Cost of living comparison

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

If you lived in Japan instead of North Carolina, you would:

pay 56.6% less for restaurants

 
North Carolina
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.06
 
$6.44
¥958
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.06
 
$4.94
¥735
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.31
 
$0.97
¥144

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pay 12.7% less for groceries

 
North Carolina
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$3.48
 
$1.52
¥227
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.25
 
$5.72
¥851
Milk (1 gallon) $3.46
 
$5.46
¥812

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pay 8.8% more for transportation

 
North Carolina
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.19
 
$4.22
¥629
Monthly public transit pass $53.89
 
$57.82
¥8,604
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,400.31
 
$22,042.19
¥3,280,100

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pay 53.2% less for housing

 
North Carolina
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$72.47
 
$31.09
¥4,627
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,527.81
 
$500.38
¥74,461
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,294.23
 
$325.42
¥48,425

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pay 66.4% less for childcare

 
North Carolina
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,254.70
 
$288.10
¥42,873
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $25,128.75
 
$11,095.30
¥1,651,093

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pay 27.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
North Carolina
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.09
 
$2.71
¥403
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.89
 
$2.78
¥413
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.33
 
$3.98
¥593

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pay 27.7% less for clothing

 
North Carolina
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$49.88
 
$40.54
¥6,033
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.28
 
$26.82
¥3,991
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$86.65
 
$54.08
¥8,047

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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: July 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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