Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Townsville and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $2,606 in Townsville, rent and utilities included – about $20,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Townsville
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Townsville Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Townsville

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,606

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,606 per month in Townsville vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Townsville $2,606
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $3,842 per month in Townsville vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Townsville $3,842
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $5,078 per month in Townsville vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Townsville $5,078
Chiang Mai $1,999

Townsville costs about 179% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Townsville sits 93% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.82 A$33.19

$2.13 ฿71.6

971.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.4 A$102

$18.62 ฿624

278.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.68

$5.60 ฿188

117.14%

Cappuccino

$3.58 A$5.21

$1.66 ฿55.8

115.66%

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

$2.64 A$3.83

$0.65 ฿21.69

306.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 A$3.59

$0.30 ฿10.22

723.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.53 A$12.41

$2.32 ฿77.9

267.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.20 A$10.48

$3.67 ฿123

96.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 A$2.58

$2.02 ฿67.6

-12.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.27 A$3.30

$1.41 ฿47.21

60.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 A$1.98

$1.39 ฿46.67

-2.16%

Eggs

$5.23 A$7.61

$2.37 ฿79.4

120.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.16 A$11.87

$16.52 ฿554

-50.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.89 A$14.38

$2.67 ฿89.5

270.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.37 A$19.45

$9.02 ฿302

48.23%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 A$6.01

$2.40 ฿80.4

72.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.70 A$3.93

$1.04 ฿34.91

159.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.58 A$5.20

$1.66 ฿55.6

115.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.29 A$6.24

$1.56 ฿52.3

175.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 A$3.84

$1.24 ฿41.50

112.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.85 A$4.15

$1.09 ฿36.44

161.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.35

$0.76 ฿25.54

202.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.26 A$4.74

$0.51 ฿17.24

539.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$30.58 A$44.48

$4.12 ฿138

642.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.71 A$15.57

$17.93 ฿601

-40.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$6.93 A$10.08

$1.62 ฿54.4

327.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.54 A$12.42

$2.82 ฿94.6

202.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.11 A$3.07

$0.93 ฿31.33

126.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.2 A$80.3

$52.9 ฿1,773

4.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.62 A$3.82

$1.18 ฿39.45

122.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 A$2.97

$0.17 ฿5.75

1100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$44.02 A$64.0

$1.81 ฿60.8

2332.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 A$1.80

$1.47 ฿49.38

-15.65%

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

$28.1K A$40.9K

$21.0K ฿704.5K

33.95%

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

$27.8K A$40.5K

$26.5K ฿889.1K

5.03%

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

$383 A$557

$62.6 ฿2,098

511.88%

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

$36.42 A$53.0

$11.60 ฿389

213.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$66.0 A$96.0

$20.30 ฿681

225.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.4 A$80.5

$37.88 ฿1,270

46.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.73 A$28.69

$3.70 ฿124

433.24%

Cinema Ticket

$15.23 A$22.16

$6.51 ฿218

133.95%

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

$2,084 A$3,031

$727 ฿24.4K

186.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K A$17.8K

$16.6K ฿555.7K

-26.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.5 A$135

$53.5 ฿1,795

72.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.1 A$102

$24.80 ฿832

182.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$164 A$238

$90.4 ฿3,031

81.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$191

$72.0 ฿2,413

82.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,286 A$1,870

$481 ฿16.1K

167.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 A$1,490

$310 ฿10.4K

230.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,313 A$3,364

$1,058 ฿35.5K

118.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,845 A$2,684

$659 ฿22.1K

180.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,976 A$7,237

$2,418 ฿81.1K

105.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,112 A$5,981

$1,609 ฿53.9K

155.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,066 A$5,914

$595 ฿19.9K

583.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.68

5.57

1.97%

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

Last update for Townsville: November 3, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Townsville

$1K 39.3%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 69.8% $715

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Townsville

$485 18.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 80.5% $391

Groceries & Markets

Townsville

$389 14.9%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 39.1% $152

Eating Out

Townsville

$340 13%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 77.4% $263

Clothing & Footwear

Townsville

$206 7.9%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 47.4% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Townsville

$86 3.3%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 40.7% $35

Getting Around

Townsville

$77 2.9%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 23.3% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,286 in Townsville versus $481 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 Townsville are about 6.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $70 in Townsville versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $389 vs $237 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Townsville

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

03:45 3:45 AM

00:45 12:45 AM

3 h behind Townsville

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

173,724

127,240

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.688 USD

1 AUD = 0.612 EUR

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.45 AUD (1 AUD = 0.688 USD). 1 EUR = 1.63 AUD (1 AUD = 0.612 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.53 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Townsville Chiang Mai 6,720 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Townsville
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

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

Townsville costs about 179% 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 $3,910 per month in Townsville 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 $481 there versus $1,286 in Townsville.

Kindergarten costs $2,084 per month in Townsville and $727 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 64% more in Townsville, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,606 in Townsville and $935 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, Townsville makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.