Cost of living comparison

Japan

compared to

New York, USA

New York vs. Japan Cost of Living Summary

New York is 2.2 times more expensive than Japan overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.5 times more in New York
Groceries: pay 38.3% more in New York
Transportation: pay 18.0% more in New York
Housing: pay 3.0 times more in New York
Childcare: pay 3.8 times more in New York
Entertainment and Sports: pay 96.0% more in New York
Clothing: pay 42.4% more in New York

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries in New York are more expensive than in Japan. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in New York.

New York vs. Japan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York instead of Japan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5 times more for restaurants

	Japan	New York
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.44 ¥947	$19.04	+195.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.94 ¥727	$10.50	+112.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ¥143	$2.37	+143.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 ¥108	$1.83	+150.3%
Average			+150.6%

Japan vs. New York - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.3% more for groceries

	Japan	New York
Bread 1 loaf	$1.52 ¥224	$3.74	+145.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.72 ¥841	$7.35	+28.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.46 ¥802	$4.05	-25.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 ¥297	$3.87	+91.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.73 ¥401	$5.18	+90.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.17 ¥320	$2.36	+8.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.02 ¥151	$0.80	-21.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ¥241	$2.10	+28.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.04 ¥299	$2.36	+16.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.26 ¥186	$1.54	+22.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 ¥159	$1.49	+37.6%
Average			+38.3%

Japan vs. New York - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.0% more for transportation

	Japan	New York
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.22 ¥621	$3.60	-14.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$57.82 ¥8,501	$97.65	+68.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,042.19 ¥3,241,194	$31,535.81	+43.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.42 ¥3,738	$18.98	-25.4%
Average			+18.0%

Japan vs. New York - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.0 times more for housing

	Japan	New York
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.09 ¥4,572	$63.86	+105.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$500.38 ¥73,578	$1,925.71	+284.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$325.42 ¥47,851	$1,646.33	+405.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.04 ¥16,622	$138.03	+22.1%
Average			+204.6%

Japan vs. New York - Cost of housing

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pay 3.8 times more for childcare

	Japan	New York
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$288.10 ¥42,364	$1,553.18	+439.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,095.30 ¥1,631,509	$23,861.84	+115.1%
Average			+277.1%

Japan vs. New York - Cost of childcare

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pay 96.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Japan	New York
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.71 ¥398	$6.09	+125.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.78 ¥408	$4.84	+74.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.98 ¥586	$13.68	+243.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.72 ¥8,487	$63.42	+9.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.97 ¥1,761	$15.22	+27.1%
Average			+96.0%

Japan vs. New York - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 42.4% more for clothing

	Japan	New York
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$40.54 ¥5,962	$50.08	+23.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.82 ¥3,943	$41.74	+55.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$54.08 ¥7,952	$82.58	+52.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.66 ¥12,008	$112.43	+37.7%
Average			+42.4%

Japan vs. New York - Cost of clothing

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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: April 2025

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