Japan vs. Samoa Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 81.3% more expensive than Samoa overall.

Restaurants
pay 60.3% less in Japan
Groceries
pay 2.3 times more in Japan
Transportation
pay 20.1% less in Japan
Housing
pay 4.8 times more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 18.4% less in Japan

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

Japan vs. Samoa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Japan instead of Samoa, you would:

pay 60.3% less for restaurants

 
Samoa
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $53.35
WST144.89
$6.60
¥1,055
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$13.95
WST37.90
$5.10
¥814
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.07
WST5.63
$1.07
¥170

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pay 2.3 times more for groceries

 
Samoa
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$0.81
WST2.19
$1.50
¥240
Local cheese (8 oz) $0.45
WST1.22
$5.07
¥809
Milk (1 gallon) $6.80
WST18.46
$5.67
¥905

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pay 20.1% less for transportation

 
Samoa
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.08
WST11.08
$4.39
¥701
Monthly public transit pass ?? $59.14
¥9,448
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $22,599.51
¥4M

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pay 4.8 times more for housing

 
Samoa
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$35.92
WST97.55
$33.91
¥5,418
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $543.18
¥86,771
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center ?? $353.61
¥56,488

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Samoa
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $296.89
¥47,426
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $13,159.48
¥2M

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pay 18.4% less for entertainment and sports

 
Samoa
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.31
WST11.71
$2.60
¥416
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.50
WST6.80
$3.03
¥483
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.11
WST16.58
$3.89
¥621

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Samoa
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $44.79
¥7,156
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $32.04
¥5,118
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $57.37
¥9,164

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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: March 2026
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