Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taiyuan and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $589 in Taiyuan, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Taiyuan
Learn more

Taiyuan Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
Learn more

Karachi Living Index

Jump to prices

Taiyuan

🇨🇳 China

$589

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Taiyuan and in Karachi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $589 in Taiyuan versus $482 in Karachi.

Taiyuan $589
Karachi $482

Estimated couple costs with rent: $913 in Taiyuan versus $750 in Karachi.

Taiyuan $913
Karachi $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,238 in Taiyuan versus $1,018 in Karachi.

Taiyuan $1,238
Karachi $1,018

Living in Taiyuan is roughly 22% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Taiyuan 56% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ¥15.21

$2.13 PKR 588

7.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.73 ¥98.4

$13.30 PKR 3,680

10.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.40 ¥29.37

$5.45 PKR 1,508

-19.27%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 PKR 607

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.24 PKR 2,005

Cappuccino

$2.64 ¥17.60

$2.09 PKR 579

26.32%

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

$0.47 ¥3.11

$0.40 PKR 111

17.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.92

$0.26 PKR 71.1

11.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ¥8.12

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 ¥14.36

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 PKR 254

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 PKR 156

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.51

$1.25 PKR 345

-33.60%

Eggs

$1.01 ¥6.75

$1.23 PKR 341

-17.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.67 PKR 1,570

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.16 PKR 876

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.02 ¥86.9

$6.28 PKR 1,737

107.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 ¥12.50

$1.26 PKR 348

48.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 ¥9.20

$0.53 PKR 148

160.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.81 ¥5.40

$1.00 PKR 276

-19.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.16 ¥7.76

$0.56 PKR 154

107.14%

Potato (1kg)

$0.48 ¥3.20

$0.33 PKR 91.4

45.45%

Onion (1kg)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$0.34 PKR 95.1

-14.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 PKR 116

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 ¥3.07

$0.44 PKR 121

4.55%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.25 PKR 346

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 PKR 365

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 PKR 670

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.95 ¥19.72

$1.84 PKR 509

60.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.56 ¥50.5

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 ¥5.80

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 ¥9.71

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$0.28 PKR 77.0

10.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.65 ¥91.1

$9.99 PKR 2,764

36.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ¥7.89

$0.92 PKR 256

28.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ¥1.53

$0.70 PKR 193

-67.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.73 ¥24.88

$2.16 PKR 597

72.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ¥8.32

$1.38 PKR 382

-9.42%

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

$20.0K ¥133.4K

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

11.63%

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

$17.5K ¥117.1K

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

-35.25%

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

$94.3 ¥630

$113 PKR 31.4K

-16.86%

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

$10.27 ¥68.6

$5.95 PKR 1,648

72.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.74 ¥85.1

$13.16 PKR 3,642

-3.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.17 ¥302

$21.55 PKR 5,965

109.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.76 ¥58.5

$18.23 PKR 5,044

-51.95%

Cinema Ticket

$6.64 ¥44.31

$4.21 PKR 1,165

57.72%

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

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.60 ¥184

$17.55 PKR 4,858

57.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$67.2 ¥449

$23.51 PKR 6,506

185.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.0 ¥494

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

7.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.4 ¥397

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

46.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$223 ¥1,488

$118 PKR 32.7K

88.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$114 ¥759

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

54.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$556 ¥3,714

$357 PKR 98.9K

55.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$259 ¥1,730

$188 PKR 52.0K

37.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,629 ¥17.6K

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

147.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,252 ¥8,356

$481 PKR 133.1K

160.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$928 ¥6,194

$183 PKR 50.6K

407.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.83

13.21

-71.01%

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

Last update for Taiyuan: October 12, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taiyuan

$117 19.9%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 13% $15

Accommodation & Living

Taiyuan

$114 19.3%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 35.3% $40

Groceries & Markets

Taiyuan

$103 * 17.5%

Karachi

$101 21% 1.7% $1.7

Clothing & Footwear

Taiyuan

$103 17.4%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 34% $35

Eating Out

Taiyuan

$76 13%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 20.1% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Taiyuan

$58 9.9%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 48.7% $28

Getting Around

Taiyuan

$17 2.9%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 9.9% $1.7

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 $223 in Taiyuan and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taiyuan pays 407% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $15.00 in Taiyuan vs $13.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $103 vs $101 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Taiyuan

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

20:41 8:41 PM

17:41 5:41 PM

3 h behind Taiyuan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,525,300

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Taiyuan Karachi 4,510 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Taiyuan
Karachi

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

Taiyuan vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taiyuan and Karachi differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($589 vs $482 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 407% higher in Taiyuan, 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: $223 in Taiyuan versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Taiyuan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $589 per month in Taiyuan versus $482 in Karachi – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Karachi 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.

Expats usually find Karachi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Taiyuan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.