People struggle with winds from approaching Typhoon Dujuan in the business district of Taipei, Taiwan, Monday. (AP/Chiang Ying-ying)

Residents of Taipei spent NT$27,004 (US$815.80) per person on a monthly basis, while the national average was pegged at NT$19,978 last year, government statistics shows.

The national average is only NT$30 from the minimum monthly pay of NT$20,008, according to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

Taipei residents'€™ expenditure '€“ rising for the second year '€“ is the highest among cities and counties nationwide.

Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County, whose average stood at NT$25,699 and NT$21,512, respectively, took the second and third places.

Changhua County, with its expenditure of NT$14,966, has the lowest average in Taiwan.

How people used their money varies in each city and county. For Hsinchu and the six special municipalities -- Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung -- a greater proportion is spent on restaurant and hotel related expenses.

Thanks to a convenient mass transportation system in Greater Taipei, its residents incurred substantially lower transportation expenses compared with those of Taoyuan and Taichung residents.

In Taipei, people tend to spend more on housing, dining out and leisure activities. With its higher salary and price levels, it is no surprise that Taipei recorded higher consumption, a government official said.

Hsinchu also has relatively high purchasing power as many of its residents are employed with high-paying jobs at the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park, the official said.

Yunlin and Changhua, on the other hand, have stayed on the low end of the expenditure spectrum in the past four years. It is a reflection of different employment conditions, price levels, home prices, etc., the official said.

Household expenditure on annual basis

The annual expense averaged NT$755,169 per household, up NT$7,247 from the previous year and reached an all time high. It is worth noting that Taipei City and Hsinchu City are the only jurisdictions to average more than NT$1 million in household expenditure.

Household expenditure may fluctuate based on economic conditions. While it is trending upward most of the time, it went down in 2008 because of the financial crisis. It slumped to as low as NT$702,292 in 2010.

Of the six major categories -- food, clothing, housing, transportation, education and recreation -- by which the nation'€™s citizenry often categorised their expenses, housing accounted for the largest share.

Housing related expenses, including water, fuel and utility, accounted for 24.46 per cent of the household expenditure and translated into NT$185,000 per year.

Food expenses, the second largest share, totaled NT$110,000 and made up 15.87 per cent of the household expenditure.

Clothing expenses has the lowest proportion and each household spent about NT$20,000 annually. (k)

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