Cost of Living in Taiwan: About NT$28,500 per Person per Month, NT$36,700 in Taipei (Official Data)

The short answer

According to Taiwan’s 2025 Survey of Family Income and Expenditure by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), the average household spent NT$920,397 on consumption in a year. With 2.69 people per household, that is about NT$28,500 per person per month. Among the six largest cities, Taipei is the most expensive at about NT$36,700 per person per month and Tainan the cheapest at about NT$25,000.

Rent is measured separately by the Ministry of the Interior: the national median rent was NT$8,600 a month in the first half of 2026, with Taipei around NT$12,500 and New Taipei around NT$13,000.

All figures on this page come from Taiwan’s official statistics.

Monthly spending per person by city

The annual figures and household sizes are official; the monthly figures divide them by 12 and by household size, rounded to the nearest hundred. Taipei’s per-person spending is about 29% above the national average. DGBAS notes that city samples are limited, so the table shows broad ranges rather than a precise ranking.

“Consumption spending” is what households actually spend on goods and services. It excludes income tax, health insurance premiums and savings. In the same survey, average disposable income per household was NT$1,210,367 and the median NT$1,017,802.

Where the money goes

National average, converted to per person per month:

Housing services plus utilities make up 24.1% of spending, the largest share. But the survey’s housing figure includes imputed rent for people who live in homes they own, so it is not what renters actually pay. For rents, see the next section.

Food is split almost evenly between groceries (14.4%) and eating out (14.2%). Together they come to nearly 30% of spending, which reflects how common eating out is in Taiwan.

Rent

The Ministry of the Interior publishes rent statistics twice a year. The national median of NT$8,600 for the first half of 2026 was up 1.2% from the previous period, and rents were flat in more than 80% of districts. City and housing-type figures come from the second-half 2025 release.

The sample consists of leases receiving rent subsidies (833,000 in the first half of 2026), so it leans toward lower-cost housing. New buildings in central Taipei usually rent for more than the median.

The official minimum living expense

The minimum living expense is the income threshold used to qualify households for low-income assistance. It marks a social safety line, not a comfortable budget: actual spending in Taipei, about NT$36,700 per person per month, is roughly 1.8 times Taipei’s threshold. For the wage floor, see the Taiwan minimum wage, currently NT$29,500 per month.

Fixed costs for foreigners moving to Taiwan

• Health insurance: foreigners holding an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) must join the National Health Insurance program after six months of residence (one trip abroad of up to 30 days is allowed, with the days abroad deducted). Those employed in Taiwan with a work permit and ARC are enrolled by their employer from the first day of employment. The premium rate is 5.17% of insured salary, of which an employee pays 30%; at the lowest bracket of NT$29,500, that is about NT$458 a month.
• Transport: a Taipei Metro single ride costs NT$20 to NT$65 depending on distance. The TPASS monthly pass for Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan costs NT$1,200 for 30 days from activation and covers the metro, buses and other designated transport.
• Rent: see the table above. A typical rental in Taipei has a median of about NT$12,500 a month; whole units and newer buildings cost more.

A single foreigner renting a studio in Taipei and eating out often could start from the official per-person average of about NT$36,700 a month and adjust for their actual rent. The official figures are averages across all households; individual spending depends mostly on rent, how often you eat out and how you commute.

For how salaries compare with these costs, see Taiwan salary percentiles.