Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tepic and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,221 in Tepic, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Tepic
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Tepic Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Tepic

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,221

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,221 per month in Tepic vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Tepic $1,221
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,884 per month in Tepic vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Tepic $1,884
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,548 per month in Tepic vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Tepic $2,548
Chiang Mai $1,979

Tepic costs about 30% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Tepic and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Tepic 10% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.22 MX$246

$2.24 ฿75.6

490.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.16 MX$803

$19.00 ฿641

127.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.03 MX$168

$5.55 ฿187

62.70%

Cappuccino

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.67 ฿56.5

89.82%

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

$1.58 MX$29.38

$0.64 ฿21.54

146.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.14 MX$21.20

$0.31 ฿10.31

267.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.70 MX$50.3

$2.36 ฿79.5

14.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.98 MX$92.8

$3.66 ฿124

36.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.91

$1.95 ฿65.7

-20.51%

White Bread (500g)

$2.35 MX$43.80

$1.44 ฿48.46

63.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.31

$1.33 ฿45.03

18.05%

Eggs

$2.12 MX$39.47

$2.28 ฿77.1

-7.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.91 MX$91.5

$16.45 ฿555

-70.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.69 MX$180

$2.78 ฿93.9

248.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.54 MX$215

$9.31 ฿314

23.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.68 MX$49.84

$2.35 ฿79.4

14.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 MX$28.66

$0.97 ฿32.79

58.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.07

$1.60 ฿53.9

21.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.81

$1.50 ฿50.6

17.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.41

$1.28 ฿43.11

60.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 MX$34.31

$1.10 ฿37.18

67.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 MX$29.01

$0.71 ฿23.82

119.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 MX$19.32

$0.49 ฿16.36

112.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.36 MX$81.2

$4.14 ฿140

5.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.38 MX$193

$17.52 ฿591

-40.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.45

$1.61 ฿54.5

-51.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 MX$62.3

$2.78 ฿93.9

20.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 MX$14.36

$0.87 ฿29.30

-11.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.37 MX$565

$54.1 ฿1,825

-43.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.19 MX$40.84

$1.16 ฿39.04

88.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 MX$28.12

$0.53 ฿17.80

184.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.30 MX$173

$2.42 ฿81.7

284.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 MX$26.14

$1.45 ฿48.88

-3.45%

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

$21.2K MX$394.0K

$21.1K ฿710.5K

0.50%

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

$23.7K MX$441.2K

$26.9K ฿909.0K

-12.03%

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

$43.90 MX$817

$62.2 ฿2,098

-29.39%

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

$12.02 MX$224

$12.17 ฿411

-1.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.28 MX$545

$20.12 ฿679

45.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.78 MX$592

$37.31 ฿1,259

-14.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.42 MX$324

$3.77 ฿127

362.07%

Cinema Ticket

$5.92 MX$110

$6.49 ฿219

-8.78%

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

$237 MX$4,410

$736 ฿24.8K

-67.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,948 MX$185.2K

$14.8K ฿498.2K

-32.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 MX$1,045

$53.4 ฿1,801

5.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.24 MX$749

$24.64 ฿831

63.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 MX$1,936

$91.5 ฿3,087

13.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.6 MX$1,463

$71.9 ฿2,427

9.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$567 MX$10.6K

$482 ฿16.3K

17.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$467 MX$8,694

$309 ฿10.4K

51.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,115 MX$20.8K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

10.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$766 MX$14.3K

$633 ฿21.4K

20.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,934 MX$36.0K

$2,363 ฿79.7K

-18.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,128 MX$21.0K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-29.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 MX$12.1K

$590 ฿19.9K

10.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.53

5.57

107.00%

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

Last update for Tepic: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tepic

$467 38.3%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 33.9% $158

Groceries & Markets

Tepic

$251 20.5%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 6.5% $16

Eating Out

Tepic

$205 16.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 62.2% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Tepic

$126 10.3%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 13.5% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tepic

$85 7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 10.9% $9.3

Sport & Entertainment

Tepic

$44 3.6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 15.3% $6.7

Getting Around

Tepic

$43 3.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 42% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $567 in Tepic 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 run about 11% higher in Tepic, 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 $43 in Tepic versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $251 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tepic

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

21:08 9:08 PM

11:08 11:08 AM

14 h ahead of Tepic

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

371,387

127,240

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.62 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.61 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tepic Chiang Mai 14,840 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Tepic
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

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

Tepic costs about 30% 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 $1,831 per month in Tepic 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 $567 in Tepic.

Kindergarten costs $237 per month in Tepic 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 7% more in Tepic, 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 $1,221 in Tepic 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 $1,221 in Tepic. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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, Tepic makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.