Chiang Mai vs Khon Kaen: Companies and Revenue (2026)
In short
Chiang Mai has more of both. It holds 65,164 registered companies against 26,493 in Khon Kaen, a ratio of 2.46 to 1. Its reported revenue is 528.72 billion baht against 352.02 billion, a ratio of only 1.50 to 1. Per company, Khon Kaen wins at 13.29 million baht against 8.11 million. Data as of 17 July 2026.
Which hub has more companies and more revenue?
Chiang Mai wins on both counts, but not by the same margin. The northern capital has 65,164 registered companies, which is 3.28 percent of the provincial total (DBD, 2026). Khon Kaen has 26,493, or 1.33 percent. That is a 2.46 to 1 lead in headcount. Revenue tells a tighter story. Chiang Mai reports 528.72 billion baht and Khon Kaen reports 352.02 billion baht, so the lead shrinks to 1.50 to 1. Chiang Mai is ahead by 38,671 companies. In revenue it is ahead by only 176.70 billion baht. Each Khon Kaen company is carrying a lot more weight.
Reported revenue per registered company
- Bangkok62
- Thailand, all provinces40
- Khon Kaen13
- Chiang Mai8
Figures in million baht per company.
Bangkok and the national figure are shown for scale. Revenue per company here divides province revenue by all registered companies, including those that have not filed.
Head to head: the two regional anchors
| Measure | Chiang Mai | Khon Kaen | Chiang Mai to Khon Kaen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered companies | 65,164 | 26,493 | 2.46 to 1 |
| Rank by company count | 6th | 14th | 8 places apart |
| Share of provincial company total | 3.28% | 1.33% | 2.46 to 1 |
| Reported revenue, billion baht | 529 | 352 | 1.50 to 1 |
| Rank by revenue | 15th | 19th | 4 places apart |
| Share of provincial revenue total | 0.66% | 0.44% | 1.50 to 1 |
| Revenue per company, million baht | 8 | 13 | 0.61 to 1 |
Registered companies, reported revenue and revenue per company, as of 17 Jul 2026.
Why Khon Kaen punches above its headcount
Chiang Mai is the bigger crowd. Khon Kaen is the denser wallet. Eight places separate them on company count, yet only four separate them on revenue. A Khon Kaen company reports 13.29 million baht on average, which is 1.64 times the 8.11 million baht in Chiang Mai. The registry cannot say why. A plausible reading is that Chiang Mai carries a long tail of very small registrations, the kind a tourism and services economy produces, while Khon Kaen's base leans toward fewer, larger trading and processing firms. Treat that as a hypothesis, not a finding. Both hubs still sit far below the national figure of 40.31 million baht, which Bangkok pulls upward.
Why this matters
Counting companies is the easy way to rank a city, and it flatters Chiang Mai. Revenue per company is the better test of how much commercial muscle each registration carries, and it flips the order. For a supplier, lender or retailer choosing where to open a regional branch, the pick depends on the job. Chiang Mai offers reach, with 38,671 more potential counterparties. Khon Kaen offers ticket size, with each firm reporting about 64 percent more revenue. Neither hub comes close to Bangkok at 62.19 million baht, which is a reminder that Thailand's regional centres are still second-tier markets by revenue weight.
Definitions
- Registered company
- A juristic person recorded in the DBD registry under a province, whether or not it is trading today.
- Reported revenue
- Total revenue taken from filed financial statements, summed across the province.
- Revenue per company
- Province revenue divided by all registered companies in the province. It is a weight per registration, not an average over filers.
- Aggregate
- A total across many companies, with no individual firm singled out.
Assumptions
- Revenue covers only companies that filed a financial statement, so provinces with lower filing rates look smaller than their true activity.
- A company is counted in the province of its registered address, which may differ from where it operates.
- Revenue can be booked at a head office, so group activity in a province may be recorded elsewhere.
- The explanation for Khon Kaen's higher revenue per company is a hypothesis, not something the registry measures.
Methodology
Counts and revenue come from the Department of Business Development registry, aggregated by registered province as of 17 July 2026. Company count is every registered juristic person assigned to the province. Revenue is the sum of reported revenue from filed financial statements, so it understates provinces where many companies have not filed. Shares use the provincial totals of 1,986,709 companies and 80.08 trillion baht as denominators. Revenue per company divides province revenue by all registered companies, not only filers, so it is an estimate of weight per registration rather than per reporting firm. Ranks cover the 77 named provinces including Bangkok and exclude two rows with no province recorded.
How we verified this
- Company ratio recomputed: 65,164 divided by 26,493 equals 2.46.
- Revenue ratio recomputed: 528,719,407,450 divided by 352,018,152,705 baht equals 1.50.
- Chiang Mai revenue per company recomputed: 528,719,407,450 divided by 65,164 equals 8,113,673 baht, or 8.11 million.
- Khon Kaen revenue per company recomputed: 352,018,152,705 divided by 26,493 equals 13,287,214 baht, or 13.29 million.
- Per-company ratio recomputed: 13.29 divided by 8.11 equals 1.64, and the inverse 8.11 divided by 13.29 equals 0.61.
- Company shares recomputed against 1,986,709: Chiang Mai 3.28 percent, Khon Kaen 1.33 percent.
- Revenue shares recomputed against 80,081,498,171,718 baht: Chiang Mai 0.66 percent, Khon Kaen 0.44 percent.
- Gaps recomputed: 65,164 minus 26,493 equals 38,671 companies, and 528.72 minus 352.02 equals 176.70 billion baht.
- Bangkok 50,545,042,343 thousand divided by 812,799 companies equals 62.19 million baht, and national 80,081,498,172 thousand divided by 1,986,709 equals 40.31 million baht.
- Revenue ranks were rechecked after setting aside the row with no recorded revenue, giving Chiang Mai 15th and Khon Kaen 19th.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates by province. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
Frequently asked questions
Does Chiang Mai or Khon Kaen have more companies?
Chiang Mai, with 65,164 registered companies against 26,493 in Khon Kaen, as of 17 July 2026.
Which province reports more revenue?
Chiang Mai, at 528.72 billion baht against 352.02 billion baht for Khon Kaen. The lead is 1.50 to 1.
Which has higher revenue per company?
Khon Kaen, at 13.29 million baht per registered company against 8.11 million baht in Chiang Mai.
Why is the revenue gap smaller than the company gap?
Chiang Mai has 2.46 times as many companies but only 1.50 times the revenue, so its average registration reports less. The registry does not explain the cause.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Chiang Mai vs Khon Kaen: Companies and Revenue (2026). Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/chiang-mai-vs-khon-kaen-business-comparison-2026
Data & corrections
Download the data (CSV)Spot something off, or want to ask about the data? Email insights@maxsolutions.co.th. We publish corrections.
Written by
Chatpong L.Founder, Max Data, Max Solutions Co., Ltd.
Chatpong L. leads Max Data, a company-intelligence platform built on Thailand's official business registry. He writes about the structure of the Thai economy using primary registry data. His work covers company formation, industry concentration, and regional business activity.
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This page reports company-level and aggregate statistics only. It names no individuals and makes no claims about any person. Figures are provided for information and may be revised as source data updates.