Cost of living comparison
California is 2.5 times more expensive than Japan.
If you lived in California instead of Japan, you would:
pay 2.7 times more for restaurants
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$6.59
¥1,003
|
$19.89
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.91
¥748
|
$11.74
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.01
¥154
|
$2.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.80
¥121
|
$2.23
|
|
pay 51.9% more for groceries
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.40
¥214
|
$4.10
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.54
¥844
|
$6.78
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.14
¥783
|
$4.57
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.99
¥303
|
$4.34
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.58
¥393
|
$5.53
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.93
¥293
|
$2.29
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.11
¥168
|
$0.95
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.76
¥269
|
$1.95
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.80
¥275
|
$2.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
¥169
|
$1.49
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.90
¥137
|
$1.45
|
|
pay 12.6% more for transportation
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.17
¥636
|
$4.84
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$60.62
¥9,232
|
$67.11
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,439.97
¥3,264,986
|
$29,950.13
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$24.44
¥3,721
|
$20.46
|
|
pay 3.7 times more for housing
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$33.46
¥5,095
|
$69.38
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$480.50
¥73,173
|
$2,333.22
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$321.68
¥48,987
|
$2,022.14
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$107.01
¥16,296
|
$178.08
|
|
pay 4.8 times more for childcare
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$240.59
¥36,639
|
$1,629.83
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,805.94
¥1,645,582
|
$29,739.09
|
|
pay 98.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.60
¥396
|
$7.06
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.74
¥417
|
$5.27
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.86
¥588
|
$10.99
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$55.52
¥8,455
|
$68.71
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.57
¥1,762
|
$14.08
|
|
pay 47.4% more for clothing
|
Japan
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$38.65
¥5,886
|
$52.63
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$25.96
¥3,953
|
$41.12
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$52.99
¥8,070
|
$84.49
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$85.48
¥13,017
|
$115.90
|
|
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