Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yamba NSW and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,331 in Yamba NSW, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

120

Cost of Living Index in Yamba NSW
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Yamba NSW Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Yamba NSW

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,331

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,331 per month in Yamba NSW vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Yamba NSW $2,331
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,399 per month in Yamba NSW vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Yamba NSW $3,399
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,466 per month in Yamba NSW vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Yamba NSW $4,466
Chiang Mai $1,979

Yamba NSW costs about 149% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Yamba NSW sits 71% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.85 A$25.28

$2.24 ฿75.5

696.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.9 A$72.0

$19.00 ฿640

167.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.11 A$15.73

$5.55 ฿187

100.18%

Cappuccino

$4.52 A$6.40

$1.67 ฿56.4

170.66%

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

$2.44 A$3.46

$0.64 ฿21.51

281.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 A$2.90

$0.31 ฿10.29

561.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.90 A$11.19

$2.36 ฿79.5

234.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.96 A$9.86

$3.66 ฿123

90.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 A$2.30

$1.95 ฿65.7

-16.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.68 A$3.79

$1.44 ฿48.41

86.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 A$3.19

$1.33 ฿44.97

69.17%

Eggs

$4.90 A$6.94

$2.28 ฿77.0

114.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.25 A$13.10

$16.45 ฿554

-43.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 A$12.89

$2.78 ฿93.8

227.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.23 A$20.16

$9.31 ฿314

52.85%

Apples (1kg)

$4.34 A$6.14

$2.35 ฿79.3

84.68%

Banana (1kg)

$3.17 A$4.50

$0.97 ฿32.75

226.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.28

$1.60 ฿53.8

88.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.82

$1.50 ฿50.6

221.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.87 A$4.06

$1.28 ฿43.06

124.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.34 A$3.32

$1.10 ฿37.14

112.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 A$3.30

$0.71 ฿23.79

228.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 A$1.75

$0.49 ฿16.34

153.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$38.44 A$54.5

$4.14 ฿140

828.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.66 A$17.93

$17.52 ฿590

-27.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.30 A$7.50

$1.61 ฿54.4

229.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.92 A$6.97

$2.78 ฿93.8

76.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.74 A$3.88

$0.87 ฿29.27

214.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.1 A$104

$54.1 ฿1,823

35.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.09 A$4.38

$1.16 ฿39.00

166.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 A$2.65

$0.53 ฿17.78

252.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.70 A$59.1

$2.42 ฿81.6

1623.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 A$1.99

$1.45 ฿48.82

-2.76%

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

$29.8K A$42.2K

$21.1K ฿709.7K

41.54%

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

$25.5K A$36.1K

$26.9K ฿907.9K

-5.29%

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

$162 A$230

$62.2 ฿2,095

161.33%

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

$26.59 A$37.67

$12.17 ฿410

118.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.3 A$85.4

$20.12 ฿678

199.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.0 A$82.2

$37.31 ฿1,257

55.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 A$27.61

$3.77 ฿127

416.98%

Cinema Ticket

$14.27 A$20.21

$6.49 ฿219

119.88%

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

$1,974 A$2,796

$736 ฿24.8K

168.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K A$18.2K

$14.8K ฿497.6K

-13.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.8 A$120

$53.4 ฿1,799

58.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.72 A$63.4

$24.64 ฿830

81.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$158

$91.5 ฿3,083

21.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 A$156

$71.9 ฿2,424

52.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,424 A$2,017

$482 ฿16.3K

195.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,076 A$1,524

$309 ฿10.4K

248.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,037 A$2,886

$1,006 ฿33.9K

102.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,765 A$2,500

$633 ฿21.3K

178.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,125 A$7,260

$2,363 ฿79.6K

116.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,432 A$7,695

$1,589 ฿53.6K

241.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.81

5.57

4.31%

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

Last update for Yamba NSW: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Yamba NSW

$1.1K 46.2%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 71.3% $767

Groceries & Markets

Yamba NSW

$363 15.6%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 35.5% $129

Eating Out

Yamba NSW

$302 12.9%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 74.3% $224

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yamba NSW

$249 10.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 62.1% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Yamba NSW

$158 6.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 31.2% $49

Getting Around

Yamba NSW

$97 4.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 36.4% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Yamba NSW

$87 3.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 41.9% $36

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,424 in Yamba NSW 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $51 in Yamba NSW versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $363 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Yamba NSW

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

19:36 7:36 PM

15:36 3:36 PM

4 h behind Yamba NSW

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,913

127,240

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.706 USD

1 AUD = 0.633 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.706 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.633 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.61 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Yamba NSW Chiang Mai 7,920 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Yamba NSW
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

Yamba NSW vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yamba NSW costs about 149% 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 $3,497 per month in Yamba NSW 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 $1,424 in Yamba NSW.

Kindergarten costs $1,974 per month in Yamba NSW 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 55% more in Yamba NSW, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,331 in Yamba NSW 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.

For expats, Chiang Mai is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 60% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.