Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamamatsu and Hua-lien

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamamatsu: $783 a month against $1,054 in Hua-lien, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Hamamatsu
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Hamamatsu Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Hua-lien
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Hua-lien Living Index

Jump to prices

Hamamatsu

🇯🇵 Japan

$783

/mo nomad

Hua-lien

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,054

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hamamatsu and in Hua-lien

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $783 in Hamamatsu versus $1,054 in Hua-lien.

Hamamatsu $783
Hua-lien $1,054

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,266 in Hamamatsu versus $1,788 in Hua-lien.

Hamamatsu $1,266
Hua-lien $1,788

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,750 in Hamamatsu versus $2,522 in Hua-lien.

Hamamatsu $1,750
Hua-lien $2,522

Living in Hamamatsu costs roughly 26% less than in Hua-lien, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Hamamatsu 42% lower, Hua-lien 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.90 ¥615

$4.08 NT$132

-4.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.78 ¥6,596

$27.90 NT$904

49.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.19 ¥820

$4.13 NT$134

25.67%

Cappuccino

$3.41 ¥539

$2.62 NT$84.8

30.15%

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

$1.10 ¥174

$0.93 NT$30.23

18.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 ¥118

$0.53 NT$17.12

41.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.61 ¥411

$1.33 NT$42.98

96.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 ¥490

$2.04 NT$66.0

52.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.08 ¥170

$2.74 NT$88.7

-60.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 ¥268

$1.64 NT$53.2

3.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.67 ¥579

$4.53 NT$147

-18.98%

Eggs

$1.68 ¥266

$1.93 NT$62.5

-12.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.25 ¥1,618

$19.15 NT$620

-46.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.17 ¥973

$5.93 NT$192

4.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.24 ¥2,248

$25.47 NT$825

-44.09%

Apples (1kg)

$5.80 ¥916

$2.67 NT$86.4

117.23%

Banana (1kg)

$2.84 ¥448

$2.44 NT$79.0

16.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 ¥466

$3.20 NT$104

-7.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.30 ¥679

$3.09 NT$100

39.16%

Potato (1kg)

$2.61 ¥413

$2.29 NT$74.2

13.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.59 ¥408

$2.35 NT$76.0

10.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 ¥204

$1.99 NT$64.5

-35.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 ¥104

$0.96 NT$31.22

-31.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.89 ¥613

$3.76 NT$122

3.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.39 ¥1,009

$12.33 NT$400

-48.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ¥288

$1.85 NT$60.0

-1.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 ¥331

$2.30 NT$74.4

-8.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 NT$19.32

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 ¥7,914

$33.87 NT$1,097

48.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 ¥490

$3.07 NT$99.5

1.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.63 ¥415

$0.30 NT$9.58

776.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.62 ¥3,256

$9.86 NT$319

109.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 ¥168

$0.91 NT$29.43

16.48%

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

$21.6K ¥3.4M

$35.5K NT$1.1M

-39.13%

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

$15.8K ¥2.5M

$23.7K NT$767.5K

-33.17%

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

$130 ¥20.6K

$99.3 NT$3,216

31.38%

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

$8.59 ¥1,356

$18.72 NT$607

-54.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.78 ¥5,176

$12.53 NT$406

161.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.49 NT$1,150

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.40 ¥2,747

Cinema Ticket

$13.08 ¥2,065

$10.12 NT$328

29.25%

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

$819 ¥129.3K

$729 NT$23.6K

12.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ¥2.3M

$16.2K NT$523.7K

-8.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.6 ¥10.0K

$55.5 NT$1,800

14.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.10 ¥5,858

$34.63 NT$1,122

7.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.3 ¥9,677

$76.5 NT$2,479

-19.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 ¥16.3K

$103 NT$3,338

0.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$417 NT$13.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$254 NT$8,216

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 NT$33.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$749 NT$24.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,787 ¥1.2M

$7,568 NT$245.2K

2.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,298 ¥836.5K

$4,914 NT$159.2K

7.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,602 ¥253.0K

$2,802 NT$90.8K

-42.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.64

2.13

23.94%

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

Last update for Hamamatsu: October 24, 2026

Last update for Hua-lien: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Hamamatsu

$285 36.4%

Hua-lien

$359 34.1% 25.9% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hamamatsu

$172 21.9%

Hua-lien

$131 12.4% 24% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Hamamatsu

$119 15.2%

Hua-lien

$121 11.5% 1.7% $2

Eating Out

Hamamatsu

$114 14.6%

Hua-lien

$93 8.8% 18.7% $21

Getting Around

Hamamatsu

$66 * 8.5%

Hua-lien

$41 3.9% 38.5% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Hamamatsu

$26 * 3.3%

Hua-lien

$56 5.3% 113% $30

Accommodation & Living

Hamamatsu

- * 0%

Hua-lien

$254 24.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

Hua-lien pays 75% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $42 in Hamamatsu vs $28 in Hua-lien. Groceries flip the comparison at $285 vs $359, with Hamamatsu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Hamamatsu

🇹🇼 Hua-lien

🕒 Local time

03:47 3:47 AM

02:47 2:47 AM

1 h behind Hamamatsu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

797,033

105,034

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

100 TWD = 3.09 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 32.4 TWD (100 TWD = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 36.07 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hamamatsu Hua-lien 1,960 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Hamamatsu
Hua-lien

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

Hamamatsu vs Hua-lien: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamamatsu and Hua-lien differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($783 vs $1,054 including rent). Hamamatsu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 43% lower in Hamamatsu. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Hua-lien. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Hua-lien – a meal for two runs $28 versus $42 in Hamamatsu. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Hamamatsu gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Hamamatsu and Hua-lien are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

It comes down to priorities – Hamamatsu wins on affordability, Hua-lien on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.