Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taichung and Zhubei City

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhubei City: $1,032 a month against $1,112 in Taichung, rent and utilities included – about $960 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Taichung outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

53

Cost of Living Index in Taichung
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Taichung Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Zhubei City
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Zhubei City Living Index

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Taichung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,112

/mo nomad

Zhubei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,032

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Taichung 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 Taichung and in Zhubei City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,112 in Taichung versus $1,032 in Zhubei City.

Taichung $1,112
Zhubei City $1,032

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,848 in Taichung versus $1,809 in Zhubei City.

Taichung $1,848
Zhubei City $1,809

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,584 in Taichung versus $2,585 in Zhubei City.

Taichung $2,584
Zhubei City $2,585

Living in Taichung is roughly 8% more expensive than in Zhubei City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Taichung 18% lower, Zhubei City 24% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.49 NT$147

$4.58 NT$150

-1.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.20 NT$989

$27.39 NT$897

10.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.63 NT$152

$5.00 NT$164

-7.40%

Cappuccino

$2.80 NT$91.7

$2.78 NT$91.2

0.72%

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

$0.98 NT$32.06

$0.90 NT$29.44

8.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 NT$24.29

$0.58 NT$19.01

27.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 NT$49.57

$1.88 NT$61.6

-19.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 NT$86.4

$2.25 NT$73.7

17.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.23 NT$106

$2.87 NT$94.0

12.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 NT$56.4

$1.84 NT$60.2

-6.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.56 NT$84.0

$4.48 NT$147

-42.86%

Eggs

$2.53 NT$82.8

$2.76 NT$90.5

-8.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$28.44 NT$932

$24.01 NT$786

18.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.71 NT$253

$8.10 NT$265

-4.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.09 NT$527

$25.03 NT$820

-35.72%

Apples (1kg)

$4.25 NT$139

$3.92 NT$129

8.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 NT$62.9

$2.48 NT$81.3

-22.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.07 NT$101

$2.71 NT$88.8

13.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 NT$70.1

$3.23 NT$106

-33.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 NT$39.56

$2.99 NT$98.1

-59.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 NT$60.9

$1.98 NT$64.9

-6.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.29 NT$75.0

$1.99 NT$65.1

15.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 NT$29.15

$1.37 NT$44.89

-35.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.66 NT$120

$3.84 NT$126

-4.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.47 NT$507

$8.78 NT$288

76.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 NT$49.90

$1.37 NT$44.79

10.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 NT$79.0

$2.33 NT$76.3

3.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 NT$20.46

$0.60 NT$19.60

3.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.41 NT$603

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.63 NT$86.3

$3.16 NT$103

-16.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 NT$24.51

$0.75 NT$24.73

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.26 NT$303

$6.82 NT$223

35.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 NT$33.86

$0.97 NT$31.90

6.19%

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

$34.0K NT$1.1M

$33.2K NT$1.1M

2.53%

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

$22.9K NT$750.4K

$23.6K NT$773.3K

-2.97%

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

$122 NT$3,983

$101 NT$3,314

20.19%

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

$14.50 NT$475

$19.19 NT$629

-24.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.56 NT$674

$22.80 NT$747

-9.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.13 NT$1,020

$31.18 NT$1,021

-0.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.34 NT$371

Cinema Ticket

$10.11 NT$331

$10.02 NT$328

0.90%

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

$337 NT$11.0K

$624 NT$20.4K

-46.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.7K NT$679.6K

$17.3K NT$568.3K

19.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.5 NT$2,276

$55.3 NT$1,810

25.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.94 NT$1,145

$31.01 NT$1,016

12.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.6 NT$2,705

$90.1 NT$2,950

-8.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 NT$3,675

$96.1 NT$3,147

16.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$384 NT$12.6K

$486 NT$15.9K

-20.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$271 NT$8,870

$210 NT$6,864

29.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 NT$38.3K

$1,084 NT$35.5K

7.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$737 NT$24.1K

$762 NT$25.0K

-3.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,799 NT$190.0K

$15.8K NT$517.9K

-63.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,113 NT$134.7K

$9,346 NT$306.2K

-55.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,387 NT$45.4K

$2,416 NT$79.1K

-42.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.27

2.4

-5.42%

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

Last update for Taichung: November 1, 2026

Last update for Zhubei City: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Taichung

$368 33.1%

Zhubei City

$392 37.9% 6.3% $23

Accommodation & Living

Taichung

$271 24.4%

Zhubei City

$210 20.3% 22.6% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taichung

$157 14.1%

Zhubei City

$143 13.9% 8.6% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Taichung

$135 12.1%

Zhubei City

$123 11.9% 8.9% $12

Eating Out

Taichung

$103 9.3%

Zhubei City

$105 10.2% 1.7% $1.8

Sport & Entertainment

Taichung

$51 4.6%

Zhubei City

$51 5% 0.3% $0.1

Getting Around

Taichung

$27 2.5%

Zhubei City

$9.3 * 0.9% 65.8% $18

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 $384 in Taichung and $486 in Zhubei City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zhubei City pays 74% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30 in Taichung vs $27 in Zhubei City. Groceries flip the comparison at $368 vs $392, with Taichung cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taichung

🇹🇼 Zhubei City

🕒 Local time

03:13 3:13 AM

Same time as Taichung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,767,239

211,746

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.05 USD

100 TWD = 2.72 EUR

100 TWD = 3.05 USD

100 TWD = 2.72 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Taichung Zhubei City 83 km

From you

Taichung
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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

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

Zhubei City wins on cost – living expenses run 7% lower than in Taichung. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Zhubei City the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 43% lower in Taichung. 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: $384 in Taichung versus $486 in Zhubei City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $337 in Taichung versus $624 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 $27 versus $30 in Taichung. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Zhubei City is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Safety-wise, Taichung and Zhubei City are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.