Cost of living comparison

compared to

Chiba vs. HsinChu Cost of Living Summary

Chiba is 15.4% more expensive than HsinChu.

Restaurants
pay 28.7% more in Chiba
Groceries
pay 13.1% less in Chiba
Transportation
pay 5.2% more in Chiba
Housing
pay 59.0% more in Chiba
Childcare
pay 29.5% less in Chiba
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.9% more in Chiba
Clothing
pay 12.1% less in Chiba

The cost of housing, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Chiba are more expensive than in HsinChu. Expenses including childcare, groceries, and clothing are lower in Chiba.

Chiba vs. HsinChu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chiba instead of HsinChu, you would:

pay 28.7% more for restaurants

 
HsinChu
Chiba
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.77
NT$122.24
$6.33
¥1,000
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.71
NT$152.81
$4.74
¥750
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.94
NT$30.39
$1.01
¥160

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pay 13.1% less for groceries

 
HsinChu
Chiba
Bread
1 loaf
$1.70
NT$55.21
$1.70
¥268
Local cheese (8 oz) $18.05
NT$585.75
$5.18
¥819
Milk (1 gallon) $10.87
NT$352.84
$5.37
¥849

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pay 5.2% more for transportation

 
HsinChu
Chiba
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.83
NT$124.17
$4.11
¥649
Monthly public transit pass $40.18
NT$1,303.94
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,523.97
NT$1M
$21,434.36
¥3M

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pay 59.0% more for housing

 
HsinChu
Chiba
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$21.44
NT$695.94
$15.82
¥2,499
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $436.10
NT$14,153.16
$861.99
¥136K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $259.67
NT$8,427.21
$485.25
¥76,676

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pay 29.5% less for childcare

 
HsinChu
Chiba
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $753.35
NT$24,448.84
$632.30
¥99,913
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $16,663.11
NT$541K
$9,869.42
¥2M

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pay 2.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
HsinChu
Chiba
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.88
NT$61.12
$1.90
¥300
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.98
NT$96.78
$3.16
¥500
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.92
NT$127.34
$3.80
¥600

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pay 12.1% less for clothing

 
HsinChu
Chiba
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$57.29
NT$1,859.13
$50.61
¥7,998
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$35.71
NT$1,158.77
$36.90
¥5,832
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$78.47
NT$2,546.75
$61.47
¥9,714

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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