Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wigan and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $2,078 in Wigan, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

99

Cost of Living Index in Wigan
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Wigan Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Wigan

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,078

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,078 per month in Wigan vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Wigan $2,078
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $3,025 per month in Wigan vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Wigan $3,025
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $3,973 per month in Wigan vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Wigan $3,973
Chiang Mai $1,999

Wigan costs about 122% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Wigan sits 54% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.17 £14.95

$2.13 ฿71.8

846.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.3 £52.9

$18.62 ฿626

282.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.10 £7.49

$5.60 ฿188

80.36%

Cappuccino

$4.09 £3.03

$1.66 ฿55.9

146.39%

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

$2.42 £1.80

$0.65 ฿21.75

272.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 £1.18

$0.30 ฿10.25

430.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.92 £3.65

$2.32 ฿78.1

112.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.21 £3.13

$3.67 ฿123

14.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 £0.96

$2.02 ฿67.8

-35.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 £1.07

$1.41 ฿47.34

2.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.38 £1.02

$1.39 ฿46.79

-0.72%

Eggs

$3.62 £2.68

$2.37 ฿79.6

52.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.32 £3.95

$16.52 ฿555

-67.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.61 £4.16

$2.67 ฿89.8

110.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.81 £5.79

$9.02 ฿303

-13.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.49 £1.10

$2.40 ฿80.6

-37.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.30

$1.04 ฿35.01

68.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.53 £2.62

$1.66 ฿55.8

112.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.70 £2.74

$1.56 ฿52.4

137.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 £1.35

$1.24 ฿41.61

46.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 £1.31

$1.09 ฿36.53

62.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 £0.86

$0.76 ฿25.61

52.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.02 £1.50

$0.51 ฿17.29

296.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.19 £17.20

$4.12 ฿139

462.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.23 £6.85

$17.93 ฿603

-48.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.43 £3.29

$1.62 ฿54.6

173.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.42

$2.82 ฿94.9

15.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.65 £1.96

$0.93 ฿31.42

184.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 £79.0

$52.9 ฿1,778

101.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.44 £2.55

$1.18 ฿39.56

191.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 £1.20

$0.17 ฿5.76

847.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.45 £12.20

$1.81 ฿60.9

808.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.91 £1.41

$1.47 ฿49.51

29.93%

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

$38.0K £28.2K

$21.0K ฿706.4K

81.05%

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

$39.8K £29.5K

$26.5K ฿891.4K

50.24%

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

$349 £259

$62.6 ฿2,103

457.19%

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

$16.25 £12.05

$11.60 ฿390

40.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.40 £29.96

$20.30 ฿683

99.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.5 £44.10

$37.88 ฿1,274

57.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$17.39 £12.89

$6.51 ฿219

167.13%

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

$1,583 £1,174

$727 ฿24.4K

117.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.4K £14.4K

$16.6K ฿557.2K

16.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$110 £81.9

$53.5 ฿1,800

106.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.2 £41.71

$24.80 ฿834

126.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 £84.4

$90.4 ฿3,039

25.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 £86.1

$72.0 ฿2,420

61.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$937 £695

$481 ฿16.2K

94.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$731 £542

$310 ฿10.4K

135.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,438 £1,066

$1,058 ฿35.6K

35.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,199 £889

$659 ฿22.1K

82.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,807 £2,823

$2,418 ฿81.3K

57.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,696 £2,000

$1,609 ฿54.1K

67.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,457 £2,563

$595 ฿20.0K

481.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.4

5.57

14.90%

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

Last update for Wigan: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wigan

$731 35.2%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 57.6% $421

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wigan

$405 19.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 76.7% $311

Eating Out

Wigan

$290 14%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 73.6% $213

Groceries & Markets

Wigan

$250 12.1%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 5.5% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Wigan

$178 8.6%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 39.3% $70

Getting Around

Wigan

$129 6.2%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 54.4% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Wigan

$94 4.5%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 46% $43

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $937 in Wigan 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 Wigan are about 5.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71 in Wigan versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $250 vs $237 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Wigan

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

20:20 8:20 PM

03:20 3:20 AM

7 h ahead of Wigan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

81,203

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.742 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.835 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Wigan Chiang Mai 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Wigan
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

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

Wigan costs about 122% 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 $3,117 per month in Wigan 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 $937 in Wigan.

Kindergarten costs $1,583 per month in Wigan 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 6% more in Wigan, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,078 in Wigan 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.

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