Cost of living comparison

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

Japan is 9.8% more expensive than Palau overall.

Restaurants
pay 39.3% less in Japan
Groceries
pay 35.5% less in Japan
Transportation
pay 5.7% less in Japan
Housing
pay 58.0% less in Japan
Childcare
pay 3.6 times more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.8% less in Japan
Clothing
pay 51.4% less in Japan

Expenses including housing, clothing, restaurants, groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Japan. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Japan.

Japan vs. Palau Cost Breakdown

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

pay 39.3% less for restaurants

 
Palau
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $12.00
 
$6.44
¥949
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.00
 
$4.94
¥728
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.37
 
$0.97
¥143

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pay 35.5% less for groceries

 
Palau
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$3.44
 
$1.52
¥225
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.00
 
$5.72
¥843
Milk (1 gallon) $9.97
 
$5.46
¥804

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pay 5.7% less for transportation

 
Palau
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.75
 
$4.22
¥623
Monthly public transit pass ?? $57.82
¥8,521
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $17,500.00
 
$22,042.19
¥3,248,821

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pay 58.0% less for housing

 
Palau
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$129.50
 
$31.09
¥4,582
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $900.00
 
$500.38
¥73,751
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $700.00
 
$325.42
¥47,963

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pay 3.6 times more for childcare

 
Palau
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $200.00
 
$288.10
¥42,464
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $1,920.00
 
$11,095.30
¥1,635,348

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pay 2.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
Palau
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.50
 
$2.71
¥399
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.08
 
$2.78
¥409
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.25
 
$3.98
¥587

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pay 51.4% less for clothing

 
Palau
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$62.50
 
$40.54
¥5,976
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$52.50
 
$26.82
¥3,953
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$147.50
 
$54.08
¥7,971

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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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