Cost of living comparison

compared to

North Dakota vs. Japan Cost of Living Summary

North Dakota is 60.2% more expensive than Japan overall.

Restaurants
pay 2.8 times more in North Dakota
Groceries
pay 29.7% more in North Dakota
Transportation
pay 2.4% less in North Dakota
Housing
pay 91.0% more in North Dakota
Childcare
pay 2.5 times more in North Dakota
Entertainment and Sports
pay 57.8% more in North Dakota
Clothing
pay 17.3% more in North Dakota

The cost of restaurants, childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in North Dakota are more expensive than in Japan. Notably, restaurants, childcare, and housing are significantly more expensive in North Dakota.

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North Dakota vs. Japan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in North Dakota instead of Japan, you would:

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

 
Japan
North Dakota
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.75
¥1,066
$19.30
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $5.10
¥805
$12.96
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.13
¥179
$3.78
 
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pay 29.7% more for groceries

 
Japan
North Dakota
Bread
1 loaf
 $1.53
¥241
$2.97
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.55
¥877
$8.16
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.56
¥879
$4.12
 
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pay 2.4% less for transportation

 
Japan
North Dakota
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.11
¥649
$3.52
 
Monthly public transit pass $63.20
¥9,986
$42.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $21,047.50
¥3M
$32,921.00
 
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pay 91.0% more for housing

 
Japan
North Dakota
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $33.54
¥5,300
$72.92
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $546.58
¥86,367
$1,004.65
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $360.78
¥57,008
$815.11
 
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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

 
Japan
North Dakota
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $417.01
¥65,893
$1,032.40
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $11,300.14
¥2M
??
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pay 57.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Japan
North Dakota
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.57
¥406
$5.38
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.06
¥483
$7.01
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $3.83
¥605
$10.46
 
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pay 17.3% more for clothing

 
Japan
North Dakota
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $46.32
¥7,320
$40.20
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $31.33
¥4,950
$39.61
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $59.45
¥9,394
$97.17
 
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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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Compare further: Japan vs. North Dakota

Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in North Dakota?
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Quality of Life Comparison · 2 statistics
Make 2.2 times more money in North Dakota
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Size Comparison · See true size
Japan is about 2.1 times bigger than North Dakota.
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City Size Comparison · See true size
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