Apr 2, 2014
[Expensive?/Cheap?] Average Monthly Salary and Cost of Living Rankings by Prefecture
Today I would like to focus on the cost of living in relation to each region of Japan.
When you start living in Japan and plan to stay for a significant amount of time, the cost of living will definitely affect your way of life. There was a time when I was considering moving abroad, when I felt like I wanted to live abroad. But I didn't know how much it would cost, if I would find any work, or if I could find an affordable place to live near my potential workplace or school.
I think, because I've seen the statistics of various data while building this post, I should share my findings with you.
Top 5 Prefectures With a High Income
- 1. Kanagawa Prefecture
Monthly Income: ¥539,542
Monthly Expenses: ¥439,542
Proportion of spending as a percentage of income: 85%
2. Toyama Prefecture
Monthly Income: ¥532,778
Monthly Expenses: ¥453,957
Proportion of spending as a percentage of income: 85%
3. Fukui Prefecture
Monthly Income: ¥525,269
Monthly Expenses: ¥423,336
Proportion of spending as a percentage of income: 81%
4. Tochigi Prefecture
Monthly Income: ¥524,816
Monthly Expenses: ¥434,374
Proportion of spending as a percentage of income: 83%
5. Tokyo
Monthly Income: ¥516,794
Monthly Expenses: ¥420,304
Proportion of spending as a percentage of income: 81%
I was really surprised with this result! I thought Tokyo would be the highest, but in fact Kanagawa Prefecture seems to be the highest, with Tokyo ranked in the 5th place!
The households from which the data was taken are paying either rent or mortgage and are targeted toward those who are in their 40s. Results can vary though, because this is an average value. A more specific number could be found by performing research to refine a specific layer. With that being said, I think this is helpful information as the mean value in each region.
Also, I tried to calculate the “percentage of spending as a percentage of revenue,” but all regions results were between 80%-85%. You can see that even with a high income, monthly spending on expenses stays in the same range. So it seems it’s true that for most people: The more you make, the more you spend.
Now let’s take a look at the lowest ranking prefectures.
Top 5 Prefectures With a Low Income
1. Okinawa Prefecture
Monthly Income: ¥324,891
Monthly Expenses: ¥279,661
Proportion of spending as a percentage of income: 86%
2. Kumamoto Prefecture
Monthly income:¥ 403,905
Monthly Expenses: ¥353,321
Proportion of spending as a percentage of income: 87%
3. Kagoshima Prefecture
Monthly income: ¥407,492
Monthly Expenses: ¥349,403
Proportion of spending as a percentage of income: 86%
4. Iwate Prefecture
Monthly income: ¥408,926
Monthly Expenses: ¥354,082
Proportion of spending as a percentage of income: 87%
5. Ehime Prefecture
Monthly income: ¥412,523
Monthly Expenses: ¥346,459
Proportion of spending as a percentage of income: 84%
Of course these are generalized figures including many factors, so naturally things will be different from region to region and person to person, but you can see with a lower revenue, the proportion of expenditures rises to roughly 85%.
Proportion of spending as a percentage of its revenues is higher in the areas with low income, but it can be said that the amount you will spend on living costs may not change significantly.
Also, I wonder if residents with higher incomes turn their extra money into savings, or if they are spending even more after their monthly expenses.
What do you think? If you have more information about your particular area and the cost of living, or have some tips to share about saving money on monthly expenses
© studiopure - Fotolia.com
2 Comments
Haniya
on Jun 4
I wonder if residents with higher incomes turn their extra money into savings, or if they are spending even more after their monthly expenses.? http://kquotes.com/
helloalissa
on Apr 26
Wow. It's so high. Is this data based on all households? Families with two working adults? And is spending based on monthly costs of rent, utilities, food, transportation...? Including entertainment and other costs? This might be average, but it is possible to save a lot more. For example, our household's total spending (no kids) is about 30% of (one earner's low) income, and the rest is invested.