Cost of living comparison
Taiwan is 22.6% cheaper than Iowa.
If you lived in Taiwan instead of Iowa, you would:
pay 57.1% less for restaurants
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.62
|
$3.59
NT$116.32
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.21
|
$4.92
NT$159.53
|
|
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.17
|
$0.95
NT$30.97
|
|
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.50
|
$0.65
NT$21.05
|
|
pay 11.1% more for groceries
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.92
|
$2.04
NT$66.27
|
|
Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.34
|
$7.52
NT$244.03
|
|
Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.42
|
$11.74
NT$380.71
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.76
|
$2.75
NT$89.26
|
|
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.42
|
$3.63
NT$117.69
|
|
Apples (1 lb) |
$2.52
|
$2.03
NT$65.74
|
|
Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.88
|
$0.91
NT$29.58
|
|
Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.14
|
$1.30
NT$42.21
|
|
Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.48
|
$1.46
NT$47.40
|
|
Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$1.15
NT$37.44
|
|
Onions (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$1.07
NT$34.62
|
|
pay 1.5% more for transportation
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.25
|
$3.88
NT$125.83
|
|
Monthly public transit pass |
$41.33
|
$35.38
NT$1,147.60
|
|
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,180.36
|
$32,990.11
NT$1,070,182.70
|
|
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.77
|
$9.61
NT$311.60
|
|
pay 62.4% less for housing
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.34
|
$23.53
NT$763.29
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$970.95
|
$354.11
NT$11,487.10
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$657.81
|
$268.52
NT$8,710.70
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$140.85
|
$56.71
NT$1,839.50
|
|
pay 39.3% less for childcare
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$907.34
|
$460.31
NT$14,932.18
|
|
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,239.17
|
$11,465.74
NT$371,942.77
|
|
pay 31.3% less for entertainment and sports
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.64
|
$1.86
NT$60.18
|
|
Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.27
|
$2.74
NT$88.83
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.77
|
$3.84
NT$124.59
|
|
Monthly membership at local gym |
$38.83
|
$38.91
NT$1,262.09
|
|
Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.60
|
$9.51
NT$308.55
|
|
pay 19.1% more for clothing
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$43.72
|
$66.92
NT$2,170.77
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.28
|
$31.08
NT$1,008.34
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$77.53
|
$79.12
NT$2,566.73
|
|
Men's business shoes (leather) |
$77.28
|
$112.81
NT$3,659.34
|
|
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