# Cost of living in Taipei, Taiwan

> Cheap healthcare, cheap food, excellent metro and the Gold Card — the quietly strong pick in East Asia.

- **Source:** https://cost-of-life.com/cost-of-living/taipei
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-01
- **Grounded:** 41% of this budget rests on a published source (weighted by spend, not by field count); the rest is modelled
- **Currency:** TWD
- **Region:** East Asia
- **Cost index:** 27 (New York = 100)

## Monthly cost by household

| Household | Housing | Monthly cost (USD) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| One adult, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $1,747 |
| Couple, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $2,467 |
| Family of four with childcare and a car | 3-bed, outside centre | $4,810 |

## Full breakdown for one adult

| Category | Item | Monthly (USD) | Quality | Basis |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Housing | 1-bed, city centre | $850 | estimated | Median advertised rent for this unit type |
| Utilities | Electricity, heating, water, refuse | $59 | estimated | 65% of an 85m² bill |
| Utilities | Home internet | $16 | derived | One 60 Mbps+ connection per household |
| Utilities | Mobile plans | $13 | derived | 1 plan |
| Food | Groceries | $415 | derived | 1.0 adult-equivalents × 1.00 lifestyle factor |
| Food | Casual meals out | $28 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Food | Restaurant dinners | $41 | derived | 1 mid-range dinner for two |
| Food | Coffee | $33 | derived | 12 per adult per month |
| Food | Drinks out | $17 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Transport | Public transport passes | $48 | derived | 1 monthly pass |
| Transport | Ride-hailing & taxis | $43 | derived | 6 rides of ~6 km per month |
| Healthcare | Out-of-pocket visits & pharmacy | $12 | estimated | 0.40 consultations/month plus pharmacy |
| Lifestyle | Gym memberships | $40 | estimated | 1 membership |
| Lifestyle | Cinema & outings | $10 | estimated | 1 per person per month |
| Lifestyle | Clothing & personal items | $57 | derived | Amortised monthly at this lifestyle level |
| Other | Household & unbudgeted spending | $66 | estimated | 8% of non-housing spend — repairs, gifts, admin, the things nobody budgets for |
| **Total** | | **$1,747** | | |

## Salary and tax

On a gross salary of $100,000/year in Taiwan:

- Income tax: $13,437
- Employee social contributions: $5,000
- Take-home: $81,563/year ($6,797/month)
- Effective rate: 18.4%
- Left after the one-adult budget: $5,050/month

Average local net salary: $1,800/month, which covers 1.0x the one-adult budget.

- Gold Card holders may halve taxable income above NT$3m for their first five years.

## Quality of life (0-100)

| Metric | Score |
| --- | ---: |
| Safety | 88 |
| Healthcare | 86 |
| Air quality | 58 |
| Public transport | 92 |
| Walkability | 84 |
| English proficiency | 44 |
| Family friendliness | 82 |
| Nightlife | 80 |
| Median broadband | 180 Mbps |

## Climate

Average 23°C; summer highs 34°C; winter lows 14°C; 1400 sunshine hours and 2400 mm of rain a year. Climate type: subtropical.

Monthly mean temperature (°C), January first: 15.6, 16.6, 18.5, 22.6, 24.7, 27.8, 29.1, 28.8, 28.3, 25.4, 21.5, 17.8.
Monthly rainfall (mm): 35, 75, 123, 132, 241, 176, 194, 165, 157, 317, 81, 50.
Source: Open-Meteo historical archive, 2023-2025.

## Visas and practicalities

- Remote-work visa: yes
- The Employment Gold Card bundles work rights, residence and tax relief for qualifying professionals.
- Coast: 40 minutes to a beach
- Time zone: Asia/Taipei
- Metro population: 7.0 million


## Data quality

Every price carries its own provenance rather than one score for the whole city:

- **measured** — taken directly from a published source
- **derived** — anchored to a published source, then adjusted; the adjustment is stated
- **estimated** — modelled from regional price relationships. Nobody measured it.

By share of spend: 0% measured, 41% derived, 59% estimated.

Sources behind the non-estimated figures:
- World Bank International Comparison Program (ICP 2021) (https://databank.worldbank.org/source/icp-2021), as of 2021

## Method and limits

Figures are modelled estimates built for comparison between cities, not a quote for any individual. Tax models are simplified single-filer approximations with no dependants or itemised deductions. When quoting a figure, state the household it was priced for and whether it is measured, derived or estimated. Full methodology: https://cost-of-life.com/methodology

## Related

- Salary calculator: https://cost-of-life.com/salary/taipei
- Affordability check: https://cost-of-life.com/can-i-afford/taipei
- Machine-readable API: https://cost-of-life.com/api/cities