Cost of living comparison

 Massachusetts, USA
compared to
 Japan
Japan vs. Massachusetts Cost of Living Summary
Japan vs. Massachusetts Cost Breakdown

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

pay 62.6% less for restaurants

 
Massachusetts
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $21.19
 
$6.44
¥938
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.79
 
$4.94
¥720
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.62
 
$0.97
¥141

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pay 21.8% less for groceries

 
Massachusetts
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$3.71
 
$1.52
¥222
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.31
 
$5.72
¥833
Milk (1 gallon) $4.52
 
$5.46
¥795

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pay 3.1% more for transportation

 
Massachusetts
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.51
 
$4.22
¥615
Monthly public transit pass $71.71
 
$57.82
¥8,421
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,785.54
 
$22,042.19
¥3,210,335

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pay 58.1% less for housing

 
Massachusetts
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$68.08
 
$31.09
¥4,528
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,074.76
 
$500.38
¥72,877
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,940.55
 
$325.42
¥47,395

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pay 71.7% less for childcare

 
Massachusetts
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,960.62
 
$288.10
¥41,961
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $26,428.57
 
$11,095.30
¥1,615,976

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pay 43.1% less for entertainment and sports

 
Massachusetts
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.63
 
$2.71
¥394
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.00
 
$2.78
¥405
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$12.10
 
$3.98
¥580

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pay 29.9% less for clothing

 
Massachusetts
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$50.62
 
$40.54
¥5,905
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.05
 
$26.82
¥3,906
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$83.58
 
$54.08
¥7,876

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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: May 2025
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See the cost of living in United States vs. Japan. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Japan.

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