Cost of living comparison

compared to

Seattle vs. HsinChu Cost of Living Summary

Seattle is 2.8 times more expensive than HsinChu.

Restaurants
pay 4.6 times more in Seattle
Groceries
pay 38.6% more in Seattle
Transportation
pay 65.2% more in Seattle
Housing
pay 5.7 times more in Seattle
Childcare
pay 2.7 times more in Seattle
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.2 times more in Seattle
Clothing
pay 51.0% more in Seattle

The cost of housing, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, and clothing in Seattle are more expensive than in HsinChu. Notably, housing, restaurants, and childcare are significantly more expensive in Seattle.

Seattle vs. HsinChu Cost Breakdown

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

pay 4.6 times more for restaurants

 
HsinChu
Seattle
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.77
NT$120.39
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.71
NT$150.49
$15.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.94
NT$29.93
$3.19
 

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pay 38.6% more for groceries

 
HsinChu
Seattle
Bread
1 loaf
$1.70
NT$54.38
$5.06
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $18.05
NT$576.87
$9.46
 
Milk (1 gallon) $10.87
NT$347.49
$4.51
 

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pay 65.2% more for transportation

 
HsinChu
Seattle
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.83
NT$122.29
$5.48
 
Monthly public transit pass $40.18
NT$1,284.16
$108.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,523.97
NT$1M
$36,318.00
 

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pay 5.7 times more for housing

 
HsinChu
Seattle
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$21.44
NT$685.39
$89.33
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $436.10
NT$13,938.51
$2,454.06
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $259.67
NT$8,299.40
$1,955.80
 

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pay 2.7 times more for childcare

 
HsinChu
Seattle
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $753.35
NT$24,078.05
$3,012.40
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $16,663.11
NT$533K
$31,129.44
 

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pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports

 
HsinChu
Seattle
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.88
NT$60.20
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.98
NT$95.31
$6.66
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.92
NT$125.41
$12.56
 

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pay 51.0% more for clothing

 
HsinChu
Seattle
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$57.29
NT$1,830.93
$77.77
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$35.71
NT$1,141.20
$54.88
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$78.47
NT$2,508.13
$127.75
 

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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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