Cost of living comparison
compared to
Northern Mariana Islands vs. Japan Cost of Living Summary
Northern Mariana Islands is 48.1% more expensive than Japan overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.3 times more in Northern Mariana Islands
- Groceries
-
pay 75.4% more in Northern Mariana Islands
- Transportation
-
pay 52.1% more in Northern Mariana Islands
- Housing
-
pay 42.8% more in Northern Mariana Islands
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 61.2% more in Northern Mariana Islands
- Clothing
-
pay 50.6% less in Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands vs. Japan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Northern Mariana Islands instead of Japan, you would:
pay 2.3 times more for restaurants
|
Japan
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$6.75
¥1,066
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.10
¥805
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.13
¥179
|
$2.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.76
¥120
|
$1.38
|
|
Japan vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of restaurants
pay 75.4% more for groceries
|
Japan
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.53
¥241
|
$5.63
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.55
¥877
|
?? | |
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.56
¥879
|
$9.87
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.01
¥318
|
$5.99
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.85
¥450
|
$6.00
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.16
¥342
|
$2.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.08
¥171
|
?? | |
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.54
¥243
|
$2.99
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.92
¥303
|
?? | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.10
¥174
|
$0.93
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.08
¥170
|
$1.03
|
|
Japan vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of groceries
pay 52.1% more for transportation
|
Japan
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.11
¥649
|
$5.52
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$63.20
¥9,986
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,047.50
¥3M
|
$36,999.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$24.65
¥3,895
|
?? | |
Japan vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of transportation
pay 42.8% more for housing
|
Japan
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$33.54
¥5,300
|
$90.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$546.58
¥86,367
|
$800.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$360.78
¥57,008
|
$375.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$113.26
¥17,897
|
$286.76
|
|
Japan vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Japan
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$417.01
¥65,893
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,300.14
¥2M
|
?? |
Japan vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of childcare
pay 61.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Japan
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.57
¥406
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.06
¥483
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.83
¥605
|
?? | |
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$53.31
¥8,424
|
$60.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.73
¥1,853
|
?? | |
Japan vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 50.6% less for clothing
|
Japan
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$46.32
¥7,320
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$31.33
¥4,950
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$59.45
¥9,394
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$81.04
¥12,805
|
$40.00
|
|
Japan vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare further: Japan vs. Northern Mariana Islands
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Northern Mariana Islands?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 6 statistics
Be 70.7% less likely to have internet access in Northern Mariana Islands
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Japan is about 814 times bigger than Northern Mariana Islands.
→
Moving from Japan to Northern Mariana Islands · UN DESA 2020
540 people born in Japan live in Northern Mariana Islands.
→
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Northern Mariana Islands or Japan. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.