Cost of living comparison

 Tokyo, Japan
compared to
 Los Angeles (CA), United States
Los Angeles vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary

Los Angeles is 95.0% more expensive than Tokyo.

Restaurants
pay 2.9 times more in Los Angeles
Groceries
pay 36.0% more in Los Angeles
Transportation
pay 11.6% more in Los Angeles
Housing
pay 2.3 times more in Los Angeles
Childcare
pay 2.7 times more in Los Angeles
Entertainment and Sports
pay 89.4% more in Los Angeles
Clothing
pay 40.3% more in Los Angeles

The cost of restaurants, childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries in Los Angeles are more expensive than in Tokyo. Notably, restaurants, childcare, and housing are significantly more expensive in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Los Angeles instead of Tokyo, you would:

pay 2.9 times more for restaurants

 
Tokyo
Los Angeles
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.51
¥938
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.21
¥751
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.12
¥161
$2.95
 

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pay 36.0% more for groceries

 
Tokyo
Los Angeles
Bread
1 loaf
$1.63
¥235
$4.99
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.01
¥1,010
$6.87
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.89
¥848
$4.56
 

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pay 11.6% more for transportation

 
Tokyo
Los Angeles
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.42
¥637
$4.96
 
Monthly public transit pass $58.62
¥8,444
$79.13
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $21,767.76
¥3,135,439
$30,499.50
 

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

 
Tokyo
Los Angeles
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$31.86
¥4,589
$72.71
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,120.28
¥161,365
$2,395.36
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $582.98
¥83,973
$2,100.61
 

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pay 2.7 times more for childcare

 
Tokyo
Los Angeles
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $533.29
¥76,816
$1,778.57
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $14,506.96
¥2,089,589
$28,750.00
 

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pay 89.4% more for entertainment and sports

 
Tokyo
Los Angeles
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.26
¥469
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.40
¥490
$5.46
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.91
¥563
$12.00
 

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pay 40.3% more for clothing

 
Tokyo
Los Angeles
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.60
¥7,576
$58.46
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.87
¥5,311
$42.72
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$63.41
¥9,134
$101.30
 

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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: June 2025
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