Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taitung and Kaohsiung

For one person, living is cheaper in Taitung: $1,040 a month against $1,141 in Kaohsiung, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Taitung
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Taitung Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index

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Taitung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,040

/mo nomad

Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,141

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Taitung 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 Taitung and in Kaohsiung actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,040 in Taitung versus $1,141 in Kaohsiung.

Taitung $1,040
Kaohsiung $1,141

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,750 in Taitung versus $1,815 in Kaohsiung.

Taitung $1,750
Kaohsiung $1,815

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,460 in Taitung versus $2,490 in Kaohsiung.

Taitung $2,460
Kaohsiung $2,490

Living in Taitung costs roughly 9% less than in Kaohsiung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Taitung 23% lower, Kaohsiung 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.71 NT$122

$4.23 NT$139

-12.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.72 NT$1,535

$31.04 NT$1,019

50.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.82 NT$191

$4.84 NT$159

20.25%

Cappuccino

$3.26 NT$107

$2.85 NT$93.7

14.39%

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

$0.87 NT$28.53

$1.03 NT$33.79

-15.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 NT$22.02

$0.67 NT$22.15

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.95 NT$96.9

$1.55 NT$51.0

90.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.60 NT$118

$2.33 NT$76.5

54.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.92 NT$96.0

$3.12 NT$102

-6.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 NT$58.9

$2.10 NT$69.0

-14.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.07 NT$101

$3.12 NT$103

-1.60%

Eggs

$2.19 NT$71.8

$2.51 NT$82.6

-12.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.44 NT$639

$16.82 NT$552

15.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.59 NT$118

$7.57 NT$249

-52.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.06 NT$692

$15.32 NT$503

37.47%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 NT$61.3

$6.62 NT$217

-71.75%

Banana (1kg)

$2.69 NT$88.3

$2.65 NT$87.1

1.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 NT$59.3

$2.44 NT$80.3

-26.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.43 NT$146

$3.08 NT$101

43.83%

Potato (1kg)

$2.76 NT$90.6

$2.63 NT$86.4

4.94%

Onion (1kg)

$2.19 NT$72.0

$2.02 NT$66.2

8.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.64 NT$53.8

$2.34 NT$76.8

-29.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 NT$36.77

$1.00 NT$32.94

12.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.82 NT$125

$4.31 NT$142

-11.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.98 NT$459

$15.50 NT$509

-9.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 NT$52.8

$1.62 NT$53.3

-0.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 NT$69.7

$2.13 NT$69.9

-0.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 NT$19.77

$0.59 NT$19.34

1.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.09 NT$1,120

$12.04 NT$395

183.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.56 NT$84.1

$2.63 NT$86.4

-2.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.81 NT$26.54

$0.76 NT$24.96

6.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.37 NT$308

$5.61 NT$184

67.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 NT$31.16

$0.97 NT$31.94

-2.06%

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

$33.9K NT$1.1M

$36.1K NT$1.2M

-6.26%

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

$23.0K NT$755.8K

$22.6K NT$742.5K

1.79%

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

$85.2 NT$2,798

$90.4 NT$2,970

-5.82%

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

$17.57 NT$577

$16.73 NT$550

5.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.85 NT$882

$24.06 NT$790

11.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.26 NT$1,158

$39.98 NT$1,313

-11.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.36 NT$340

Cinema Ticket

$9.08 NT$298

$10.20 NT$335

-10.98%

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

$572 NT$18.8K

$448 NT$14.7K

27.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.5K NT$772.3K

$16.8K NT$550.3K

40.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.39 NT$900

$90.3 NT$2,968

-69.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.30 NT$502

$27.36 NT$899

-44.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$48.97 NT$1,609

$84.4 NT$2,773

-41.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 NT$3,411

$100 NT$3,296

3.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$406 NT$13.3K

$456 NT$15.0K

-10.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$277 NT$9,084

$331 NT$10.9K

-16.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,140 NT$37.5K

$966 NT$31.7K

18.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 NT$22.7K

$677 NT$22.2K

2.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,806 NT$190.7K

$4,150 NT$136.3K

39.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,826 NT$125.7K

$2,885 NT$94.8K

32.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$613 NT$20.1K

$1,473 NT$48.4K

-58.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.37

2.68

-11.57%

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

Last update for Taitung: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kaohsiung: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Taitung

$335 32.2%

Kaohsiung

$360 31.6% 7.3% $25

Accommodation & Living

Taitung

$277 26.6%

Kaohsiung

$331 29% 19.6% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taitung

$130 12.5%

Kaohsiung

$131 11.5% 1.3% $1.6

Eating Out

Taitung

$114 11%

Kaohsiung

$102 8.9% 11% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Taitung

$88 8.5%

Kaohsiung

$136 11.9% 54.7% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Taitung

$53 5.1%

Kaohsiung

$60 5.3% 13% $7

Getting Around

Taitung

$43 4.1%

Kaohsiung

$21 1.8% 51.7% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $406 in Taitung and $456 in Kaohsiung. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kaohsiung pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Taitung vs $31 in Kaohsiung. Groceries flip the comparison at $335 vs $360, with Taitung cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taitung

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🕒 Local time

07:29 7:29 AM

Same time as Taitung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

106,368

2,777,873

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.04 USD

100 TWD = 2.7 EUR

100 TWD = 3.04 USD

100 TWD = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Taitung Kaohsiung 87 km

From you

Taitung
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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

Taitung vs Kaohsiung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,040 in Taitung and $1,141 in Kaohsiung, so Taitung is about 9% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 58% lower in Taitung. 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: $406 in Taitung versus $456 in Kaohsiung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $572 in Taitung versus $448 in Kaohsiung. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 7% higher in Kaohsiung. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Taitung gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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

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