Cost of living comparison
compared to
East Lansing vs. Saitama Cost of Living Summary
East Lansing is 86.4% more expensive than Saitama.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.9 times more in East Lansing
- Groceries
-
pay 41.5% more in East Lansing
- Transportation
-
pay 20.5% more in East Lansing
- Housing
-
pay 3.0 times more in East Lansing
- Childcare
-
pay 11.9% less in East Lansing
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 23.3% more in East Lansing
- Clothing
-
pay 41.2% more in East Lansing
East Lansing vs. Saitama Cost Breakdown
If you lived in East Lansing instead of Saitama, you would:
pay 2.9 times more for restaurants
|
Saitama
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.69
¥897
|
$16.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.74
¥748
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.71
¥112
|
$2.51
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.62
¥97
|
$2.17
|
|
Saitama vs. East Lansing - Cost of restaurants
pay 41.5% more for groceries
|
Saitama
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.70
¥268
|
$2.95
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.18
¥816
|
$5.51
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.37
¥846
|
$3.06
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.04
¥321
|
$2.79
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.50
¥394
|
$7.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.58
¥407
|
$2.45
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
¥158
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.31
¥206
|
$3.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.90
¥300
|
$1.62
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.17
¥184
|
$2.60
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.72
¥113
|
$2.54
|
|
Saitama vs. East Lansing - Cost of groceries
pay 20.5% more for transportation
|
Saitama
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.11
¥648
|
$3.74
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$50.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,434.36
¥3M
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$24.67
¥3,888
|
$34.85
|
|
Saitama vs. East Lansing - Cost of transportation
pay 3.0 times more for housing
|
Saitama
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$32.16
¥5,068
|
$63.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$411.23
¥64,801
|
$1,207.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$237.25
¥37,385
|
$1,045.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$101.00
¥15,916
|
$134.29
|
|
Saitama vs. East Lansing - Cost of housing
pay 11.9% less for childcare
|
Saitama
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$632.30
¥99,638
|
$648.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,725.05
¥2M
|
$11,136.00
|
|
Saitama vs. East Lansing - Cost of childcare
pay 23.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Saitama
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.53
¥399
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.01
¥474
|
$5.40
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.80
¥598
|
$9.52
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$62.63
¥9,870
|
$36.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.07
¥1,745
|
$11.00
|
|
Saitama vs. East Lansing - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 41.2% more for clothing
|
Saitama
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$34.80
¥5,483
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$25.31
¥3,988
|
$37.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$55.36
¥8,723
|
$70.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$63.27
¥9,969
|
$85.00
|
|
Saitama vs. East Lansing - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this
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