Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. California Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 40.8% cheaper than California.
- Restaurants
-
pay 63.8% less in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 20.5% less in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 5.2% less in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 60.2% less in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 69.2% less in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 40.8% less in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 25.8% less in Japan
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries are lower in Japan.
Japan vs. California Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of California, you would:
pay 63.8% less for restaurants
|
California
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.84
|
$6.60
¥1,031
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.33
|
$5.10
¥796
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.07
¥166
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.17
|
$0.76
¥119
|
|
California vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.5% less for groceries
|
California
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.20
|
$1.50
¥234
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.77
|
$5.07
¥791
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.73
|
$5.67
¥885
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.14
|
$2.08
¥324
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.05
|
$2.93
¥457
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.30
|
$2.14
¥334
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$1.12
¥175
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$1.69
¥264
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.38
|
$2.13
¥333
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$1.22
¥190
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.41
|
$1.15
¥180
|
|
California vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 5.2% less for transportation
|
California
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.72
|
$4.39
¥686
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$63.04
|
$59.14
¥9,236
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,529.84
|
$22,599.51
¥3,529,252
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.43
|
$25.32
¥3,955
|
|
California vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 60.2% less for housing
|
California
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.96
|
$33.91
¥5,296
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,385.40
|
$543.18
¥84,826
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,043.56
|
$353.61
¥55,222
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$171.94
|
$118.72
¥18,539
|
|
California vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 69.2% less for childcare
|
California
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,633.13
|
$296.89
¥46,363
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,339.97
|
$13,159.48
¥2,055,050
|
|
California vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 40.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
California
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.31
|
$2.60
¥407
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.58
|
$3.03
¥473
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.92
|
$3.89
¥607
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$68.02
|
$59.54
¥9,298
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.99
|
$12.46
¥1,946
|
|
California vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 25.8% less for clothing
|
California
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.47
|
$44.79
¥6,995
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.47
|
$32.04
¥5,003
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.50
|
$57.37
¥8,959
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$119.94
|
$87.37
¥13,644
|
|
California vs. Japan - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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