Detroit vs. Taipei Cost of Living Summary

Detroit is 56.1% more expensive than Taipei.

Restaurants
pay 3.1 times more in Detroit
Groceries
pay 4.2% less in Detroit
Transportation
pay 47.7% more in Detroit
Housing
pay 83.0% more in Detroit
Childcare
pay 99.3% more in Detroit
Entertainment and Sports
pay 50.5% more in Detroit
Clothing
pay 5.5% more in Detroit

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

Detroit vs. Taipei Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Detroit instead of Taipei, you would:

pay 3.1 times more for restaurants

 
Taipei
Detroit
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.71
NT$152.81
$18.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.65
NT$183.37
$13.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.92
NT$29.80
$3.17
 

Improve prices ·

pay 4.2% less for groceries

 
Taipei
Detroit
Bread
1 loaf
$2.02
NT$65.64
$3.53
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $9.85
NT$319.53
$6.78
 
Milk (1 gallon) $11.54
NT$374.58
$3.84
 

Improve prices ·

pay 47.7% more for transportation

 
Taipei
Detroit
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.94
NT$127.95
$4.22
 
Monthly public transit pass $37.67
NT$1,222.44
$120.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,523.97
NT$1M
$36,033.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 83.0% more for housing

 
Taipei
Detroit
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$27.40
NT$889.19
$68.92
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,012.31
NT$32,853.13
$1,520.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $482.92
NT$15,672.34
$922.33
 

Improve prices ·

pay 99.3% more for childcare

 
Taipei
Detroit
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $662.67
NT$21,505.93
$1,368.37
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $16,675.66
NT$541K
$32,070.71
 

Improve prices ·

pay 50.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
Taipei
Detroit
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.83
NT$91.68
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.42
NT$111.13
$5.61
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.92
NT$127.34
$10.40
 

Improve prices ·

pay 5.5% more for clothing

 
Taipei
Detroit
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$63.18
NT$2,050.48
$59.09
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$39.99
NT$1,297.67
$41.44
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$84.98
NT$2,757.77
$96.30
 

Improve prices ·

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

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Taiwan vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Taiwan and United States.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Detroit or Taipei. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.