Cost of living comparison

compared to

Tokyo vs. Traverse City Cost of Living Summary

Tokyo is 23.3% cheaper than Traverse City.

Restaurants
pay 58.7% less in Tokyo
Groceries
pay 10.1% less in Tokyo
Transportation
pay 7.4% more in Tokyo
Housing
pay 37.3% less in Tokyo
Childcare
pay 46.1% more in Tokyo
Entertainment and Sports
pay 6.6% less in Tokyo
Clothing
pay 21.2% less in Tokyo

The cost of childcare and transportation in Tokyo are more expensive than in Traverse City. Expenses including restaurants, housing, clothing, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Tokyo.

Tokyo vs. Traverse City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Tokyo instead of Traverse City, you would:

pay 58.7% less for restaurants

 
Traverse City
Tokyo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $21.60
 
$7.59
¥1,196
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.38
 
$5.06
¥798
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.51
 
$1.64
¥258

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pay 10.1% less for groceries

 
Traverse City
Tokyo
Bread
1 loaf
$2.94
 
$1.71
¥269
Local cheese (8 oz) $9.55
 
$5.29
¥834
Milk (1 gallon) $2.82
 
$5.75
¥906

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pay 7.4% more for transportation

 
Traverse City
Tokyo
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.76
 
$4.08
¥643
Monthly public transit pass $30.00
 
$63.27
¥9,969
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,866.37
 
$21,725.38
¥3M

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pay 37.3% less for housing

 
Traverse City
Tokyo
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$67.50
 
$30.33
¥4,780
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,983.33
 
$1,280.34
¥202K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,418.00
 
$692.48
¥109K

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pay 46.1% more for childcare

 
Traverse City
Tokyo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,030.00
 
$1,341.43
¥211K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $11,136.00
 
$18,252.10
¥3M

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pay 6.6% less for entertainment and sports

 
Traverse City
Tokyo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.00
 
$3.80
¥598
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.67
 
$3.56
¥562
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.00
 
$3.92
¥618

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pay 21.2% less for clothing

 
Traverse City
Tokyo
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$59.33
 
$55.50
¥8,746
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.67
 
$32.95
¥5,192
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$101.67
 
$65.04
¥10,250

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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