Cost of living comparison

 Houston (TX), United States
compared to
 Japan
Japan vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 32.8% cheaper than Houston.

Restaurants
pay 58.6% less in Japan
Groceries
pay 4.4% more in Japan
Transportation
pay 4.9% more in Japan
Housing
pay 54.5% less in Japan
Childcare
pay 66.0% less in Japan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 25.6% less in Japan
Clothing
pay 34.4% less in Japan

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

Japan vs. Houston Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Japan instead of Houston, you would:

pay 58.6% less for restaurants

 
Houston
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.00
 
$6.44
¥949
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.00
 
$4.94
¥728
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.53
 
$0.97
¥143

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pay 4.4% more for groceries

 
Houston
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$2.97
 
$1.52
¥225
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.39
 
$5.72
¥843
Milk (1 gallon) $3.43
 
$5.46
¥804

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pay 4.9% more for transportation

 
Houston
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.88
 
$4.22
¥623
Monthly public transit pass $75.00
 
$57.82
¥8,521
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,278.39
 
$22,042.19
¥3,248,821

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pay 54.5% less for housing

 
Houston
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$66.71
 
$31.09
¥4,582
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,582.84
 
$500.38
¥73,751
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,189.12
 
$325.42
¥47,963

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pay 66.0% less for childcare

 
Houston
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,457.58
 
$288.10
¥42,464
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,000.00
 
$11,095.30
¥1,635,348

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pay 25.6% less for entertainment and sports

 
Houston
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.00
 
$2.71
¥399
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.27
 
$2.78
¥409
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.97
 
$3.98
¥587

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pay 34.4% less for clothing

 
Houston
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$47.14
 
$40.54
¥5,976
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.00
 
$26.82
¥3,953
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$103.28
 
$54.08
¥7,971

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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: July 2025
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