Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. New Jersey Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 40.6% cheaper than New Jersey.
- Restaurants
-
pay 61.9% less in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 26.1% less in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 4.1% less in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 52.4% less in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 68.5% less in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 37.2% less in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 33.9% less in Japan
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries are lower in Japan.
Japan vs. New Jersey Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of New Jersey, you would:
pay 61.9% less for restaurants
|
New Jersey
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.95
|
$6.60
¥1,031
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.40
|
$5.10
¥796
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.60
|
$1.07
¥166
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
|
$0.76
¥119
|
|
New Jersey vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.1% less for groceries
|
New Jersey
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.17
|
$1.50
¥234
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.09
|
$5.07
¥791
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$5.67
¥885
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.24
|
$2.08
¥324
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.96
|
$2.93
¥457
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.76
|
$2.14
¥334
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.98
|
$1.12
¥175
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.69
¥264
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.62
|
$2.13
¥333
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.44
|
$1.22
¥190
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.60
|
$1.15
¥180
|
|
New Jersey vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 4.1% less for transportation
|
New Jersey
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.24
|
$4.39
¥686
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$116.02
|
$59.14
¥9,236
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,841.50
|
$22,599.51
¥3,529,252
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.75
|
$25.32
¥3,955
|
|
New Jersey vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 52.4% less for housing
|
New Jersey
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.68
|
$33.91
¥5,296
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,279.92
|
$543.18
¥84,826
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,885.98
|
$353.61
¥55,222
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$126.74
|
$118.72
¥18,539
|
|
New Jersey vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 68.5% less for childcare
|
New Jersey
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,023.96
|
$296.89
¥46,363
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,267.62
|
$13,159.48
¥2,055,050
|
|
New Jersey vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 37.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
New Jersey
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.95
|
$2.60
¥407
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.20
|
$3.03
¥473
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.79
|
$3.89
¥607
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.90
|
$59.54
¥9,298
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.52
|
$12.46
¥1,946
|
|
New Jersey vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 33.9% less for clothing
|
New Jersey
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.64
|
$44.79
¥6,995
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.26
|
$32.04
¥5,003
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.28
|
$57.37
¥8,959
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$136.81
|
$87.37
¥13,644
|
|
New Jersey 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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