Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. San Diego Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 44.2% cheaper than San Diego.
- Restaurants
-
pay 67.2% less in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 16.8% less in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 6.1% less in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 67.3% less in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 68.6% less in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 46.2% less in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 37.0% less in Japan
Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries are lower in Japan.
Japan vs. San Diego Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of San Diego, you would:
pay 67.2% less for restaurants
|
San Diego
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.00
|
$6.60
¥1,026
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$5.10
¥792
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.03
|
$1.07
¥166
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$0.76
¥118
|
|
San Diego vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.8% less for groceries
|
San Diego
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.57
|
$1.50
¥233
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.36
|
$5.07
¥787
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$5.67
¥880
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.84
|
$2.08
¥323
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.07
|
$2.93
¥455
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$2.14
¥332
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$1.12
¥174
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$1.69
¥263
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.26
|
$2.13
¥331
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$1.22
¥189
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$1.15
¥179
|
|
San Diego vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 6.1% less for transportation
|
San Diego
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$4.39
¥682
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.00
|
$59.14
¥9,189
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$22,599.51
¥3,511,060
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.40
|
$25.32
¥3,934
|
|
San Diego vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 67.3% less for housing
|
San Diego
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.19
|
$33.91
¥5,269
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,033.00
|
$543.18
¥84,389
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.64
|
$353.61
¥54,937
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$205.84
|
$118.72
¥18,444
|
|
San Diego vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 68.6% less for childcare
|
San Diego
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,750.00
|
$296.89
¥46,124
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,750.00
|
$13,159.48
¥2,044,457
|
|
San Diego vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 46.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Diego
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$2.60
¥405
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.90
|
$3.03
¥470
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$3.89
¥604
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$73.21
|
$59.54
¥9,250
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.50
|
$12.46
¥1,936
|
|
San Diego vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 37.0% less for clothing
|
San Diego
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.72
|
$44.79
¥6,959
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$58.44
|
$32.04
¥4,978
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.68
|
$57.37
¥8,913
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$126.25
|
$87.37
¥13,574
|
|
San Diego 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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