$150,000 in San Francisco ≈ ¥12,775,904 in Tokyo
San Francisco vs Tokyo: cost of living, compared
Equivalence is solved so household net cash matches across both cities, with taxes, housing, childcare, healthcare, food, and travel all included.
The bottom line
- →$150,000 in San Francisco leaves about the same net cash as ¥12,775,904 in Tokyo for this scenario, after real taxes and living costs.
- →Taxes take 29.4% of gross in San Francisco versus 29.5% in Tokyo.
- →The biggest non-cash swing: 10 more vacation days per year in Tokyo.
Where each paycheck goes
Every unit of gross, split four ways. Same net cash, very different shape.
Full Breakdown
| Category | San Francisco | Tokyo | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $150,000 | ¥12,775,904 ($80,195) | Equivalent |
| Income + payroll tax | −$44,053 (29.4%) | −¥3,762,856 (29.5%) | About the same |
| Housing (rent) | −$58,224 2 bed listings typically $3,690 to $5,580 | −¥2,892,000 2 bed listings typically ¥180,400 to ¥272,800 | ~69% less |
| Healthcare (household) | −$4,490 | −¥86,000 + ¥629,213 statutory health & care, household total (already in tax above) | Universal |
| Food & groceries | −$8,000 | −¥682,857 | ~46% less |
| Transit | −$972 | −¥120,000 | ~23% less |
| Discretionary spending | −$2,778 | −¥144,444 | ~67% less |
| Travel home | −$300 | −¥120,000 | ~151% more |
| Net cash kept | $31,183 | ¥4,967,746 | Equal in real terms |
Live in either city? Flag any number that looks off.
Computed at the city-median tech-worker salary, San Francisco (typical professional). Each figure is in the city's local currency, from the same engine as the calculator; sources are cited per row there.
What changes beyond the money
- Statutory vacation days~0 → ~10
- Total paid days off, typical year~11 → ~24.3
- Paid parental leave10 wks → 31 wks
- Healthcare systemEmployer / private → Universal
These numbers use one scenario's assumptions. Plug in your own salary, family size, and lifestyle.
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Moving from San Francisco to Tokyo
$150,000 in San Francisco is worth ¥12,775,904 in Tokyo on a household net-cash basis. That is the equivalence figure this tool solves for: the Tokyo gross salary whose take-home, after taxes and local costs, lands in the same place as your San Francisco take-home. Most people are surprised by how large the number is. Most of the gap is taxes.
Effective tax rates land within a point of each other: 29.4% in San Francisco, 29.5% in Tokyo.
Healthcare in Tokyo is universal. San Francisco households pay $4,490 in premiums and out-of-pocket costs per year, and that spending disappears in Tokyo. It won't show up in a take-home comparison, but it's real money.
Tokyo workers get 10 vacation days per year. San Francisco averages 0. That 10-day gap does not appear in any salary comparison, but at a typical professional's daily rate it represents thousands of dollars of time that stays in your life rather than being bought back by your employer.
Living costs (housing, food, transit, discretionary) total $69,974 in San Francisco and ¥3,839,302 in Tokyo at these scenario defaults. The breakdown table shows each line item separately, with source citations and last-updated dates available on hover.
Who comes out ahead
You keep 39% of gross there versus 21%. Housing drives most of that gap.
You also get universal healthcare and more paid leave on top of the money math in Tokyo. Run the family scenario to see it.
Tokyo gives you 13 more paid days off in a typical year and 21 more weeks of paid leave, none of which shows on an offer letter.
Common questions
How much do you need to earn in Tokyo to match a $150,000 salary in San Francisco?
About ¥12,775,904. cityparity solves for the Tokyo gross salary whose net cash (after taxes, housing, childcare, healthcare, and the rest) equals what you keep in San Francisco. It's an equivalence, not a raw conversion.
Is healthcare free in Tokyo?
Tokyo has universal public healthcare, so you avoid US-style deductibles and surprise medical bills. But most working professionals still carry private top-up cover, which cityparity models at about ¥86,000 a year and counts in the comparison.
How much vacation and parental leave do you get in Tokyo?
Tokyo has 26 statutory paid days off a year (vacation plus public holidays) and 110 weeks of parental leave. The substitute-day rule covers only one of the two weekend days, so holidays that land on a weekend are lost and a typical year works out at about 24 days. cityparity compares cities on the typical figure and keeps the statutory one as the underlying fact.
Actually looking to move?
The steps this move actually takes, in the order they happen.
Sort the work permit. Your employer usually files this one, and the processing time sets your move date. Everything below waits on it.How permits work
Land the offer. ¥12,775,904 is your walk-away floor. Our negotiation guide turns it into an anchor, the scripts to hold it, and the trades to make when the base is capped.Get the scripts
Get moving quotes. Once the contract is signed, price the move itself. ReloAdvisor collects quotes for shipping and short-term housing on the Tokyo end.Get quotes
Move the money. The deposit on a Tokyo flat is usually due before you have a local account. Wise converts USD to JPY at the mid-market rate.Compare rates
Cover the health insurance. Most arrivals hit a gap between leaving one health system and joining the next. Allianz Care quotes interim cover for it.Get a quote
Plan the tax filing. A US passport keeps the IRS in your life in Tokyo, on top of whatever Japan wants. Taxes for Expats files the US side for Americans abroad: the exclusion, the foreign tax credit, and the catch-up program if you are already behind.Get a quote
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Take these numbers into the offer conversation
Get the break-even salary, rent and one-income scenarios, moving budget, and recruiter ask range for San Francisco → Tokyo. Change the salary before checkout and every input inside the report.
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