Japan vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Japan United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1097
$2433
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2818
$5667
🏠 One person rent
$496
$1552
🏘️ Family rent
$967
$2714
🍽️ Food expenses
$376
$618
🚐 Transport expenses
$130
$104
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2172
$4694
💸 GDP per capita
$33824
$76330
😃 Human freedom index
8.4
8.39
❤️ Life expectancy
84.4
76.3
👮 Corruption perceptions index
73
69
🌐 English speaking %
15%
95.5%
🎓 Higher education
98
100
😀 Quality of life
91
86
🏙️ Population
125M
331M

The average cost of living in Japan ($1097) is 55% less expensive than in the United States ($2433). Japan ranked 67th vs 7th for the United States in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Japan compared to 1.9 months in the United States. Ranked 14th and 21st best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Japan vs United States infographic

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Prices in Japan vs the United States

We calculate prices for Japan and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 907 and 2202 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.

Japan United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$6.35
$18.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$35.4
$73.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.89
$10.5
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.02
$6.08
 Cappuccino
$3.07
$5.09
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.04
$2.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$484
$1611
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$337
$1301
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1107
$2861
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$704
$2352
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$97.8
$122
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$151
$188
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$32.1
$67
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
1.75%
6.5%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4271
$4763
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2747
$3852
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.68
$2.38
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$59.4
$71.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$25.3
$18.4
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.1
$0.99
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.4
$1.09
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.51
$3.44
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.96
$4.32
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.08
$3.89
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.3
$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.18
$11.8
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.2
$16.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.31
$5.02
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.24
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.32
$4.43
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.01
$4.66
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.4
$2.78
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.21
$2.87
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.55
$1.41
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.42
$2.51
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.28
$14.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.88
$2.12
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.73
$10.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.8
$9.27
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.75
$5.79
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.35
$4.29
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.63
$2.09
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$51.7
$50
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$11.9
$13.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$31.1
$116
💇 Haircut, simple
$16.3
$20.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$41.4
$53.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$56.1
$89.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$362
$1423
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$11309
$19463

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Japan vs the United States

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Japan

City Cost of living Population
Tokyo
$1556
14M
Yokohama
$1329
3.76M
Osaka
$1116
2.75M
Nagoya
$1196
2.33M
Kawasaki
$1101
1.54M
Kobe
$1076
1.52M
Sapporo
$1173
1.96M
Sendai
$1026
1.06M
Fukuoka
$1054
1.6M
Hiroshima
$954
1.2M
Saitama
$1063
1.33M
Kyoto
$1026
1.46M
Yokosuka
$1136
390K
Sakai
$1103
824K
Chiba
$1161
975K
Sagamihara
$1020
726K
Kitakyushu
$963
935K
Hachioji
$1117
576K
Kagoshima
$999
594K
Kumamoto
$886
738K
Kawaguchi
$1052
593K
Amagasaki
$1058
459K
Utsunomiya
$998
518K
Niigata
$1056
791K
Funabashi
$1224
641K
Kashiwa
$1136
428K
Hamamatsu
$1033
788K
Shizuoka
$980
686K
Himeji
$1132
528K
Kurashiki
$1004
475K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4044
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3165
3.9M
Chicago
$2613
2.75M
Houston
$2221
2.3M
San Diego
$3427
1.39M
Phoenix
$2390
1.61M
Dallas
$2497
1.3M
San Jose
$3502
1.01M
Philadelphia
$2422
1.6M
San Francisco
$3729
874K
San Antonio
$2219
1.43M
Austin
$2590
962K
Seattle
$2974
737K
Washington
$3079
690K
Indianapolis
$2129
888K
Charlotte
$2710
875K
Hempstead
$2627
793K
Fort Worth
$2173
919K
Boston
$3345
676K
Jacksonville
$2246
950K
Denver
$2771
716K
Columbus
$2202
906K
Nashville
$2623
689K
Portland
$2579
653K
Louisville
$1918
633K
Atlanta
$2648
499K
Baltimore
$2197
586K
Detroit
$1979
639K
Las Vegas
$2408
642K
El Paso
$1613
679K