Cost of living comparison
Taiwan is 31.5% cheaper than Iowa.
If you lived in Taiwan instead of Iowa, you would:
pay 61.0% less for restaurants
|
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.50
|
$4.21
NT$137.24
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.86
|
$4.80
NT$156.66
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.25
|
$0.95
NT$30.93
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.61
|
$0.61
NT$19.91
|
|
pay 4.6% more for groceries
|
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.75
|
$1.76
NT$57.48
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.26
|
$7.11
NT$232.07
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.55
|
$11.33
NT$369.66
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.97
|
$2.53
NT$82.65
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.90
|
$3.21
NT$104.73
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.27
|
$1.77
NT$57.81
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.66
|
$0.80
NT$26.07
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$1.10
NT$35.77
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$1.27
NT$41.34
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.17
|
$1.21
NT$39.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.32
|
$0.96
NT$31.22
|
|
pay 4.9% less for transportation
|
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.26
|
$3.59
NT$117.13
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$41.60
|
$37.87
NT$1,235.75
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,209.92
|
$33,524.98
NT$1,093,953.63
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.53
|
$9.35
NT$304.98
|
|
pay 66.6% less for housing
|
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.83
|
$18.76
NT$612.22
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,149.79
|
$386.89
NT$12,624.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$848.38
|
$269.95
NT$8,808.70
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$132.52
|
$54.00
NT$1,762.13
|
|
pay 39.4% less for childcare
|
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,043.98
|
$472.11
NT$15,405.38
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,039.50
|
$14,471.45
NT$472,217.83
|
|
pay 47.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.95
|
$1.82
NT$59.41
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.14
|
$2.59
NT$84.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.68
|
$4.00
NT$130.43
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.12
|
$34.52
NT$1,126.41
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.83
|
$9.29
NT$303.02
|
|
pay 5.9% less for clothing
|
Iowa
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.44
|
$63.92
NT$2,085.89
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.50
|
$28.11
NT$917.31
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$83.35
|
$76.13
NT$2,484.16
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$105.02
|
$91.74
NT$2,993.47
|
|
Change currency:
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Taiwan or Iowa. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.