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.23 £24.93

$2.35 ฿78.6

1314.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.44 ฿47.96

38.19%

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

$38.9K £29.2K

$20.7K ฿692.8K

87.60%

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

$40.2K £30.2K

$26.8K ฿895.7K

50.16%

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

$354 £265

$62.3 ฿2,083

467.34%

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

$25.85 £19.39

$12.11 ฿405

113.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.40 £34.06

$19.94 ฿666

127.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.07 ฿1,239

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 £12.83

$6.50 ฿217

163.08%

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

$799 £599

$793 ฿26.5K

0.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿494.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$108 £81.3

$53.7 ฿1,796

101.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 £41.55

$24.62 ฿823

124.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 £84.5

$90.9 ฿3,036

23.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.2

$71.1 ฿2,378

59.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$594 £446

$455 ฿15.2K

30.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$494 £370

$298 ฿9,954

65.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$809 £607

$908 ฿30.4K

-10.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 £533

$554 ฿18.5K

28.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,931 ฿64.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,445 ฿48.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,020 £1,515

$591 ฿19.7K

241.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

5.57

-0.72%

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

Last update for Stockton-on-Tees: October 17, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stockton-on-Tees

$494 29.2%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 39.7% $196

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stockton-on-Tees

$425 25.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 77.8% $330

Groceries & Markets

Stockton-on-Tees

$252 14.9%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 6.7% $17

Eating Out

Stockton-on-Tees

$228 13.5%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 65.5% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Stockton-on-Tees

$175 10.4%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 38.3% $67

Getting Around

Stockton-on-Tees

$83 * 4.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 26.7% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Stockton-on-Tees

$34 * 2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 46.3% $16

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $594 in Stockton-on-Tees versus $455 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 run about 242% higher in Stockton-on-Tees, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Stockton-on-Tees versus $20.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $252 vs $235 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Stockton-on-Tees

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

20:05 8:05 PM

02:05 2:05 AM

6 h ahead of Stockton-on-Tees

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

82,729

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Stockton-on-Tees Chiang Mai 8,960 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Stockton-on-Tees
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

Stockton-on-Tees vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Stockton-on-Tees costs about 83% 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 $2,537 per month in Stockton-on-Tees and $1,388 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 $799 per month in Stockton-on-Tees and $793 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 7% more in Stockton-on-Tees, 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 $925, than in Stockton-on-Tees at $1,692. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Stockton-on-Tees it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $925 versus $1,692 in Stockton-on-Tees. 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, Stockton-on-Tees makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.