Cost of living comparison
compared to
Palo Alto vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary
Palo Alto is 2.3 times more expensive than Tokyo.
- Restaurants
- pay 3.0 times more in Palo Alto
- Groceries
- pay 61.1% more in Palo Alto
- Transportation
- pay 14.5% more in Palo Alto
- Housing
- pay 2.9 times more in Palo Alto
- Childcare
- pay 4.1 times more in Palo Alto
- Entertainment and Sports
- pay 2.2 times more in Palo Alto
- Clothing
- pay 28.1% more in Palo Alto
Palo Alto vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Palo Alto instead of Tokyo, you would:
pay 3.0 times more for restaurants
Tokyo | Palo Alto | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $8.02 ¥1,297 | $30.00 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $5.01 ¥811 | $12.00 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $1.16 ¥188 | $3.30 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $0.84 ¥136 | $2.44 | |
Tokyo vs. Palo Alto - Cost of restaurants
pay 61.1% more for groceries
Tokyo | Palo Alto | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $1.55 ¥251 | $5.06 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $7.21 ¥1,166 | $11.39 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $5.71 ¥924 | $5.85 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $2.33 ¥377 | $6.26 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $3.52 ¥570 | $6.63 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $2.38 ¥385 | $3.22 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $1.18 ¥191 | $1.18 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $2.48 ¥401 | $2.37 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $2.64 ¥427 | $3.01 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $1.43 ¥231 | $1.94 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $1.48 ¥240 | $2.19 | |
Tokyo vs. Palo Alto - Cost of groceries
pay 14.5% more for transportation
Tokyo | Palo Alto | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $4.50 ¥728 | $4.84 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $73.51 ¥11,890 | $90.00 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $22,332.63 ¥4M | $36,753.89 | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $30.07 ¥4,864 | $19.06 | |
Tokyo vs. Palo Alto - Cost of transportation
pay 2.9 times more for housing
Tokyo | Palo Alto | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $33.44 ¥5,410 | $68.78 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $1,071.65 ¥173K | $3,600.00 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $642.24 ¥104K | $3,148.75 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $122.16 ¥19,760 | $179.63 | |
Tokyo vs. Palo Alto - Cost of housing
pay 4.1 times more for childcare
Tokyo | Palo Alto | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $519.69 ¥84,062 | $2,823.00 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $15,131.74 ¥2M | $42,000.00 | |
Tokyo vs. Palo Alto - Cost of childcare
pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports
Tokyo | Palo Alto | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $4.01 ¥649 | $8.00 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $3.43 ¥555 | $5.83 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $4.01 ¥649 | $11.50 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $68.19 ¥11,030 | $206.33 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $12.70 ¥2,054 | $16.00 | |
Tokyo vs. Palo Alto - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 28.1% more for clothing
Tokyo | Palo Alto | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $56.84 ¥9,194 | $67.50 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $40.48 ¥6,548 | $46.00 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $62.67 ¥10,138 | $88.89 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $90.37 ¥14,618 | $125.00 | |
Tokyo vs. Palo Alto - 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: June 2026
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