✦ Compare
Los Angeles vs
Sapporo
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
Los Angeles, CA vs Sapporo, JP at a glance — Sapporo, JP is 23% cheaper than Los Angeles, CA overall. Median 1-bed rent runs about $650/mo versus $2,400/mo. Top income tax: 45% vs 37%.
To keep the same standard of living in Sapporo, JP, you'd need
$57,992 / year
Sapporo, JP is 23% cheaper overall
Category breakdown (Sapporo, JP vs Los Angeles, CA)
- Housing-53%
- Food & groceries0%
- Transport-32%
- Utilities+31%
- Healthcare-9%
- Goods & services+2%
Median 1-bed rent
$2,400 /mo
Los Angeles, CA overview →
Median 1-bed rent
$650 /mo
Sapporo, JP overview →
◎ How Los Angeles, CA and Sapporo, JP compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Los Angeles, CA | Sapporo, JP | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 115 | 89 |
| Housing | 152 | 72 |
| Food | 95 | 95 |
| Transport | 114 | 78 |
| Utilities | 88 | 115 |
| Healthcare | 93 | 85 |
| Goods & services | 100 | 102 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $2,400/mo | $650/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $1,800/mo | $470/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $4,800/mo | $1,200/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $9,500 | $3,800 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $868 | $1,123 |
| Inexpensive meal | $20 | $8 |
| Monthly transit pass | $100 | $55 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 37% | 45% |
| VAT / sales tax | 0% | 10% |
| Social security (employee) | 7.7% | — |
| Corporate tax | 21% | 30% |
| Capital gains | 20% | 20.3% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $4,300/mo | $2,600/mo |
| Avg annual wage (OECD, PPP) | $86,977✓ | $50,183✓ |
| Minimum wage | $1,257/mo✓ | $1,300/mo |
| GDP per capita | $90,027✓ | $35,951✓ |
| Inflation (annual) | — | 3.2%✓ |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | No | Yes |
| English proficiency | Native | Low |
| Coworking spaces | 120 | 15 |
| Time zone | UTC-8 | UTC+9 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Quality of life (overall) | 61 | 76 |
| Safety index | 42 | 82 |
| Healthcare index | 78 | 84 |
| Pollution index | 60 | 30 |
| Internet speed | 200 Mbps | 220 Mbps |
| Walkability | 68 | 74 |
| Public transport | 55 | 80 |
| Family-friendly | 55 | 74 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Health insurance | $480/mo | — |
| Life expectancy | 79 yr✓ | 84 yr✓ |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | High | Moderate |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | +15 °C | -3 °C |
| July avg | +23 °C | +21 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 284 | 170 |
| Rainfall / year | 380 mm | 1,100 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1 h | 2 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: United States vs Japan. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
✓ = official statistics (OECD (PPP), US DOL (federal), World Bank 2025, World Bank 2024). Unmarked figures are CostTrek estimates. How we calculate these figures →
Cost of living: Los Angeles vs Sapporo — in your currency
Converted from USD at approximate rates (2026-09).
Good to know before you move to Los Angeles
Endless sun, entertainment and sprawl — you'll want a car, and traffic is a way of life.
- Currency
- US dollar ($ USD)
- Languages
- English
- Time zone
- UTC-8
- Internet
- 200 Mbps
- English
- Native language
- Safety
- 42/100
- Climate
- ❄ 15°C · ☀ 23°C · 284 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- A/B · 120V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Silver Lake · Santa Monica · DTLA
Good to know before you move to Sapporo
The spacious, grid-planned capital of Hokkaido — famous for snow, ramen, beer and easy access to world-class skiing. It keeps Japan's safety and reliability at noticeably lower rents than Tokyo or Osaka, with long, cold winters the main trade-off.
- Currency
- Japanese yen (¥ JPY)
- Languages
- Japanese
- Time zone
- UTC+9
- Internet
- 220 Mbps
- English
- Rarely spoken
- Safety
- 82/100
- Climate
- ❄ -3°C · ☀ 21°C · 170 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- A/B · 100V
- Driving
- Left-hand side
- Popular areas
- Chuo · Susukino · Odori · Maruyama
Plan your move to Los Angeles
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalDiscoverCars
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Parking & carWay.com
Sponsored
Plan your move to Sapporo
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalDiscoverCars
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Los Angeles to Sapporo: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Los Angeles to Sapporo, your cost of living will be roughly 23% cheaper. Sapporo’s cost-of-living index is 89 versus 115 for Los Angeles (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Los Angeles cheaper than Sapporo?
Sapporo is about 23% cheaper than Los Angeles overall — its cost-of-living index is 89 versus 115 for Los Angeles.
Which is more expensive, Los Angeles or Sapporo?
Los Angeles is more expensive than Sapporo. Its cost-of-living index is 115 vs 89 (US = 100) — about 29% higher.
Is rent cheaper in Los Angeles or Sapporo?
Rent is cheaper in Sapporo — about $650/month for a one-bedroom in the city centre, vs $2,400 in Los Angeles.
How much do you need to earn in Sapporo to live like in Los Angeles?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Los Angeles is worth about $57,992 in Sapporo. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Los Angeles or Sapporo?
United States has the lower top income-tax rate — 37% versus 45% in Japan.
◷ More comparisons from Los Angeles
How we calculate these figures →
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.