Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Kawagoe

For one person, living is cheaper in Kawagoe: $1,084 a month against $3,500 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $29,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

169

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
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Singapore Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Kawagoe
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Kawagoe Living Index

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Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,500

/mo nomad

Kawagoe

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,084

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Kawagoe

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Singapore and in Kawagoe actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,500 in Singapore versus $1,084 in Kawagoe.

Singapore $3,500
Kawagoe $1,084

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,265 in Singapore versus $1,747 in Kawagoe.

Singapore $5,265
Kawagoe $1,747

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,030 in Singapore versus $2,409 in Kawagoe.

Singapore $7,030
Kawagoe $2,409

Living in Singapore is roughly 223% more expensive than in Kawagoe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Singapore is 159% above, Kawagoe is 20% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.76 SGD 15.05

$6.38 ¥1,008

84.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.6 SGD 90.4

$40.89 ¥6,460

72.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 SGD 10.94

$5.02 ¥793

70.32%

Cappuccino

$5.20 SGD 6.66

$3.41 ¥539

52.49%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 SGD 2.27

$0.93 ¥146

90.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 SGD 1.58

$0.49 ¥78.0

151.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.26 SGD 10.58

$1.92 ¥304

330.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.17 SGD 13.01

$2.64 ¥417

285.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.04 SGD 3.89

$1.16 ¥183

162.07%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 SGD 3.26

$1.29 ¥203

97.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.86 SGD 3.66

$3.59 ¥566

-20.33%

Eggs

$3.53 SGD 4.51

$2.02 ¥320

74.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.12 SGD 27.02

$6.14 ¥970

243.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.90 SGD 12.67

$6.24 ¥987

58.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.42 SGD 32.53

$14.67 ¥2,318

73.28%

Apples (1kg)

$4.57 SGD 5.85

$5.61 ¥887

-18.54%

Banana (1kg)

$3.13 SGD 4.00

$2.30 ¥364

36.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.72 SGD 6.04

$2.81 ¥445

67.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.23 SGD 2.85

$3.11 ¥492

-28.30%

Potato (1kg)

$2.57 SGD 3.29

$2.55 ¥403

0.78%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 SGD 2.93

$1.87 ¥296

22.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.87 SGD 2.39

$1.30 ¥206

43.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 SGD 1.84

$0.74 ¥117

94.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.97 SGD 17.88

$3.86 ¥609

261.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.48 SGD 30.05

$4.87 ¥770

382.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.54 SGD 5.80

$1.74 ¥275

160.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 SGD 5.68

$2.03 ¥320

118.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.57 SGD 2.01

$2.98 ¥471

-47.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.8 SGD 120

$53.7 ¥8,488

74.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.64 SGD 4.66

$3.19 ¥504

14.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 SGD 0.97

$2.73 ¥431

-72.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.14 SGD 20.66

$20.42 ¥3,226

-20.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.45 SGD 3.14

$1.11 ¥175

120.72%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$155.2K SGD 198.5K

$15.7K ¥2.5M

886.37%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$148.5K SGD 190.0K

$12.9K ¥2.0M

1054.18%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$172 SGD 220

$131 ¥20.7K

31.06%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$12.39 SGD 15.86

$22.38 ¥3,536

-44.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.21 SGD 33.54

$31.77 ¥5,020

-17.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$108 SGD 138

$43.88 ¥6,932

146.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.31 SGD 15.75

$32.08 ¥5,068

-61.63%

Cinema Ticket

$11.64 SGD 14.90

$11.12 ¥1,757

4.68%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,481 SGD 1,895

$315 ¥49.8K

370.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K SGD 36.3K

$6,305 ¥996.1K

349.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.6 SGD 103

$31.87 ¥5,035

152.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.1 SGD 64.1

$33.30 ¥5,261

50.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$43.84 ¥6,926

155.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 SGD 165

$96.3 ¥15.2K

33.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,015 SGD 3,858

$417 ¥65.8K

623.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,171 SGD 2,778

$273 ¥43.1K

694.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,842 SGD 7,475

$844 ¥133.4K

592.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,044 SGD 5,174

$594 ¥93.8K

581.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.8K SGD 30.4K

$2,561 ¥404.5K

829.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.8K SGD 21.4K

$1,760 ¥278.0K

852.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,385 SGD 5,611

$1,614 ¥255.0K

171.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

1.6

52.50%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Singapore: October 13, 2026

Last update for Kawagoe: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.2K 62%

Kawagoe

$273 25.2% 87.4% $1.9K

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$458 13.1%

Kawagoe

$257 23.7% 43.8% $200

Eating Out

Singapore

$256 7.3%

Kawagoe

$128 11.8% 50.1% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$210 6%

Kawagoe

$185 17.1% 12% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$167 4.8%

Kawagoe

$92 8.5% 44.7% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$131 3.8%

Kawagoe

$66 6.1% 49.6% $65

Getting Around

Singapore

$107 3.1%

Kawagoe

$83 7.6% 23.2% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $3,015 in Singapore and $417 in Kawagoe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 172% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $71.0 in Singapore vs $41.00 in Kawagoe for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $458 vs $257 per month, with Kawagoe cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇯🇵 Kawagoe

🕒 Local time

09:36 9:36 AM

10:36 10:36 AM

1 h ahead of Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

350,745

💱 Currency

Singapore Dollar SGD $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.695 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to SGD – Singapore Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇬 Singapore Dollar ($)

Singapore Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 SGD (1 SGD = 0.695 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to SGD in detail →

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Between locations

Singapore Kawagoe 5,320 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Singapore
Kawagoe

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Singapore vs Kawagoe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Singapore and Kawagoe differ by about 223% in total monthly costs ($3,500 vs $1,084 including rent). Kawagoe is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 172% higher in Singapore, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $3,015 in Singapore versus $417 in Kawagoe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kawagoe – a meal for two runs $41.00 versus $71.0 in Singapore. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $3,500 per month in Singapore versus $1,084 in Kawagoe – a 223% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,084 in Kawagoe versus $3,500 in Singapore, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kawagoe but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Kawagoe the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Singapore and Kawagoe are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Kawagoe gentler on the wallet – expenses run 223% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.