Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. Kentucky Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 20.6% cheaper than Kentucky.
- Restaurants
-
pay 54.4% less in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 0.6% more in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 34.0% more in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 44.6% less in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 56.4% less in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 8.1% less in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 15.0% less in Japan
The cost of transportation and groceries in Japan are more expensive than in Kentucky. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Japan.
Japan vs. Kentucky Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of Kentucky, you would:
pay 54.4% less for restaurants
|
Kentucky
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.82
|
$6.60
¥1,042
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.59
|
$5.10
¥804
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.27
|
$1.07
¥168
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.87
|
$0.76
¥120
|
|
Kentucky vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.6% more for groceries
|
Kentucky
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.62
|
$1.50
¥237
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.43
|
$5.07
¥799
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.00
|
$5.67
¥894
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.14
|
$2.08
¥328
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.82
|
$2.93
¥462
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$2.14
¥337
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.66
|
$1.12
¥176
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.69
¥267
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.12
|
$2.13
¥336
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.22
¥192
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.29
|
$1.15
¥182
|
|
Kentucky vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 34.0% more for transportation
|
Kentucky
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.94
|
$4.39
¥692
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$39.17
|
$59.14
¥9,330
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,897.72
|
$22,599.51
¥3,564,994
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.64
|
$25.32
¥3,995
|
|
Kentucky vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 44.6% less for housing
|
Kentucky
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.19
|
$33.91
¥5,350
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,095.19
|
$543.18
¥85,685
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$954.16
|
$353.61
¥55,781
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$143.50
|
$118.72
¥18,727
|
|
Kentucky vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 56.4% less for childcare
|
Kentucky
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,283.80
|
$296.89
¥46,833
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,534.67
|
$13,159.48
¥2,075,862
|
|
Kentucky vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 8.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Kentucky
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.88
|
$2.60
¥411
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.94
|
$3.03
¥477
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.93
|
$3.89
¥613
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.21
|
$59.54
¥9,392
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.61
|
$12.46
¥1,966
|
|
Kentucky vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.0% less for clothing
|
Kentucky
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.82
|
$44.79
¥7,066
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$36.25
|
$32.04
¥5,054
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.57
|
$57.37
¥9,050
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$97.91
|
$87.37
¥13,783
|
|
Kentucky vs. Japan - 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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