Cost of living comparison
compared to
Kyoto vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Kyoto is 34.4% cheaper than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 56.8% less in Kyoto
- Groceries
-
pay 10.7% less in Kyoto
- Transportation
-
pay 13.2% more in Kyoto
- Housing
-
pay 60.3% less in Kyoto
- Childcare
-
pay 72.8% less in Kyoto
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 27.7% less in Kyoto
- Clothing
-
pay 25.8% less in Kyoto
Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries are lower in Kyoto.
Kyoto vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Kyoto instead of United States, you would:
pay 56.8% less for restaurants
|
United States
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$10.02
¥1,561
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$5.35
¥833
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$0.92
¥144
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$0.74
¥116
|
|
United States vs. Kyoto - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.7% less for groceries
|
United States
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$1.70
¥265
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$4.57
¥711
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$6.67
¥1,039
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$2.23
¥347
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$3.09
¥482
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.42
¥378
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$1.11
¥173
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$2.83
¥441
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$1.72
¥268
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$0.71
¥110
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.01
¥157
|
|
United States vs. Kyoto - Cost of groceries
pay 13.2% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$4.43
¥690
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$66.82
¥10,408
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$22,332.63
¥3,478,419
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$26.86
¥4,184
|
|
United States vs. Kyoto - Cost of transportation
pay 60.3% less for housing
|
United States
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$32.58
¥5,074
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$570.06
¥88,790
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$318.25
¥49,569
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$82.56
¥12,859
|
|
United States vs. Kyoto - Cost of housing
pay 72.8% less for childcare
|
United States
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$434.36
¥67,653
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$5,345.93
¥832,656
|
|
United States vs. Kyoto - Cost of childcare
pay 27.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$3.34
¥520
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$3.20
¥498
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$4.01
¥624
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$55.73
¥8,680
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$12.70
¥1,978
|
|
United States vs. Kyoto - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 25.8% less for clothing
|
United States
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$44.33
¥6,904
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$30.91
¥4,814
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$50.12
¥7,806
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$88.54
¥13,791
|
|
United States vs. Kyoto - 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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