Chiang Mai

Life quality score

City ranking

Housing

9
20/265
Details
Large apartment$600.00
Medium apartment$450.00
Rent index [score]0.94
Small apartment$300.00

Cost of Living

8
39/248
Details
5km taxi ride$3.50
A Cappuccino$1.80
A beer$1.50
A kilogram of Apples$2.70
Bread$0.62
Inflation [score]0.85
Lunch$2.90
Monthly fitness club membership$39.00
Monthly public transport$34.00
Movie ticket$4.40
Price of a meal at a restaurant$20.70

Startups

2
247/264
Details
Average monthly increase in number of startups [score]0.10
Coworking spaces [score]0.45
Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co84
Meetups [score]0.12
Meetups groups12
Meetups members1827
Number of investors1
Number of startup events in the last 12 months25
Number of upcoming meetup events3
Startup climate scene [score]0.29
Startup events1
Startup events [score]0.10
Startups [score]0.26
Total number of startups11

Venture Capital

N/A
Details

Travel Connectivity

2
200/266
Details
Airport hub26
Airport hub [score]0.19
Intercity train connectivity [score]0.15

Commute

5
124/255
Details
Traffic handling [score]0.75

Business Freedom

6
211/264
Details
Business freedom76.30
Business freedom [score]0.69
Freedom from corruption38.00
Freedom from corruption [score]0.28
Lack of labor restrictions62.50
Lack of labor restrictions [score]0.49
Time to open a business25.50
Time to open a business [score]0.71

Safety

8
60/266
Details
Crime rate [score]0.77
Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year1
Guns per 100 residents16
Lack of gun related deaths [score]0.96
Lack of guns [score]0.92
Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score]0.94

Healthcare

5
210/265
Details
Healthcare expenditure [score]0.29
Healthcare quality [score]0.79
Life expectancy (years)74.88
Life expectancy [score]0.49

Education

2
206/240
Details
Best university in rankingChiang Mai University
Best university ranking700
Country mean scores in PISA math test418.52
Country mean scores in PISA reading test441.22
Country mean scores in PISA science test444.00
PISA math ranking (high school)42
PISA ranking47
PISA ranking (high school) [score]0.24
PISA reading (high school)43
PISA science (high school)43
Percent of happy students0.93
Percent of low performers in PISA math test0.50
Percent of low performers in PISA reading test0.33
Percent of low performers in PISA science test0.34
Percent of top performers in PISA math test0.03
Percent of top performers in PISA reading test0.01
Percent of top performers in PISA science test0.01
University quality [score]0.10

Environmental Quality

4
208/266
Details
Air quality [score]0.21
Cleanliness [score]0.59
Drinking water quality [score]0.43
Urban greenery [score]0.36

Economy

2
249/263
Details
Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area33.24
Currency for urban areaTHB
GDP growth rate0.01
GDP growth rate [score]0.23
GDP per capita$14354.30
GDP per capita [score]0.24

Taxation

7
38/266
Details
Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score]0.75
Income tax level [score]0.61
Profit tax (% of profit)0.33
Time overhead to file company taxes266
VAT (Sales Tax)0.10

Internet Access

4
193/266
Details
Download speed (Mbps)30.98
Internet access (download) [score]0.48
Internet access (upload) [score]0.38
Upload speed (Mbps)8.18

Leisure & Culture

7
82/264
Details
Art galleries102
Art galleries [score]0.65
Cinemas75
Cinemas [score]0.63
Comedy clubs61
Comedy clubs [score]0.72
Concert venues107
Concerts [score]0.59
Historical sites80
Historical sites [score]0.83
Museums77
Museums [score]0.54
Performing art venues69
Performing arts [score]0.41
Sport venues43
Sports [score]0.67
Zoos20
Zoos [score]0.90

Tolerance

7
152/266
Details
LGBT Equality Index61.15
LGBT Equality Index [score]0.61
LGBT adoption rightsMarried couples only
LGBT age of consent✔ Equal
LGBT blood donation regulations✖ Banned (indefinite deferral)
LGBT conversion therapy regulations✖ Not banned
LGBT discrimination legalityIllegal in some contexts
LGBT employment discrimination legality✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
LGBT gender changing rights✖ Illegal
LGBT homosexuality rights✔ Legal
LGBT housing discrimination legality✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
LGBT marriage rights✖ Unrecognized
Tolerance towards minorities [score]0.76

Outdoors

3
223/266
Details
Elevation (hills or mountains) [score]0.52
Median peak in meters1676.00
Presence of hills in city1.00
Presence of mountains in city1.00
Urban area elevation (meters)315.00
Water access [score]0.10
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Cost of living

Costs of living in Chiang Mai are in the least expensive 20 percent of all 248 Teleport cities. Average living expenses are significantly lower compared to other cities, especially in the housing market. Moving to Chiang Mai will very likely decrease your daily costs of living. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international  cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.

Housing costs (USD)

$440$760
$600
Median rent for
apartments in city center

Daily living costs (USD)

Monthly fitness club membership$39
Movie ticket$4
Broadband internet connection$19
Monthly public transport$34
Lunch$3
-59%
compared to
San Francisco
See more prices and detailed cost of living data in Chiang Mai

Job salary calculator

Software Engineer salaries in Chiang Mai are below average. For this job type, Chiang Mai ranks 175th for salaries among 265 cities. Get access to our salary comparison calculator by signing up. Compare salaries city by city with our free salary wizard and convert your own salary to a local salary in Chiang Mai.

Estimated annual salary (in USD)

$31,938
Median salary
See more details and salary rankings for all job types in Chiang Mai

Locals review Chiang Mai

Do locals recommend living in Chiang Mai?

What could Chiang Mai do better?#improveChiangMai

How could Chiang Mai improve to make it a more liveable city? We will make sure that the local government will know about the suggestions that reach enough votes*.
*Suggestions will be delivered to: Mayor of Chiang Mai - Tatsanai Puranupakorn
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something that can be improved about your city.

What makes Chiang Mai a special place?#praiseChiangMai

Is Chiang Mai a great place to live? What makes it special for you? What makes it liveable? What should others know about? Why should they move here? Why do you love it?
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something nice about your city.

Taxation

Personal taxation

Effective income tax rate

16%
For annual salary of $40000
22%
For annual salary of $80000

Value added tax (VAT)

10%
Standard tax rate. Different rates might apply for certain product categories.

Compared to other cities

40/266

Corporate taxation

Compared to other cities

61/263
See more details on taxation in Chiang Mai
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Safety

Gun crimes & Ownership

15.60
Guns per 100 people
1.40
Gun deaths per 100k people / year
HIGH GUN CRIMELOW GUN CRIMEFEW GUNSMANY GUNS
North America
Europe
Asia
South America
Africa
Oceania

Overall crime rate city ranking

The overall crime rate puts Chiang Mai in position 60 of 266 Teleport Cities in a ranking for the safest cities.

WORSTBEST
See more details on gun crime and safety in Chiang Mai

Visa

For visits up to 90 days

Required with citizenship of
Get more information about visas in Chiang Mai here
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Explore the streets of Chiang Mai

People in Chiang Mai

Population of Chiang Mai

201,000
793 /km²
150/264
Density (people per unit of area)
1%
Growth in 2015-2020
Chiang Mai

Demographics of Thailand

Median age
37
Elderly people
10%
Life expectancy at birth
75
GDP per capita (in USD)
$14,354
218/263
Unemployment
1%
6/264

Languages

English proficiency score
47
219/228
Common spoken languages
Thai

Friends living in Chiang Mai

Find out which of your friends are living in Chiang Mai. Nothing is better than knowing a local 😉

Teleport Users  X  Chiang Mai

Teleport users who are      Chiang Mai

Work in:

Founder
13.71%
Software Engineer
9.68%
Web Developer
4.84%
Project Manager
3.23%
Marketing Manager
3.23%
Account Manager
2.42%
Product Manager
2.42%
Other
60.48%

Come from:

LGBT rights in Chiang Mai

Discrimination

Illegal In Some Contexts

Marriage

Unrecognized

Adoption

Married Couples Only

Climate

Average day length (hours)

12.5

Climate type

Tropical Savanna

Average daily maximum temperature

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On living in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai (เชียงใหม่) is the hub of northern Thailand. With a population of over 170,000 in the city proper (but more than one million in the metropolitan area), it is Thailand's fourth-largest city. On a plain at an elevation of 316 m, surrounded by mountains and lush countryside, it is much greener and quieter than the capital and has a cosmopolitan air and a significant expatriate population, all factors which have led many from Bangkok to settle permanently in this "rose of the north".

Founded in 1296 CE, Chiang Mai is a culturally and historically interesting city, at one time the capital of the ancient Lanna kingdom. In the rolling foothills of the Himalayas 700 km north of Bangkok, until the 1920s it could only be reached by an arduous river journey or an elephant trek. This isolation helped preserve Chiang Mai's distinctive charm, which remains intact.

Chiang Mai's historical centre is the walled city ("city" is chiang in the northern Thai dialect while mai is "new", hence Chiang Mai translates as "new city"). Sections of the wall dating to their restoration a few decades ago remain at the gates and corners, but of the rest only the moat remains.

Read more

Good Country Index

Every city comes with a country. How is this one doing in terms of giving back to the global community? Our friends at The Good Country Index measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size.

Overall ranking

Thailand
53rd from a total of 163 countries

World Order

21st

Refugees hosted

Refugees generated

Charity giving

Birth rate

UN Treaties signed

International Peace & Security

34th

Dues in arrears to UN peace keeping budgets

International violent conflict

Peacekeeping troops

Arms exports

Internet security (2014)

Planet & Climate

155th

Ecological footprint

Reforestation since 1992

Hazardous pesticides exports

CO2 emissions

Ozone

Prosperity & Equality

80th

Development assistance

FDI outflows

Fairtrade market size

UN volunteers abroad

Open trading

Culture

77th

Freedom of movement

Press freedom

Creative services exports

UNESCO dues in arrears as % of contribution

Creative goods exports

Science & Technology

80th

Nobel prizes

Patents

Journal exports

International publications

International Students

Health & Wellbeing

30th

Pharmaceutical exports

Voluntary excess donations to the WHO

Food aid

Humanitarian aid donations

International Health Regulations Compliance

See details ▽

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