The sourced starting points
Use these as a starting range, not as a single true price. Rent methods differ, and that difference matters more than any single average.
| Item | Los Angeles | Bangkok | Source and caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-bedroom rent, per month | $1,861 median to $2,450 asking median | 11,190 baht outside centre to 28,000 baht citywide asking median, about $336 to $840 at $0.03 | Los Angeles: Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, one-bedroom median $1,861, September 2026 estimates; PiggyRent October 2026, one-bedroom asking median $2,450 from listings collected 2 to 4 October 2026; PadMapper October 2026, one-bedroom median $2,100 as of 18 October 2026. Bangkok: Numbeo contributor data updated 15 October 2026, one-bedroom city centre 22,457 baht, outside centre 11,190 baht; Bamboo Routes 2026, citywide asking median close to 28,000 baht and average one-bedroom near 25,600 baht, with central one-bedrooms commonly 25,000 to 35,000 baht and prime corridors higher. Contributor averages, asking medians, and centre versus outside-centre splits are not the same thing, so do not treat any one figure as the Bangkok price. |
| Thailand income tax, 2026 | Progressive rates on net taxable income: first 150,000 baht exempt, 5% to 300,000 baht, 10% to 500,000 baht, 15% to 750,000 baht, 20% to 1,000,000 baht, 25% to 2,000,000 baht, 30% to 5,000,000 baht, and 35% above 5,000,000 baht. Personal allowance 60,000 baht and employment expense deduction of 50% capped at 100,000 baht apply before net income, with other allowances on top. | Rates as set out on the official Thailand government portal page, checked 24 October 2026, and in 2026 tax summaries checked the same day. Residency (180 days or more), foreign income remitted to Thailand, and deductions can change the result a lot. Enter your own effective tax rate in the calculator. Get a personal calculation before you rely on any tax figure. | |
| US tax, Los Angeles | No single rate is used here. Federal tax plus California tax all apply, and your effective rate depends on income, filing status, and deductions. | Enter your own effective tax rate in the calculator. Do not use a headline marginal rate as if it were your total tax. | |
| Healthcare, in one line | Mainly employer or private insurance in the US, with premiums, deductibles, and copays on top of tax. | Thailand Universal Coverage is for Thai citizens only, so expats generally need private insurance, employer cover, or Social Security cover through formal Thai employment. | This is a system difference, not a price. Budget for private cover in Bangkok, and for US-style out-of-pocket costs if you keep US cover. |
Why the Bangkok range is so wide: a citywide asking median blends older flats near transit with new central condos, while a centre versus outside-centre split shows location alone can move rent by tens of thousands of baht. Pick the area and building type that matches your move, then replace the range with listings you have actually seen.
Try it: match your life, not just your salary
Bangkok rent is entered in baht and converted at the editable exchange rate, so you can see the conversion instead of guessing it. Other Bangkok costs are an example only, replace them with your own.
Formula, in plain words: take-home needed in Bangkok equals Bangkok monthly costs in dollars plus your current monthly cushion, divided by one minus your Thailand tax rate. This is illustrative maths, not a tax calculation. Thailand bands above are the check, not a substitute for a personal calculation.
Worked example, checked: $110,000 salary, 26% tax now, $1,861 rent now, $2,200 other costs now, 28,000 baht rent in Bangkok, 18,000 baht other costs in Bangkok, 1 baht = $0.03, 15% tax in Thailand. Take-home now about $6,783 per month, left after costs now about $2,722 per month, Bangkok rent $840 per month, total Bangkok costs $1,380 per month, equivalent gross salary about $57,915 per year in dollar terms, savings difference $2,681 per month. Other Bangkok costs are an editable example only, not a sourced figure.
Your result
Equivalent gross salary needed in Bangkok, in dollar terms
Savings difference is Los Angeles monthly costs minus Bangkok monthly costs in dollars. Positive means Bangkok costs less on these inputs. It is not a savings forecast, because tax, healthcare, transport, and lifestyle are only partly in these fields.
Saved comparisons stay in this browser only, on this device. No account, no email, no data sent anywhere.
Official links to check, not search results
Use these directly, for the same scam reason as the template: official government pages, not the first ad that looks official.
- Thailand government portal: Setting personal income tax rates - the progressive bands used on this page, from exempt to 35%, sourced to the Revenue Department.
No deep Revenue Department link was verified in this batch, so none is linked here. The portal page above points onward to the Revenue Department site. If a site charges more than an official fee, or its address is not a Thai government domain for that service, treat it as a copycat and go back to the official link above.
What this page still does not do
- Family size: one-bedroom rent and a single-person budget do not scale cleanly to a family. A family version needs bedroom count, schooling, and childcare as separate fields.
- Housing ownership: buying, mortgage, and property tax are not in this calculator. Renters only, for now.
- Pension and remote income: salary mode only in this page. Pension mode and remote-income mode are not yet built.
- Visa and residence: a short visit is not a move. See the companion US passport to Thailand page for entry, and get immigration advice for work or residence permission.
Next step: US passport to Thailand, entry and scouting trip budget →
Sources, checked 24 October 2026
- Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index: Los Angeles one-bedroom median $1,861, overall median $2,081, September 2026 estimates.
- PiggyRent Los Angeles rent report, October 2026, listings collected 2 to 4 October 2026: one-bedroom asking median $2,450.
- PadMapper Los Angeles rent trends, October 2026, median as of 18 October 2026: one-bedroom $2,100.
- Numbeo Bangkok property comparison, updated 15 October 2026: one-bedroom city centre 22,457 baht, outside centre 11,190 baht, contributor data.
- Bamboo Routes Bangkok rents, 2026: citywide asking median close to 28,000 baht, average one-bedroom near 25,600 baht.
- Thailand government portal, Setting personal income tax rates, checked 24 October 2026: exempt to 150,000 baht, then 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, and 35% above 5,000,000 baht.
- Exchange rate: $1 = 33.636 baht on 24 October 2026, from market summaries checked that day. Inverted and rounded to 1 baht = $0.03 in this page, editable in the calculator.
- Healthcare: Thailand Universal Coverage Scheme is for Thai citizens only, expats generally need private, employer, or Social Security cover, from healthcare guides checked 24 October 2026.
If any figure above has moved since 24 October 2026, the page is out of date until it is rechecked. That is the point of the last-checked stamp.