China vs Japan - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

China Japan
🚶 Cost of living one person
$650
$1131
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1771
$2766
🏠 One person rent
$270
$508
🏘️ Family rent
$453
$842
🍽️ Food expenses
$231
$391
🚐 Transport expenses
$70.4
$133
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$819
$1971
💸 GDP per capita
$13303
$32487
😃 Human freedom index
4.93
8.6
❤️ Life expectancy
78
84
👮 Corruption perceptions index
43
71
🌐 English speaking %
0.7%
15%
🎓 Higher education
88
98
😀 Quality of life
52
89
🏙️ Population
1.41B
124M

The average cost of living in China ($650) is 43% less expensive than in Japan ($1131). China ranked 162nd vs 78th for Japan in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.3 months in China compared to 1.7 months in Japan. Ranked 85th and 20th best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in China vs Japan

We calculate prices for China and Japan as a population-weighted mean of 544 and 907 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

China Japan
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.14
$6.55
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$21.9
$34.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.95
$4.99
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.31
$3.16
 Cappuccino
$2.85
$3.09
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.5
$1.12
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$309
$526
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$204
$353
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$662
$1138
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$412
$682
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$34.3
$94.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$52.7
$146
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$11.2
$30.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.61%
1.89%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4120
$5340
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2333
$2928
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.36
$1.62
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$20.3
$60.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.13
$24.8
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.13
$1.11
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.8
$1.43
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.63
$1.4
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.01
$4.31
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.57
$2.1
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.6
$11.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.42
$6.36
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.7
$20.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.79
$4.87
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.22
$2.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$3.9
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.24
$4.67
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.75
$2.6
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.91
$2.59
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.39
$0.55
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.23
$1.37
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11.5
$9.07
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.84
$1.95
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.34
$3.92
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.1
$9.73
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.73
$3.47
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.5
$1.31
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.7
$1.56
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$40.3
$55
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.11
$12.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$33.7
$35
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.66
$15.8
👖 Brand Jeans
$46.5
$46.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$72.6
$57.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$442
$388
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$17761
$13435

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in China vs Japan

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In China

City Cost of living Population
Chongqing
$601
32.1M
Chengdu
$666
20.9M
Shanghai
$1126
24.9M
Shenzhen
$939
17.5M
Beijing
$1044
21.9M
Guangzhou
$782
18.7M
Tianjin
$663
13.9M
Wuhan
$653
12.3M
Suzhou
$782
12.7M
Xi'an
$585
13M
Baoding
$468
11.5M
Hangzhou
$860
11.9M
Qingdao
$649
10.1M
Changsha
$617
10M
Hong Kong
$2674
7.41M
Harbin
$680
10M
Linyi
$530
11M
Hefei
$654
9.37M
Nanjing
$765
9.31M
Jinan
$547
9.2M
Ningbo
$671
9.4M
Zhengzhou
$511
12.6M
Xuzhou
$514
9.08M
Dongguan
$666
10.5M
Nantong
$557
7.73M
Changchun
$588
9.07M
Wenzhou
$763
9.57M
Yantai
$705
7.1M
Shenyang
$575
9.07M
Shijiazhuang
$493
10.6M

In Japan

City Cost of living Population
Tokyo
$1698
14.3M
Yokohama
$1343
3.76M
Osaka
$1274
2.75M
Nagoya
$1196
2.33M
Kawasaki
$1399
1.54M
Sapporo
$1121
1.96M
Hiroshima
$877
1.2M
Kobe
$1103
1.52M
Kyoto
$1128
1.46M
Fukuoka
$1045
1.6M
Saitama
$1073
1.33M
Sagamihara
$992
726K
Sakai
$1127
824K
Chiba
$1263
975K
Shizuoka
$961
686K
Kitakyushu
$1088
935K
Sendai
$1010
1.06M
Hachioji
$1343
576K
Funabashi
$1130
641K
Niigata
$1024
791K
Kawaguchi
$1050
594K
Kumamoto
$957
738K
Hamamatsu
$991
788K
Kagoshima
$991
594K
Machida
$1066
434K
Kashiwa
$1145
428K
Himeji
$1009
528K
Utsunomiya
$1036
518K
Nishinomiya
$1093
487K
Okayama
$910
720K