Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kaohsiung and Zhubei City

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhubei City: $1,055 a month against $1,131 in Kaohsiung, rent and utilities included – about $910 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
Learn more

Kaohsiung Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Zhubei City
Learn more

Zhubei City Living Index

Jump to prices

Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,131

/mo nomad

Zhubei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,055

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kaohsiung and in Zhubei City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,131 in Kaohsiung versus $1,055 in Zhubei City.

Kaohsiung $1,131
Zhubei City $1,055

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,838 in Kaohsiung versus $1,841 in Zhubei City.

Kaohsiung $1,838
Zhubei City $1,841

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,544 in Kaohsiung versus $2,627 in Zhubei City.

Kaohsiung $2,544
Zhubei City $2,627

Living in Kaohsiung is roughly 7% more expensive than in Zhubei City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kaohsiung 16% lower, Zhubei City 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.63 NT$183

$4.83 NT$157

16.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.36 NT$1,017

$28.00 NT$908

12.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.65 NT$151

$5.07 NT$164

-8.28%

Cappuccino

$2.78 NT$90.1

$2.89 NT$93.8

-3.81%

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

$1.08 NT$34.99

$0.91 NT$29.41

18.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 NT$21.40

$0.59 NT$19.02

11.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.52 NT$49.14

$1.93 NT$62.5

-21.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 NT$80.7

$2.33 NT$75.6

6.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.10 NT$100

$2.79 NT$90.4

11.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.18 NT$70.7

$1.87 NT$60.7

16.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.94 NT$95.3

$4.59 NT$149

-35.95%

Eggs

$2.68 NT$86.9

$2.85 NT$92.5

-5.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.81 NT$513

$24.76 NT$803

-36.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.12 NT$263

$8.37 NT$271

-2.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.55 NT$504

$25.93 NT$841

-40.03%

Apples (1kg)

$6.60 NT$214

$4.04 NT$131

63.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.73 NT$88.5

$2.42 NT$78.5

12.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.54 NT$82.2

$2.69 NT$87.3

-5.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 NT$102

$3.27 NT$106

-4.28%

Potato (1kg)

$2.78 NT$90.2

$3.02 NT$97.9

-7.95%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 NT$64.9

$2.02 NT$65.5

-0.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.43 NT$78.7

$2.06 NT$66.9

17.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 NT$33.12

$1.33 NT$43.25

-23.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 NT$144

$3.88 NT$126

14.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.54 NT$504

$9.23 NT$299

68.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 NT$51.0

$1.43 NT$46.36

9.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 NT$71.5

$2.33 NT$75.4

-5.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 NT$23.13

$0.61 NT$19.85

16.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 NT$410

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.70 NT$87.6

$3.10 NT$101

-12.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 NT$24.34

$0.64 NT$20.76

17.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.48 NT$178

$9.25 NT$300

-40.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 NT$33.97

$0.99 NT$32.17

6.06%

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

$33.6K NT$1.1M

$33.5K NT$1.1M

0.51%

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

$23.6K NT$765.3K

$24.8K NT$805.7K

-5.02%

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

$85.5 NT$2,773

$103 NT$3,331

-16.76%

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

$17.29 NT$561

$18.96 NT$615

-8.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.39 NT$856

$22.80 NT$739

15.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.61 NT$1,317

$31.40 NT$1,018

29.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.33 NT$335

Cinema Ticket

$11.13 NT$361

$9.99 NT$324

11.41%

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

$473 NT$15.3K

$646 NT$20.9K

-26.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K NT$456.9K

$16.5K NT$533.8K

-14.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.9 NT$3,013

$57.7 NT$1,870

61.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.16 NT$1,011

$31.13 NT$1,010

0.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.0 NT$2,855

$90.8 NT$2,946

-3.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 NT$3,310

$99.0 NT$3,209

3.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$437 NT$14.2K

$501 NT$16.2K

-12.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$301 NT$9,746

$217 NT$7,032

38.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,005 NT$32.6K

$1,100 NT$35.7K

-8.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$681 NT$22.1K

$768 NT$24.9K

-11.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,523 NT$146.7K

$16.2K NT$525.9K

-72.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,193 NT$103.5K

$9,751 NT$316.2K

-67.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,471 NT$47.7K

$2,391 NT$77.5K

-38.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.56

2.4

6.67%

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

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 12, 2026

Last update for Zhubei City: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kaohsiung

$363 32.1%

Zhubei City

$400 37.9% 10.2% $37

Accommodation & Living

Kaohsiung

$301 26.6%

Zhubei City

$217 20.6% 27.8% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Kaohsiung

$141 12.5%

Zhubei City

$125 11.9% 11.3% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kaohsiung

$129 11.4%

Zhubei City

$144 13.7% 11.8% $15

Eating Out

Kaohsiung

$112 9.9%

Zhubei City

$109 10.3% 2.7% $3.1

Sport & Entertainment

Kaohsiung

$63 5.6%

Zhubei City

$51 4.9% 18.3% $12

Getting Around

Kaohsiung

$22 1.9%

Zhubei City

$8.8 * 0.8% 60.2% $13

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 $437 in Kaohsiung and $501 in Zhubei City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zhubei City pays 63% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31.00 in Kaohsiung vs $28.00 in Zhubei City. Groceries flip the comparison at $363 vs $400, with Kaohsiung cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Zhubei City

🕒 Local time

08:20 8:20 AM

Same time as Kaohsiung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,777,873

211,746

💱 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

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kaohsiung Zhubei City 260 km

From you

Kaohsiung
Zhubei City

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

Kaohsiung vs Zhubei City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kaohsiung and Zhubei City differ by about 7% in total monthly costs ($1,131 vs $1,055 including rent). Zhubei City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 63% lower in Zhubei City. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $437 in Kaohsiung versus $501 in Zhubei City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $473 in Kaohsiung versus $646 in Zhubei City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Zhubei City – a meal for two runs $28.00 versus $31.00 in Kaohsiung. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,055 in Zhubei City versus $1,131 in Kaohsiung, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zhubei City but tight or insufficient in Kaohsiung. The gap between the two cities makes Zhubei City 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, Kaohsiung and Zhubei City 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 Zhubei City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Kaohsiung. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.