Cost of living comparison

Japan

compared to

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico vs. Japan Cost of Living Summary

Puerto Rico is 49.5% more expensive than Japan overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Puerto Rico
Groceries: pay 37.3% more in Puerto Rico
Transportation: pay 0.3% less in Puerto Rico
Housing: pay 2.0 times more in Puerto Rico
Childcare: pay 26.8% more in Puerto Rico
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.4% less in Puerto Rico
Clothing: pay 36.8% more in Puerto Rico

The cost of restaurants, housing, groceries, clothing, and childcare in Puerto Rico are more expensive than in Japan. Expenses including entertainment and sports and transportation are lower in Puerto Rico. Notably, restaurants and housing are significantly more expensive in Puerto Rico.

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Puerto Rico vs. Japan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Puerto Rico instead of Japan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Japan	Puerto Rico
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.75 ¥1,066	$16.34	+142.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.10 ¥805	$9.24	+81.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.13 ¥179	$1.74	+53.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 ¥120	$1.35	+78.8%
Average			+102.8%

Japan vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.3% more for groceries

	Japan	Puerto Rico
Bread 1 loaf	$1.53 ¥241	$3.37	+120.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.55 ¥877	$5.35	-3.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.56 ¥879	$7.71	+38.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.01 ¥318	$6.03	+199.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.85 ¥450	$3.95	+38.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.16 ¥342	$2.15	-0.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.08 ¥171	$1.17	+7.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.54 ¥243	$1.88	+22.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.92 ¥303	$2.09	+8.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.10 ¥174	$1.43	+30.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 ¥170	$1.54	+43.4%
Average			+37.3%

Japan vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.3% less for transportation

	Japan	Puerto Rico
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.11 ¥649	$4.08	-0.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$63.20 ¥9,986	$37.75	-40.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,047.50 ¥3M	$38,571.43	+83.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.65 ¥3,895	$14.50	-41.2%
Average			-0.3%

Japan vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.0 times more for housing

	Japan	Puerto Rico
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$33.54 ¥5,300	$66.43	+98.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$546.58 ¥86,367	$1,098.02	+100.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$360.78 ¥57,008	$722.33	+100.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.26 ¥17,897	$228.66	+101.9%
Average			+100.6%

Japan vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of housing

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pay 26.8% more for childcare

	Japan	Puerto Rico
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$417.01 ¥65,893	$700.71	+68.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,300.14 ¥2M	$10,819.51	-4.3%
Average			+26.8%

Japan vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Japan	Puerto Rico
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.57 ¥406	$2.61	+1.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.06 ¥483	$2.78	-9.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.83 ¥605	$11.22	+193.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$53.31 ¥8,424	$29.37	-44.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.73 ¥1,853	$9.50	-19.0%
Average			-10.4%

Japan vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.8% more for clothing

	Japan	Puerto Rico
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.32 ¥7,320	$52.28	+12.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.33 ¥4,950	$47.82	+52.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.45 ¥9,394	$96.61	+62.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.04 ¥12,805	$101.25	+24.9%
Average			+36.8%

Japan vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of clothing

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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

Compare further: Japan vs. Puerto Rico

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Puerto Rico?

Quality of Life Comparison · 14 statistics

Be 2.4 times more likely to be unemployed in Puerto Rico

Size Comparison · See true size

Japan is about 42 times bigger than Puerto Rico.

Moving from Japan to Puerto Rico · UN DESA 2020

35 people born in Japan live in Puerto Rico.

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