Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Carolina vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary

South Carolina is 47.1% more expensive than Tokyo.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in South Carolina
Groceries: pay 16.1% more in South Carolina
Transportation: pay 17.6% less in South Carolina
Housing: pay 68.9% more in South Carolina
Childcare: pay 92.9% more in South Carolina
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.5% more in South Carolina
Clothing: pay 9.1% more in South Carolina

The cost of restaurants, childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in South Carolina are more expensive than in Tokyo. Notably, restaurants and childcare are significantly more expensive in South Carolina.

South Carolina vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Carolina instead of Tokyo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Tokyo	South Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.02 ¥1,249	$19.17	+139.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.01 ¥781	$11.16	+122.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.16 ¥181	$2.65	+128.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ¥131	$2.13	+152.5%
Average			+135.6%

Tokyo vs. South Carolina - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.1% more for groceries

	Tokyo	South Carolina
Bread 1 loaf	$1.55 ¥242	$3.44	+121.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.21 ¥1,123	$5.99	-16.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.71 ¥890	$3.54	-38.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ¥363	$4.18	+79.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.52 ¥548	$5.64	+60.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.38 ¥370	$2.64	+11.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.18 ¥184	$0.76	-35.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.48 ¥386	$2.49	+0.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.64 ¥411	$2.31	-12.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.43 ¥222	$1.63	+14.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.48 ¥231	$1.38	-6.8%
Average			+16.1%

Tokyo vs. South Carolina - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.6% less for transportation

	Tokyo	South Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.50 ¥701	$2.88	-36.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$73.51 ¥11,449	$46.17	-37.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,332.63 ¥3,478,419	$33,190.90	+48.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.07 ¥4,684	$16.34	-45.7%
Average			-17.6%

Tokyo vs. South Carolina - Cost of transportation

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pay 68.9% more for housing

	Tokyo	South Carolina
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$33.44 ¥5,209	$66.47	+98.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,071.65 ¥166,915	$1,589.94	+48.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$642.24 ¥100,032	$1,366.92	+112.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$122.16 ¥19,027	$141.20	+15.6%
Average			+68.9%

Tokyo vs. South Carolina - Cost of housing

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pay 92.9% more for childcare

	Tokyo	South Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$519.69 ¥80,944	$1,346.85	+159.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,131.74 ¥2,356,844	$19,168.15	+26.7%
Average			+92.9%

Tokyo vs. South Carolina - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Tokyo	South Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.01 ¥624	$5.29	+32.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.43 ¥534	$5.17	+50.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.01 ¥624	$7.67	+91.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$68.19 ¥10,621	$32.75	-52.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.70 ¥1,978	$12.71	+0.1%
Average			+24.5%

Tokyo vs. South Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.1% more for clothing

	Tokyo	South Carolina
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$56.84 ¥8,853	$50.06	-11.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.48 ¥6,306	$35.86	-11.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$62.67 ¥9,762	$84.43	+34.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.37 ¥14,076	$112.81	+24.8%
Average			+9.1%

Tokyo vs. South Carolina - Cost of clothing

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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: December 2025

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