Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surrey, Canada and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,338 in Surrey, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in Surrey
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Surrey Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Surrey

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,338

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,338 per month in Surrey vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Surrey $2,338
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,564 per month in Surrey vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Surrey $3,564
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,791 per month in Surrey vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Surrey $4,791
Chiang Mai $1,979

Surrey costs about 150% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Surrey sits 72% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.11 CA$25.42

$2.24 ฿75.7

708.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.5 CA$80.7

$19.00 ฿642

202.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.06 CA$14.12

$5.55 ฿188

81.26%

Cappuccino

$3.52 CA$4.94

$1.67 ฿56.6

110.78%

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

$2.01 CA$2.83

$0.64 ฿21.56

214.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 CA$2.10

$0.31 ฿10.32

383.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.01 CA$8.44

$2.36 ฿79.6

154.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.63 CA$7.91

$3.66 ฿124

53.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.47 CA$3.47

$1.95 ฿65.8

26.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 CA$2.95

$1.44 ฿48.51

45.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.64 CA$5.11

$1.33 ฿45.07

173.68%

Eggs

$3.22 CA$4.52

$2.28 ฿77.1

41.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.77 CA$13.71

$16.45 ฿556

-40.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.57 CA$14.84

$2.78 ฿94.0

280.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.34 CA$28.54

$9.31 ฿314

118.47%

Apples (1kg)

$3.33 CA$4.67

$2.35 ฿79.5

41.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 CA$1.82

$0.97 ฿32.82

34.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.94 CA$4.12

$1.60 ฿53.9

83.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.02 CA$4.24

$1.50 ฿50.7

101.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.59 CA$3.63

$1.28 ฿43.15

102.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 CA$3.02

$1.10 ฿37.22

95.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.00 CA$2.81

$0.71 ฿23.84

181.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 CA$2.57

$0.49 ฿16.38

273.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.11 CA$19.81

$4.14 ฿140

240.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.20 CA$19.93

$17.52 ฿592

-18.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.45 CA$3.44

$1.61 ฿54.5

52.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 CA$4.53

$2.78 ฿94.0

16.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.55 CA$3.58

$0.87 ฿29.33

193.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$110 CA$155

$54.1 ฿1,827

104.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.64 CA$3.70

$1.16 ฿39.08

127.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 CA$2.24

$0.53 ฿17.82

201.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.02 CA$39.32

$2.42 ฿81.8

1057.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 CA$1.93

$1.45 ฿48.93

-4.83%

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

$28.2K CA$39.5K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

33.71%

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

$21.7K CA$30.5K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-19.42%

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

$187 CA$262

$62.2 ฿2,100

199.98%

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

$37.14 CA$52.1

$12.17 ฿411

205.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.7 CA$92.3

$20.12 ฿680

226.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.83 CA$44.67

$37.31 ฿1,260

-14.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.35 CA$35.57

$3.77 ฿127

572.41%

Cinema Ticket

$12.18 CA$17.09

$6.49 ฿219

87.67%

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

$668 CA$938

$736 ฿24.9K

-9.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K CA$16.9K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-18.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 CA$77.2

$53.4 ฿1,802

3.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.1 CA$85.8

$24.64 ฿832

147.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.5 CA$140

$91.5 ฿3,089

8.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.8 CA$127

$71.9 ฿2,429

26.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,376 CA$1,931

$482 ฿16.3K

185.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,094 CA$1,535

$309 ฿10.4K

254.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,606 CA$3,657

$1,006 ฿34.0K

159.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 CA$2,940

$633 ฿21.4K

230.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,631 CA$9,306

$2,363 ฿79.8K

180.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,166 CA$7,249

$1,589 ฿53.7K

225.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,156 CA$4,429

$590 ฿19.9K

435.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

5.57

-12.57%

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

Last update for Surrey: 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

Surrey

$1.1K 46.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 71.8% $785

Groceries & Markets

Surrey

$357 15.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 34.3% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surrey

$289 12.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 67.4% $195

Eating Out

Surrey

$273 11.7%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 71.6% $195

Clothing & Footwear

Surrey

$138 5.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 21.2% $29

Getting Around

Surrey

$131 5.6%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 53.2% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Surrey

$56 2.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 10.5% $5.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,376 in Surrey 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 Surrey are about 5.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $57 in Surrey versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $357 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Surrey

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

09:07 9:07 AM

23:07 11:07 PM

14 h ahead of Surrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

517,887

127,240

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Surrey Chiang Mai 11,400 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Surrey
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

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

Surrey costs about 150% 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 $3,507 per month in Surrey 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 $1,376 in Surrey.

Kindergarten costs $668 per month in Surrey and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 52% more in Surrey, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,338 in Surrey and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $2,338 in Surrey. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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