Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zhubei City and Kaohsiung

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.

51

Cost of Living Index in Zhubei City
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Zhubei City Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index

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Zhubei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,055

/mo nomad

Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,131

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Zhubei City $1,055
Kaohsiung $1,131

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

Zhubei City $1,841
Kaohsiung $1,838

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

Zhubei City $2,627
Kaohsiung $2,544

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.83 NT$157

$5.63 NT$183

-14.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.00 NT$908

$31.36 NT$1,017

-10.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.07 NT$164

$4.65 NT$151

9.03%

Cappuccino

$2.89 NT$93.8

$2.78 NT$90.1

3.96%

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

$0.91 NT$29.41

$1.08 NT$34.99

-15.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 NT$19.02

$0.66 NT$21.40

-10.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.93 NT$62.5

$1.52 NT$49.14

26.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 NT$75.6

$2.49 NT$80.7

-6.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.79 NT$90.4

$3.10 NT$100

-10.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 NT$60.7

$2.18 NT$70.7

-14.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.59 NT$149

$2.94 NT$95.3

56.12%

Eggs

$2.85 NT$92.5

$2.68 NT$86.9

6.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.76 NT$803

$15.81 NT$513

56.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.37 NT$271

$8.12 NT$263

3.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.93 NT$841

$15.55 NT$504

66.75%

Apples (1kg)

$4.04 NT$131

$6.60 NT$214

-38.79%

Banana (1kg)

$2.42 NT$78.5

$2.73 NT$88.5

-11.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.69 NT$87.3

$2.54 NT$82.2

5.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 NT$106

$3.13 NT$102

4.47%

Potato (1kg)

$3.02 NT$97.9

$2.78 NT$90.2

8.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 NT$65.5

$2.00 NT$64.9

1.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.06 NT$66.9

$2.43 NT$78.7

-15.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 NT$43.25

$1.02 NT$33.12

30.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.88 NT$126

$4.45 NT$144

-12.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.23 NT$299

$15.54 NT$504

-40.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 NT$46.36

$1.57 NT$51.0

-8.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 NT$75.4

$2.20 NT$71.5

5.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 NT$19.85

$0.71 NT$23.13

-14.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 NT$410

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.10 NT$101

$2.70 NT$87.6

14.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 NT$20.76

$0.75 NT$24.34

-14.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.25 NT$300

$5.48 NT$178

68.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 NT$32.17

$1.05 NT$33.97

-5.71%

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

$33.5K NT$1.1M

$33.6K NT$1.1M

-0.51%

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

$24.8K NT$805.7K

$23.6K NT$765.3K

5.28%

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

$103 NT$3,331

$85.5 NT$2,773

20.13%

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

$18.96 NT$615

$17.29 NT$561

9.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.80 NT$739

$26.39 NT$856

-13.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.40 NT$1,018

$40.61 NT$1,317

-22.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.33 NT$335

Cinema Ticket

$9.99 NT$324

$11.13 NT$361

-10.24%

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

$646 NT$20.9K

$473 NT$15.3K

36.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K NT$533.8K

$14.1K NT$456.9K

16.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.7 NT$1,870

$92.9 NT$3,013

-37.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.13 NT$1,010

$31.16 NT$1,011

-0.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.8 NT$2,946

$88.0 NT$2,855

3.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.0 NT$3,209

$102 NT$3,310

-3.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$501 NT$16.2K

$437 NT$14.2K

14.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$217 NT$7,032

$301 NT$9,746

-27.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,100 NT$35.7K

$1,005 NT$32.6K

9.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$768 NT$24.9K

$681 NT$22.1K

12.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$16.2K NT$525.9K

$4,523 NT$146.7K

258.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,751 NT$316.2K

$3,193 NT$103.5K

205.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,391 NT$77.5K

$1,471 NT$47.7K

62.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

2.56

-6.25%

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

Last update for Zhubei City: October 13, 2026

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zhubei City

$400 37.9%

Kaohsiung

$363 32.1% 9.2% $37

Accommodation & Living

Zhubei City

$217 20.6%

Kaohsiung

$301 26.6% 38.6% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zhubei City

$144 13.7%

Kaohsiung

$129 11.4% 10.6% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Zhubei City

$125 11.9%

Kaohsiung

$141 12.5% 12.8% $16

Eating Out

Zhubei City

$109 10.3%

Kaohsiung

$112 9.9% 2.8% $3.1

Sport & Entertainment

Zhubei City

$51 4.9%

Kaohsiung

$63 5.6% 22.4% $12

Getting Around

Zhubei City

$8.8 * 0.8%

Kaohsiung

$22 1.9% 151% $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 $501 in Zhubei City and $437 in Kaohsiung. 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: $28.00 in Zhubei City vs $31.00 in Kaohsiung. Groceries flip the comparison at $400 vs $363, with Kaohsiung cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Zhubei City

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🕒 Local time

07:27 7:27 AM

Same time as Zhubei City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

211,746

2,777,873

💱 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

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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

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

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

Average pay runs 63% higher in Zhubei City, 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: $501 in Zhubei City versus $437 in Kaohsiung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $646 in Zhubei City versus $473 in Kaohsiung. 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, Zhubei City 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.

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.