Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toms River, NJ and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,884 in Toms River, NJ, rent and utilities included – about $23,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Toms River, NJ
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Toms River, NJ Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Toms River, NJ

🇺🇸 United States

$2,884

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,884 per month in Toms River, NJ vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Toms River, NJ $2,884
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $4,311 per month in Toms River, NJ vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Toms River, NJ $4,311
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $5,738 per month in Toms River, NJ vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Toms River, NJ $5,738
Chiang Mai $1,979

Toms River, NJ costs about 208% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Toms River, NJ sits 112% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.87 $19.87

$2.24 ฿75.7

787.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.2 $74.2

$19.00 ฿642

290.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.05 $12.05

$5.55 ฿188

117.12%

Cappuccino

$5.53 $5.53

$1.67 ฿56.6

231.14%

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

$2.57 $2.57

$0.64 ฿21.56

301.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 $1.86

$0.31 ฿10.32

500.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.03 $5.03

$2.36 ฿79.6

113.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.89 $6.89

$3.66 ฿124

88.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 $1.41

$1.95 ฿65.8

-27.69%

White Bread (500g)

$4.61 $4.61

$1.44 ฿48.51

220.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 $2.42

$1.33 ฿45.07

81.95%

Eggs

$4.61 $4.61

$2.28 ฿77.1

102.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.29 $16.29

$16.45 ฿556

-0.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.95 $16.95

$2.78 ฿94.0

509.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.81 $16.81

$9.31 ฿314

80.56%

Apples (1kg)

$5.98 $5.98

$2.35 ฿79.5

154.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 $1.30

$0.97 ฿32.82

34.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.15 $5.15

$1.60 ฿53.9

221.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.92 $5.92

$1.50 ฿50.7

294.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 $1.58

$1.28 ฿43.15

23.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.74 $2.74

$1.10 ฿37.22

149.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.53 $2.53

$0.71 ฿23.84

256.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 $1.94

$0.49 ฿16.38

295.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.84 $9.84

$4.14 ฿140

137.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.09 $10.09

$17.52 ฿592

-42.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 $2.80

$1.61 ฿54.5

73.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 $3.42

$2.78 ฿94.0

23.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 $2.99

$1.16 ฿39.08

157.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 $2.13

$0.53 ฿17.82

301.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.41 $41.41

$2.42 ฿81.8

1611.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.92 $0.92

$1.45 ฿48.93

-36.55%

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

$30.8K $30.8K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

46.08%

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

$26.2K $26.2K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-2.72%

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

$243 $243

$62.2 ฿2,100

290.11%

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

$37.24 $37.24

$12.17 ฿411

206.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.0 $62.0

$20.12 ฿680

207.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.15 $30.15

$37.31 ฿1,260

-19.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$17.15 $17.15

$6.49 ฿219

164.25%

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

$3,103 $3,103

$736 ฿24.9K

321.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$34.4K $34.4K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

132.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.8 $69.8

$53.4 ฿1,802

30.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.8 $75.8

$24.64 ฿832

207.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 $120

$91.5 ฿3,089

31.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 $121

$71.9 ฿2,429

68.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,617 $1,617

$482 ฿16.3K

235.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,527 $1,527

$309 ฿10.4K

394.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,900 $2,900

$1,006 ฿34.0K

188.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,766 $2,766

$633 ฿21.4K

336.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,268 $5,268

$590 ฿19.9K

793.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

5.57

19.75%

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

Last update for Toms River, NJ: October 24, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Toms River, NJ

$1.5K 53%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 79.8% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Toms River, NJ

$445 15.4%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 47.3% $211

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Toms River, NJ

$342 11.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 72.4% $247

Eating Out

Toms River, NJ

$318 11%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 75.6% $241

Clothing & Footwear

Toms River, NJ

$174 6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 37.7% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Toms River, NJ

$64 2.2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 22% $14

Getting Around

Toms River, NJ

$14 * 0.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 351% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,617 in Toms River, NJ 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 Toms River, NJ are about 8.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $74 in Toms River, NJ versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $445 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Toms River, NJ

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

18:17 6:17 PM

05:17 5:17 AM

11 h ahead of Toms River, NJ

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

95,438

127,240

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Toms River, NJ Chiang Mai 13,450 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Toms River, NJ
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

Toms River, NJ vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Toms River, NJ costs about 208% 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 $4,326 per month in Toms River, NJ 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 $1,617 in Toms River, NJ.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $74 in Toms River, NJ 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 90% more in Toms River, NJ, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,884 in Toms River, NJ 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.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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