Cost of living comparison
compared to
Tokyo vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary
Tokyo is 30.6% cheaper than Chicago.
- Restaurants
-
pay 60.9% less in Tokyo
- Groceries
-
pay 2.4% more in Tokyo
- Transportation
-
pay 21.8% more in Tokyo
- Housing
-
pay 45.1% less in Tokyo
- Childcare
-
pay 67.9% less in Tokyo
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 38.3% less in Tokyo
- Clothing
-
pay 26.3% less in Tokyo
The cost of transportation and groceries in Tokyo are more expensive than in Chicago. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Tokyo.
Tokyo vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Tokyo instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 60.9% less for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$8.02
¥1,249
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$5.01
¥781
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$1.16
¥181
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$0.84
¥131
|
|
Chicago vs. Tokyo - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.4% more for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.01
|
$1.55
¥242
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.05
|
$7.21
¥1,123
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.30
|
$5.71
¥890
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
|
$2.33
¥363
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.55
|
$3.52
¥548
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$2.38
¥370
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
|
$1.18
¥184
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$2.48
¥386
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$2.64
¥411
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$1.43
¥222
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$1.48
¥231
|
|
Chicago vs. Tokyo - Cost of groceries
pay 21.8% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.81
|
$4.50
¥701
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$73.51
¥11,449
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,691.85
|
$22,332.63
¥3,478,419
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$30.07
¥4,684
|
|
Chicago vs. Tokyo - Cost of transportation
pay 45.1% less for housing
|
Chicago
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.83
|
$33.44
¥5,209
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,418.00
|
$1,071.65
¥166,915
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,692.50
|
$642.24
¥100,032
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$141.41
|
$122.16
¥19,027
|
|
Chicago vs. Tokyo - Cost of housing
pay 67.9% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,050.00
|
$519.69
¥80,944
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,114.29
|
$15,131.74
¥2,356,844
|
|
Chicago vs. Tokyo - Cost of childcare
pay 38.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$4.01
¥624
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$3.43
¥534
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$4.01
¥624
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.80
|
$68.19
¥10,621
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$12.70
¥1,978
|
|
Chicago vs. Tokyo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 26.3% less for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.24
|
$56.84
¥8,853
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.62
|
$40.48
¥6,306
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.48
|
$62.67
¥9,762
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.50
|
$90.37
¥14,076
|
|
Chicago vs. Tokyo - 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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