Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. South Dakota Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 33.8% cheaper than South Dakota.
Japan vs. South Dakota Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of South Dakota, you would:
pay 51.4% less for restaurants
|
South Dakota
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.00
|
$6.75
¥1,066
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.33
|
$5.10
¥805
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.53
|
$1.13
¥179
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.05
|
$0.76
¥120
|
|
South Dakota vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.9% less for groceries
|
South Dakota
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.80
|
$1.53
¥241
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.94
|
$5.55
¥877
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.55
|
$5.56
¥879
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.65
|
$2.01
¥318
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.17
|
$2.85
¥450
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$2.16
¥342
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.81
|
$1.08
¥171
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.51
|
$1.54
¥243
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.69
|
$1.92
¥303
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$1.10
¥174
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$1.08
¥170
|
|
South Dakota vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 14.5% more for transportation
|
South Dakota
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.52
|
$4.11
¥649
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$30.00
|
$63.20
¥9,986
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,246.50
|
$21,047.50
¥3M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.02
|
$24.65
¥3,895
|
|
South Dakota vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 56.5% less for housing
|
South Dakota
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$58.99
|
$33.54
¥5,300
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,145.83
|
$546.58
¥86,367
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,105.14
|
$360.78
¥57,008
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$168.11
|
$113.26
¥17,897
|
|
South Dakota vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 14.9% less for childcare
|
South Dakota
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$833.31
|
$417.01
¥65,893
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$7,800.00
|
$11,300.14
¥2M
|
|
South Dakota vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 22.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
South Dakota
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.00
|
$2.57
¥406
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.71
|
$3.06
¥483
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.54
|
$3.83
¥605
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$47.44
|
$53.31
¥8,424
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.25
|
$11.73
¥1,853
|
|
South Dakota vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 25.4% less for clothing
|
South Dakota
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$46.56
|
$46.32
¥7,320
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.33
|
$31.33
¥4,950
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.03
|
$59.45
¥9,394
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$123.17
|
$81.04
¥12,805
|
|
South Dakota vs. Japan - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: South Dakota vs. Japan
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