Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiayi and Taipei

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiayi: $1,067 a month against $1,368 in Taipei, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Chiayi
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Chiayi Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Taipei
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Taipei Living Index

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Chiayi

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,067

/mo nomad

Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,368

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiayi and in Taipei

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Chiayi and in Taipei actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,067 in Chiayi versus $1,368 in Taipei.

Chiayi $1,067
Taipei $1,368

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,503 in Chiayi versus $2,202 in Taipei.

Chiayi $1,503
Taipei $2,202

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,940 in Chiayi versus $3,036 in Taipei.

Chiayi $1,940
Taipei $3,036

Living in Chiayi costs roughly 22% less than in Taipei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiayi is 21% below, Taipei is 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.83 NT$157

$4.60 NT$149

5.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.84 NT$1,519

$47.13 NT$1,528

-0.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 NT$185

$5.58 NT$181

2.15%

Cappuccino

$3.36 NT$109

$3.45 NT$112

-2.61%

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

$0.88 NT$28.58

$0.94 NT$30.61

-6.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 NT$21.68

$0.67 NT$21.73

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.85 NT$92.4

$2.86 NT$92.7

-0.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 NT$123

$3.70 NT$120

2.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.10 NT$101

$3.12 NT$101

-0.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 NT$66.8

$1.97 NT$64.0

4.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.04 NT$98.6

$3.16 NT$103

-3.80%

Eggs

$2.66 NT$86.3

$2.68 NT$86.9

-0.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.77 NT$641

$19.90 NT$645

-0.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 NT$316

$9.85 NT$319

-1.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.98 NT$680

$21.51 NT$698

-2.46%

Apples (1kg)

$4.87 NT$158

$4.85 NT$157

0.41%

Banana (1kg)

$3.22 NT$104

$3.25 NT$105

-0.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 NT$97.0

$3.03 NT$98.2

-1.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.55 NT$148

$4.53 NT$147

0.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.80 NT$90.9

$2.79 NT$90.4

0.36%

Onion (1kg)

$2.35 NT$76.3

$2.34 NT$75.9

0.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 NT$54.3

$1.68 NT$54.5

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 NT$37.04

$1.10 NT$35.62

3.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.01 NT$130

$3.80 NT$123

5.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.66 NT$151

$14.17 NT$460

-67.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 NT$53.7

$1.63 NT$53.0

1.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 NT$70.8

$2.29 NT$74.3

-4.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.65 NT$21.04

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.43 NT$403

$37.88 NT$1,228

-67.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.64 NT$85.5

$2.68 NT$86.8

-1.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.46 NT$14.94

$0.82 NT$26.55

-43.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.66 NT$313

$9.17 NT$297

5.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 NT$34.43

$1.02 NT$32.93

3.92%

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

$32.9K NT$1.1M

$32.8K NT$1.1M

0.11%

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

$24.5K NT$795.8K

$24.5K NT$795.1K

0.09%

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

$66.7 NT$2,164

$87.7 NT$2,843

-23.88%

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

$17.52 NT$568

$17.28 NT$560

1.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.93 NT$873

$27.38 NT$888

-1.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.82 NT$1,032

$40.32 NT$1,308

-21.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.94 NT$517

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 NT$319

$9.83 NT$319

0.10%

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

$660 NT$21.4K

$663 NT$21.5K

-0.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K NT$543.4K

$16.6K NT$538.4K

0.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.3 NT$2,020

$62.4 NT$2,025

-0.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.44 NT$1,279

$39.51 NT$1,281

-0.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.2 NT$2,763

$84.5 NT$2,740

0.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 NT$3,383

$106 NT$3,424

-1.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$369 NT$12.0K

$999 NT$32.4K

-63.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$253 NT$8,194

$473 NT$15.3K

-46.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,565 NT$50.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$948 NT$30.7K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,179 NT$103.1K

$11.9K NT$385.6K

-73.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 NT$61.9K

$7,306 NT$236.9K

-73.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,110 NT$68.4K

$1,760 NT$57.1K

19.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

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

Last update for Chiayi: October 12, 2026

Last update for Taipei: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Chiayi

$379 35.5%

Taipei

$400 29.3% 5.5% $21

Accommodation & Living

Chiayi

$253 23.7%

Taipei

$473 34.6% 87.3% $221

Clothing & Footwear

Chiayi

$131 12.3%

Taipei

$131 9.6% 0.3% $0.3

Eating Out

Chiayi

$124 11.6%

Taipei

$123 9% 0.9% $1.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiayi

$111 10.4%

Taipei

$132 9.7% 19% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Chiayi

$51 4.8%

Taipei

$60 4.4% 16.5% $8.5

Getting Around

Chiayi

$17 * 1.6%

Taipei

$47 3.5% 172% $30

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $369 in Chiayi and $999 in Taipei. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiayi pays 20% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47.00 in Chiayi vs $47.00 in Taipei for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $400 per month, with Chiayi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Chiayi

🇹🇼 Taipei

🕒 Local time

07:24 7:24 AM

Same time as Chiayi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

269,874

2,635,286 Capital

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Chiayi Taipei 210 km

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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

Chiayi vs Taipei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiayi wins on cost – living expenses run 28% lower than in Taipei. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Chiayi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 20% higher in Chiayi, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $369 in Chiayi versus $999 in Taipei. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,067 per month in Chiayi versus $1,368 in Taipei – a 28% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Chiayi runs roughly 205% less than in Taipei. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,067 in Chiayi versus $1,368 in Taipei, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiayi but tight or insufficient in Taipei. The gap between the two cities makes Chiayi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Chiayi and Taipei are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Chiayi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Taipei. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.