Cost of living in Japan: a realistic monthly budget for a single worker

Rules, fees and services change often. Last checked: 7 November 2026. Always confirm with the official sources below or with your city office before you act.

How much money do you need each month in Japan? The honest answer depends on your rent, your city and how often you eat out. This guide starts from official figures, not guesses: the Statistics Bureau’s Family Income and Expenditure Survey (家計調査, kakei chōsa) and the 2023 Housing and Land Survey. Then it shows you how to build your own budget.

What young single workers actually spend

The survey publishes a column for single-person worker households under 35. In 2025 their average age was 27.2 and they earned ¥370,718 a month on average, including bonuses. Only 65 households were in the sample, so treat the figures as a rough guide, not a target. The table shows what they spent on average each month.

Item	Per month	What it includes
Food	¥41,938	Eating out ¥17,996; groceries, ready meals and drinks ¥23,942
Housing	¥34,489	Mostly rent (¥34,148). About 77% of these households paid rent; the rest lived in their own or free housing
Electricity, gas and water	¥8,147	Electricity ¥4,480, gas ¥2,275, water ¥1,348
Furniture and household goods	¥5,806	Appliances, kitchen items, cleaning products
Clothes and shoes	¥6,360
Medical care	¥6,956	Medicine, clinic fees (your share after insurance)
Transport and communication	¥21,172	Public transport ¥8,164, phone and internet ¥6,511, plus car and postage
Education	¥162
Culture and recreation	¥24,659	Hobbies, trips, streaming, sports
Other	¥29,535	Personal care and other goods ¥14,993, social spending such as gifts ¥12,742, money sent to family ¥1,780
Total living costs	¥179,225
Taxes	¥20,176	Income tax ¥10,559, resident tax ¥9,155
Social insurance	¥38,970	Pension ¥25,069, health insurance ¥12,578, other insurance

Two things to notice. First, rent in this table is low because it is an average over everyone, including people in company housing or dormitories who pay little or nothing. If you rent on the open market, your rent will usually be higher. Second, taxes and social insurance were about a third of what the households spent on living costs. Employees never see this money: it is deducted before pay reaches the bank.

Rent: the biggest difference between cities

The Housing and Land Survey shows what renting households actually paid in October 2023. The national average was ¥59,643 a month. In Tokyo’s 23 wards it was ¥93,579, from ¥65,958 in Adachi to ¥192,525 in Minato. Osaka City averaged ¥61,704 and Nagoya ¥59,224. Our city guides list the figures ward by ward: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.

A quick way to adjust the survey budget: replace its rent (¥34,148) with your own. For example, a worker who pays the Tokyo 23-ward average rent of ¥93,579 would spend about ¥59,000 more each month than the survey average, if everything else stays the same.

Rent is not the only housing cost. Moving in usually means a deposit, key money, an agency fee and a guarantor company fee, paid before you get the keys. See Finding an apartment in Japan for what each one is.

Food and daily shopping

Young single workers spent ¥41,938 a month on food, and ¥17,996 of that was eating out. That is the easiest place to save: a home-cooked meal costs far less than a restaurant meal. Our guide Eating well on a budget in Japan explains supermarket discounts, convenience stores and how to read ingredient labels, including halal and vegetarian checks.

Utilities, phone and transport

• Electricity, gas and water: ¥8,147 a month on average. Bills rise in winter and summer when you heat or cool your room. You usually pay by bank transfer, card or at a convenience store.
• Phone and internet: ¥6,511 a month on average. A cheap SIM plan is often enough. See Mobile phones and internet in Japan for how to avoid long contracts.
• Public transport: ¥8,164 a month on average. Check your contract to see whether your employer pays a commuting allowance. See Trains and buses in Japan for IC cards and commuter passes.

Health insurance, pension and tax

If you are an employee in employee health insurance and employee pension, your share is deducted from your pay, together with income tax and later resident tax. In the survey this came to ¥59,146 a month on average. Your payslip (給与明細, kyūyo meisai) shows the exact amounts.

If you are not in employee insurance (for example, a student or a part-time worker), you pay yourself. The National Pension premium is ¥17,920 a month for FY2026 (April 2026 to March 2027). National Health Insurance premiums depend on your income and your city, so ask your city office. Details: Health insurance and pension in Japan.

Resident tax (住民税, jūminzei) is based on last year’s income and usually starts in June of your second year in Japan. If you spend all your pay in year one, it comes as a shock. See Taxes for workers in Japan.

Sending money home

The survey’s “money sent to family” line (¥1,780) mostly covers allowances to family members living elsewhere in Japan. It does not tell you what you will send abroad. Decide your amount first, then plan the rest of the month around it. Use a licensed bank or a funds transfer provider registered with the Financial Services Agency, and compare the total cost: the fee plus the exchange rate. Our guide Opening a bank account and sending money home safely explains how to check a provider.

Build your own monthly budget

1. Start from your take-home pay on your payslip, not your contract salary.
2. Subtract fixed costs: rent and management fee, electricity, gas, water, phone and internet, and transport not paid by your employer.
3. If you pay them yourself, subtract the National Pension premium and your National Health Insurance premium.
4. Put aside money for resident tax if it is not deducted yet, and for any yearly costs such as fire insurance renewal.
5. Set your amount to send home and your savings next, before spending money.
6. Divide what is left into food, daily goods and free spending. Check it every month for three months, then adjust.

Keep an emergency fund. Moving out, a broken phone or a trip home can cost a month of pay or more. Try to build up savings for emergencies before you send large amounts abroad.

Your first month costs more

The first month is the most expensive. Besides the apartment move-in costs, you may need furniture, bedding, kitchen basics, a phone, and a commuter pass before your first salary arrives. Ask your employer when your first payday is: it can be several weeks after you start. See Your first 14 days in Japan for the paperwork you must do in the same weeks.

Common mistakes

• Planning a budget from your contract salary instead of your take-home pay.
• Comparing your rent with the survey average without remembering that it includes people who pay no rent.
• Forgetting resident tax, which usually starts in June of your second year.
• Sending most of your pay home in the first months and having nothing left for emergencies.
• Using an unregistered money transfer service because the fee looks low.
• Eating out every day: in the survey it was almost half of all food spending.

Learn the numbers you will see on price tags and payslips in Numbers and counting, and the phrases for shops in Shopping conversation.