Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Xiamen and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Xiamen: $832 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Xiamen
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Xiamen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Xiamen

🇨🇳 China

$832

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $832 per month in Xiamen vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Xiamen $832
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,337 per month in Xiamen vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Xiamen $1,337
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,842 per month in Xiamen vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Xiamen $1,842
Chiang Mai $1,979

Xiamen is about 11% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Xiamen and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Xiamen 39% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.93 ¥19.52

$2.24 ฿75.5

30.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.60 ¥157

$19.00 ฿640

24.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.20 ¥34.57

$5.55 ฿187

-6.31%

Cappuccino

$2.57 ¥17.09

$1.67 ฿56.4

53.89%

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

$0.47 ¥3.11

$0.64 ฿21.51

-26.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ¥2.35

$0.31 ฿10.29

12.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 ¥10.07

$2.36 ฿79.4

-36.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 ¥19.60

$3.66 ฿123

-19.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 ¥9.77

$1.95 ฿65.6

-24.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 ¥15.16

$1.44 ฿48.39

58.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.95 ¥6.31

$1.33 ฿44.96

-28.57%

Eggs

$1.64 ¥10.89

$2.28 ฿76.9

-28.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.02 ¥79.9

$16.45 ฿554

-26.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.45 ¥16.27

$2.78 ฿93.7

-11.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.76 ¥78.2

$9.31 ฿314

26.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 ¥17.19

$2.35 ฿79.3

9.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 ¥9.82

$0.97 ฿32.75

52.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 ¥11.12

$1.60 ฿53.8

4.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ¥13.25

$1.50 ฿50.6

32.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 ¥6.48

$1.28 ฿43.05

-24.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 ¥12.06

$1.10 ฿37.13

64.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 ¥6.16

$0.71 ฿23.78

30.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 ¥3.62

$0.49 ฿16.34

10.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.92 ¥19.39

$4.14 ฿140

-29.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.38 ¥75.7

$17.52 ฿590

-35.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 ¥5.28

$1.61 ฿54.4

-50.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 ¥11.57

$2.78 ฿93.8

-37.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.16 ¥1.08

$0.87 ฿29.26

-81.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.93 ¥79.3

$54.1 ฿1,822

-77.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 ¥9.68

$1.16 ฿38.99

25.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$0.53 ฿17.77

-45.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.39 ¥49.14

$2.42 ฿81.6

205.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ¥8.85

$1.45 ฿48.81

-8.28%

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

$19.7K ¥131.3K

$21.1K ฿709.5K

-6.25%

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

$17.6K ¥116.8K

$26.9K ฿907.7K

-34.79%

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

$43.23 ¥288

$62.2 ฿2,095

-30.46%

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

$8.70 ¥57.9

$12.17 ฿410

-28.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.38 ¥69.0

$20.12 ฿678

-48.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.30 ¥315

$37.31 ฿1,257

26.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.31 ¥68.6

$3.77 ฿127

173.47%

Cinema Ticket

$10.24 ¥68.1

$6.49 ฿219

57.78%

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

$496 ¥3,302

$736 ฿24.8K

-32.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.8K ¥164.9K

$14.8K ฿497.4K

67.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.20 ¥261

$53.4 ฿1,798

-26.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.55 ¥197

$24.64 ฿830

19.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 ¥711

$91.5 ฿3,082

16.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.5 ¥562

$71.9 ฿2,424

17.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$352 ¥2,345

$482 ฿16.2K

-26.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$266 ¥1,768

$309 ฿10.4K

-13.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$841 ¥5,595

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-16.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$544 ¥3,615

$633 ฿21.3K

-14.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,588 ¥57.1K

$2,363 ฿79.6K

263.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,847 ¥32.2K

$1,589 ฿53.5K

205.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,179 ¥7,845

$590 ฿19.9K

99.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

5.57

-37.88%

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

Last update for Xiamen: 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

Xiamen

$266 32%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 16.2% $43

Groceries & Markets

Xiamen

$217 26.1%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 8.1% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Xiamen

$117 14.1%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 7.2% $8.4

Eating Out

Xiamen

$87 10.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 10.5% $9.1

Sport & Entertainment

Xiamen

$68 8.2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 25.8% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Xiamen

$62 7.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 51.6% $32

Getting Around

Xiamen

$15 1.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 297% $46

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $352 in Xiamen 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 100% higher in Xiamen, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in Xiamen versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $217 in Xiamen vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Xiamen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Xiamen

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

13:02 1:02 PM

12:02 12:02 PM

1 h behind Xiamen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,531,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 33.69 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Xiamen Chiang Mai 2,070 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Xiamen
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 12% more than Xiamen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,248 per month in Xiamen 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 Xiamen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $352 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Kindergarten costs $496 per month in Xiamen 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 8% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

Families tend to lean toward Xiamen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.