Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kyoto vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary

Kyoto is 29.3% cheaper than Houston.

Restaurants
pay 57.4% less in Kyoto
Groceries
pay 9.5% more in Kyoto
Transportation
pay 23.8% more in Kyoto
Housing
pay 59.6% less in Kyoto
Childcare
pay 72.5% less in Kyoto
Entertainment and Sports
pay 22.2% less in Kyoto
Clothing
pay 26.5% less in Kyoto

The cost of transportation and groceries in Kyoto are more expensive than in Houston. Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Kyoto.

Kyoto vs. Houston Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kyoto instead of Houston, you would:

pay 57.4% less for restaurants

 
Houston
Kyoto
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.00
 
$10.02
¥1,621
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.00
 
$5.35
¥865
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.76
 
$0.92
¥150

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pay 9.5% more for groceries

 
Houston
Kyoto
Bread
1 loaf
$3.23
 
$1.70
¥275
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.32
 
$4.57
¥739
Milk (1 gallon) $3.44
 
$6.67
¥1,080

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pay 23.8% more for transportation

 
Houston
Kyoto
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.81
 
$4.43
¥717
Monthly public transit pass $75.00
 
$66.82
¥10,809
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,278.39
 
$22,332.63
¥4M

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pay 59.6% less for housing

 
Houston
Kyoto
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$70.76
 
$32.58
¥5,269
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,660.33
 
$570.06
¥92,210
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,287.77
 
$318.25
¥51,479

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pay 72.5% less for childcare

 
Houston
Kyoto
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,258.33
 
$434.36
¥70,259
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $26,120.00
 
$5,345.93
¥865K

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pay 22.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
Houston
Kyoto
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$3.34
¥540
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.41
 
$3.20
¥517
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.95
 
$4.01
¥649

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pay 26.5% less for clothing

 
Houston
Kyoto
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$45.57
 
$44.33
¥7,170
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$44.00
 
$30.91
¥4,999
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$98.95
 
$50.12
¥8,107

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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: July 2026
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