Cost of living comparison
California is 2.4 times more expensive than Japan.
If you lived in California instead of Japan, you would:
pay 2.8 times more for restaurants
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$6.44
¥994
|
$21.02
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.94
¥763
|
$11.52
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.97
¥150
|
$2.71
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.73
¥113
|
$2.16
|
|
pay 43.2% more for groceries
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.52
¥235
|
$4.14
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.72
¥883
|
$6.95
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.46
¥842
|
$4.61
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.02
¥311
|
$4.33
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.73
¥421
|
$5.70
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.17
¥336
|
$2.34
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
¥158
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.64
¥253
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.04
¥314
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
¥195
|
$1.39
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.08
¥167
|
$1.44
|
|
pay 9.2% more for transportation
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.22
¥652
|
$4.83
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$57.82
¥8,923
|
$62.05
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,042.19
¥3,401,882
|
$30,005.28
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$25.42
¥3,924
|
$20.07
|
|
pay 3.7 times more for housing
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$31.09
¥4,798
|
$68.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$500.38
¥77,226
|
$2,371.29
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$325.42
¥50,223
|
$2,055.18
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$113.04
¥17,446
|
$171.68
|
|
pay 4.3 times more for childcare
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$288.10
¥44,464
|
$1,682.51
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,095.30
¥1,712,394
|
$30,905.75
|
|
pay 92.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.71
¥418
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.78
¥429
|
$5.34
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.98
¥615
|
$10.91
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$57.72
¥8,908
|
$66.35
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.97
¥1,848
|
$14.41
|
|
pay 45.2% more for clothing
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$40.54
¥6,257
|
$52.77
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$26.82
¥4,139
|
$40.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$54.08
¥8,346
|
$85.15
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$81.66
¥12,604
|
$117.31
|
|
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