Cost of living comparison
compared to
Illinois vs. Japan Cost of Living Summary
Illinois is 89.3% more expensive than Japan overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.3 times more in Illinois
- Groceries
-
pay 21.8% more in Illinois
- Transportation
-
pay 0.6% more in Illinois
- Housing
-
pay 2.3 times more in Illinois
- Childcare
-
pay 3.3 times more in Illinois
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 69.2% more in Illinois
- Clothing
-
pay 40.2% more in Illinois
The cost of childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries in Illinois are more expensive than in Japan. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and housing are significantly more expensive in Illinois.
Illinois vs. Japan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Illinois instead of Japan, you would:
pay 2.3 times more for restaurants
|
Japan
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$6.60
¥1,031
|
$16.12
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.10
¥796
|
$10.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.07
¥166
|
$2.52
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.76
¥119
|
$1.88
|
|
Japan vs. Illinois - Cost of restaurants
pay 21.8% more for groceries
|
Japan
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.50
¥234
|
$3.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.07
¥791
|
$6.06
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.67
¥885
|
$3.41
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.08
¥324
|
$3.89
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.93
¥457
|
$5.13
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.14
¥334
|
$2.38
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.12
¥175
|
$0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.69
¥264
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.13
¥333
|
$1.89
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.22
¥190
|
$1.05
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.15
¥180
|
$1.24
|
|
Japan vs. Illinois - Cost of groceries
pay 0.6% more for transportation
|
Japan
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.39
¥686
|
$3.32
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$59.14
¥9,236
|
$69.58
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,599.51
¥3,529,252
|
$31,159.60
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$25.32
¥3,955
|
$18.08
|
|
Japan vs. Illinois - Cost of transportation
pay 2.3 times more for housing
|
Japan
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$33.91
¥5,296
|
$72.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$543.18
¥84,826
|
$1,332.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$353.61
¥55,222
|
$1,112.01
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.72
¥18,539
|
$151.79
|
|
Japan vs. Illinois - Cost of housing
pay 3.3 times more for childcare
|
Japan
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$296.89
¥46,363
|
$1,386.42
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,159.48
¥2,055,050
|
$26,426.10
|
|
Japan vs. Illinois - Cost of childcare
pay 69.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Japan
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.60
¥407
|
$5.38
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.03
¥473
|
$5.01
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.89
¥607
|
$10.78
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$59.54
¥9,298
|
$54.91
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.46
¥1,946
|
$13.02
|
|
Japan vs. Illinois - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 40.2% more for clothing
|
Japan
|
Illinois
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$44.79
¥6,995
|
$55.71
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.04
¥5,003
|
$43.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$57.37
¥8,959
|
$91.99
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$87.37
¥13,644
|
$122.66
|
|
Japan vs. Illinois - 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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