Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Visalia, CA and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $2,809 in Visalia, CA, rent and utilities included – about $22,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

135

Cost of Living Index in Visalia, CA
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Visalia, CA Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Visalia, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,809

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,809 per month in Visalia, CA vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Visalia, CA $2,809
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $3,985 per month in Visalia, CA vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Visalia, CA $3,985
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $5,160 per month in Visalia, CA vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Visalia, CA $5,160
Chiang Mai $1,999

Visalia, CA costs about 200% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Visalia, CA sits 108% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.70 $19.70

$2.13 ฿71.2

824.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$102 $102

$18.62 ฿622

446.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.55 $9.55

$5.60 ฿187

70.54%

Cappuccino

$5.24 $5.24

$1.66 ฿55.5

215.66%

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

$2.03 $2.03

$0.65 ฿21.59

212.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.47 $1.47

$0.30 ฿10.18

390.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.89 $5.89

$2.32 ฿77.5

153.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.97 $5.97

$3.67 ฿122

62.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 $1.39

$2.02 ฿67.3

-31.19%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 $3.11

$1.41 ฿47.00

120.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.46 $4.46

$1.39 ฿46.46

220.86%

Eggs

$4.58 $4.58

$2.37 ฿79.0

93.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 $9.99

$16.52 ฿551

-39.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.80 $8.80

$2.67 ฿89.1

229.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.71 $14.71

$9.02 ฿301

63.08%

Apples (1kg)

$5.66 $5.66

$2.40 ฿80.1

135.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 $1.91

$1.04 ฿34.76

83.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.27 $2.27

$1.66 ฿55.4

36.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.51 $4.51

$1.56 ฿52.0

189.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.85 $2.85

$1.24 ฿41.31

129.84%

Onion (1kg)

$2.24 $2.24

$1.09 ฿36.27

105.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.05 $2.05

$0.76 ฿25.43

169.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$4.07 $4.07

$0.51 ฿17.16

698.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.89 $11.89

$4.12 ฿138

188.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.10 $17.10

$17.93 ฿598

-4.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 $2.67

$1.62 ฿54.2

64.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 $1.91

$2.82 ฿94.2

-32.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.55 $3.55

$0.93 ฿31.19

281.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.67 $35.67

$52.9 ฿1,766

-32.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.41 $3.41

$1.18 ฿39.28

188.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.11 $2.11

$0.17 ฿5.72

1141.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.54 $35.54

$1.81 ฿60.5

1863.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 $1.31

$1.47 ฿49.16

-10.88%

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

$36.6K $36.6K

$21.0K ฿701.4K

74.06%

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

$25.5K $25.5K

$26.5K ฿885.1K

-3.70%

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

$202 $202

$62.6 ฿2,088

223.61%

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

$54.4 $54.4

$11.60 ฿387

368.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.2 $53.2

$20.30 ฿678

161.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.30 $35.30

$37.88 ฿1,264

-6.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿123

Cinema Ticket

$13.09 $13.09

$6.51 ฿217

101.08%

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

$565 $565

$727 ฿24.3K

-22.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.5K $33.5K

$16.6K ฿553.2K

102.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.6 $79.6

$53.5 ฿1,787

48.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$90.6 $90.6

$24.80 ฿828

265.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 $128

$90.4 ฿3,017

41.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 $135

$72.0 ฿2,402

87.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,502 $1,502

$481 ฿16.1K

212.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,482 $1,482

$310 ฿10.3K

378.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,141 $2,141

$1,058 ฿35.3K

102.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,098 $2,098

$659 ฿22.0K

218.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,601 $2,601

$2,418 ฿80.7K

7.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,611 $2,611

$1,609 ฿53.7K

62.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,411 $4,411

$595 ฿19.9K

641.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.35

5.57

14.00%

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

Last update for Visalia, CA: November 2, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Visalia, CA

$1.5K 52.8%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 79.1% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Visalia, CA

$392 14%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 39.6% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Visalia, CA

$310 11%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 69.5% $216

Eating Out

Visalia, CA

$305 10.8%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 74.9% $228

Clothing & Footwear

Visalia, CA

$195 6.9%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 44.5% $87

Getting Around

Visalia, CA

$64 2.3%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 8.1% $5.2

Sport & Entertainment

Visalia, CA

$61 2.2%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 17.2% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,502 in Visalia, CA 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 Visalia, CA are about 7.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $102 in Visalia, CA versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $392 vs $237 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Visalia, CA

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

17:34 5:34 PM

08:34 8:34 AM

15 h ahead of Visalia, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

130,104

127,240

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.891 EUR

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 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 November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.891 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.47 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Visalia, CA Chiang Mai 12,680 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Visalia, CA
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

Visalia, CA vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Visalia, CA costs about 200% 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 $4,213 per month in Visalia, CA 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 $1,502 in Visalia, CA.

Kindergarten costs $565 per month in Visalia, CA 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 66% more in Visalia, CA, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,809 in Visalia, CA and $935 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 $935 in Chiang Mai to $2,809 in Visalia, CA. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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