Cost of living comparison

 Nicaragua
compared to
 Japan
Japan vs. Nicaragua Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 51.7% more expensive than Nicaragua overall.

Restaurants
pay 14.8% more in Japan
Groceries
pay 44.7% more in Japan
Transportation
pay 2.2 times more in Japan
Housing
pay 40.4% more in Japan
Childcare
pay 83.8% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 72.7% more in Japan
Clothing
pay 10.7% less in Japan

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

Japan vs. Nicaragua Cost Breakdown

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

pay 14.8% more for restaurants

 
Nicaragua
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.15
NIO153.26
$6.44
¥936
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.48
NIO202.18
$4.94
¥718
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.95
NIO35.13
$0.97
¥141

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pay 44.7% more for groceries

 
Nicaragua
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$1.43
NIO52.91
$1.52
¥221
Local cheese (8 oz) $2.35
NIO86.84
$5.72
¥832
Milk (1 gallon) $4.24
NIO156.50
$5.46
¥793

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

 
Nicaragua
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.15
NIO190.01
$4.22
¥614
Monthly public transit pass $30.05
NIO1,109.18
$57.82
¥8,405
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $18,168.72
NIO670,595.82
$22,042.19
¥3,204,394

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pay 40.4% more for housing

 
Nicaragua
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$44.72
NIO1,650.72
$31.09
¥4,520
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $308.00
NIO11,368.16
$500.38
¥72,743
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $281.86
NIO10,403.36
$325.42
¥47,308

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pay 83.8% more for childcare

 
Nicaragua
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $112.78
NIO4,162.56
$288.10
¥41,883
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,900.00
NIO365,402.65
$11,095.30
¥1,612,985

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pay 72.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
Nicaragua
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.22
NIO44.94
$2.71
¥394
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.28
NIO84.15
$2.78
¥404
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.97
NIO109.48
$3.98
¥579

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pay 10.7% less for clothing

 
Nicaragua
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$42.40
NIO1,565.03
$40.54
¥5,894
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$40.36
NIO1,489.62
$26.82
¥3,899
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$58.79
NIO2,169.96
$54.08
¥7,862

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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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