Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Miaoli and Kaohsiung

For one person, living is cheaper in Miaoli: $768 a month against $1,105 in Kaohsiung, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Miaoli
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Miaoli Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index

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Miaoli

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$768

/mo nomad

Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,105

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Miaoli and in Kaohsiung

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $768 in Miaoli versus $1,105 in Kaohsiung.

Miaoli $768
Kaohsiung $1,105

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,069 in Miaoli versus $1,796 in Kaohsiung.

Miaoli $1,069
Kaohsiung $1,796

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,370 in Miaoli versus $2,487 in Kaohsiung.

Miaoli $1,370
Kaohsiung $2,487

Living in Miaoli costs roughly 30% less than in Kaohsiung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Miaoli 44% lower, Kaohsiung 19% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.53 NT$82.1

$4.74 NT$154

-46.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.04 NT$747

$30.77 NT$998

-25.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.69 NT$152

$4.60 NT$149

1.96%

Cappuccino

$2.94 NT$95.4

$2.93 NT$94.9

0.34%

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

$0.83 NT$26.77

$1.05 NT$34.02

-20.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 NT$17.90

$0.69 NT$22.49

-20.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.20 NT$38.81

$1.51 NT$48.97

-20.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 NT$41.56

$2.39 NT$77.6

-46.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.64 NT$85.6

$3.16 NT$103

-16.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 NT$39.62

$2.18 NT$70.8

-44.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.64 NT$85.7

$2.87 NT$93.0

-8.01%

Eggs

$2.05 NT$66.6

$2.54 NT$82.5

-19.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 NT$290

$15.21 NT$493

-41.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.43 NT$241

$8.03 NT$260

-7.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.11 NT$685

$14.77 NT$479

42.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.77 NT$122

$6.40 NT$207

-41.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 NT$63.5

$2.79 NT$90.4

-29.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.91 NT$94.4

$2.42 NT$78.4

20.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.10 NT$101

$3.02 NT$98.1

2.65%

Potato (1kg)

$2.53 NT$81.9

$2.68 NT$86.9

-5.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 NT$61.8

$1.97 NT$64.0

-3.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.20 NT$71.3

$2.30 NT$74.5

-4.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 NT$29.00

$1.02 NT$32.93

-12.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.86 NT$125

$4.24 NT$138

-8.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.90 NT$354

$15.44 NT$501

-29.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 NT$45.44

$1.61 NT$52.2

-13.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 NT$68.2

$2.09 NT$67.6

0.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 NT$20.24

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.04 NT$391

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.81 NT$91.2

$2.64 NT$85.5

6.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 NT$23.97

$0.78 NT$25.34

-5.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.07 NT$229

$5.68 NT$184

24.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 NT$32.81

$0.97 NT$31.61

4.12%

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

$36.7K NT$1.2M

$37.1K NT$1.2M

-1.26%

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

$22.8K NT$738.9K

$22.7K NT$735.3K

0.49%

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

$68.0 NT$2,205

$82.1 NT$2,661

-17.16%

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

$17.30 NT$561

$16.89 NT$548

2.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.61 NT$701

$25.27 NT$820

-14.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.20 NT$1,271

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.12 NT$328

Cinema Ticket

$10.84 NT$351

$10.11 NT$328

7.22%

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

$508 NT$16.5K

$448 NT$14.5K

13.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.8K NT$1.0M

$13.7K NT$443.4K

125.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$12.19 NT$395

$90.0 NT$2,918

-86.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.87 NT$774

$31.24 NT$1,013

-23.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.2 NT$2,016

$86.0 NT$2,789

-27.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.1 NT$3,052

$99.3 NT$3,221

-5.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$211 NT$6,840

$430 NT$14.0K

-50.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$156 NT$5,064

$301 NT$9,752

-48.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$985 NT$31.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$681 NT$22.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,146 NT$134.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,875 NT$93.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,374 NT$77.0K

$1,401 NT$45.4K

69.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.38

2.56

-7.03%

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

Last update for Miaoli: October 24, 2026

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Miaoli

$306 39.9%

Kaohsiung

$355 32.1% 15.9% $49

Accommodation & Living

Miaoli

$156 20.3%

Kaohsiung

$301 27.2% 92.6% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Miaoli

$107 13.9%

Kaohsiung

$124 11.3% 16.2% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Miaoli

$87 11.3%

Kaohsiung

$138 12.5% 59.4% $51

Eating Out

Miaoli

$84 10.9%

Kaohsiung

$106 9.6% 26.8% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Miaoli

$22 * 2.8%

Kaohsiung

$59 5.4% 174% $38

Getting Around

Miaoli

$6.5 * 0.9%

Kaohsiung

$21 1.9% 224% $15

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 $211 in Miaoli and $430 in Kaohsiung. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Miaoli pays 70% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23 in Miaoli vs $31 in Kaohsiung for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $306 vs $355 per month, with Miaoli cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Miaoli

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🕒 Local time

19:57 7:57 PM

Same time as Miaoli

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

89,892

2,777,873

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Miaoli Kaohsiung 220 km

From you

Miaoli
Kaohsiung

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

Miaoli vs Kaohsiung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Miaoli and Kaohsiung differ by about 44% in total monthly costs ($768 vs $1,105 including rent). Miaoli is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 70% higher in Miaoli, 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: $211 in Miaoli versus $430 in Kaohsiung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $508 in Miaoli versus $448 in Kaohsiung. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Miaoli – a meal for two runs $23 versus $31 in Kaohsiung. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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