Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Kurume

For one person, living is cheaper in Kurume: $965 a month against $3,500 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $30,400 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Kurume
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Kurume Living Index

Jump to prices

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,500

/mo nomad

Kurume

🇯🇵 Japan

$965

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Kurume

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 Kurume actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,500 in Singapore versus $965 in Kurume.

Singapore $3,500
Kurume $965

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,265 in Singapore versus $1,529 in Kurume.

Singapore $5,265
Kurume $1,529

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,030 in Singapore versus $2,092 in Kurume.

Singapore $7,030
Kurume $2,092

Living in Singapore is roughly 263% more expensive than in Kurume, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Singapore is 159% above, Kurume is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.76 SGD 15.05

$4.43 ¥700

165.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.6 SGD 90.4

$43.67 ¥6,900

61.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 SGD 10.94

$3.81 ¥601

124.41%

Cappuccino

$5.20 SGD 6.66

$1.91 ¥302

172.25%

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

$1.77 SGD 2.27

$0.66 ¥104

168.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 SGD 1.58

$0.55 ¥86.2

123.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.26 SGD 10.58

$3.20 ¥505

158.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.17 SGD 13.01

$1.60 ¥252

535.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.04 SGD 3.89

$1.25 ¥197

143.20%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 SGD 3.26

$1.25 ¥197

104.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.86 SGD 3.66

$5.13 ¥810

-44.25%

Eggs

$3.53 SGD 4.51

$1.88 ¥296

87.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.12 SGD 27.02

$17.85 ¥2,821

18.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.90 SGD 12.67

$5.33 ¥841

85.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.42 SGD 32.53

$19.13 ¥3,022

32.88%

Apples (1kg)

$4.57 SGD 5.85

$3.70 ¥584

23.51%

Banana (1kg)

$3.13 SGD 4.00

$1.87 ¥296

67.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.72 SGD 6.04

$2.89 ¥456

63.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.23 SGD 2.85

$3.26 ¥515

-31.60%

Potato (1kg)

$2.57 SGD 3.29

$2.13 ¥336

20.66%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 SGD 2.93

$2.63 ¥416

-12.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.87 SGD 2.39

$1.06 ¥168

76.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 SGD 1.84

$0.98 ¥154

46.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.97 SGD 17.88

$3.64 ¥575

283.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.48 SGD 30.05

$6.21 ¥981

278.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.54 SGD 5.80

$1.64 ¥260

176.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 SGD 5.68

$1.15 ¥181

286.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.57 SGD 2.01

$1.51 ¥238

3.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.8 SGD 120

$46.98 ¥7,423

99.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.64 SGD 4.66

$3.96 ¥626

-8.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 SGD 0.97

$2.11 ¥333

-63.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.14 SGD 20.66

$17.62 ¥2,784

-8.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.45 SGD 3.14

$0.60 ¥94.5

308.33%

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

$155.2K SGD 198.5K

$21.5K ¥3.4M

622.38%

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

$148.5K SGD 190.0K

$17.8K ¥2.8M

736.28%

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

$172 SGD 220

$210 ¥33.1K

-18.17%

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

$12.39 SGD 15.86

$24.97 ¥3,944

-50.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.21 SGD 33.54

$22.59 ¥3,570

16.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$108 SGD 138

$55.2 ¥8,724

95.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.31 SGD 15.75

Cinema Ticket

$11.64 SGD 14.90

$6.82 ¥1,078

70.67%

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

$1,481 SGD 1,895

$127 ¥20.1K

1062.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K SGD 36.3K

$12.5K ¥2.0M

127.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.6 SGD 103

$48.62 ¥7,682

65.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.1 SGD 64.1

$12.36 ¥1,953

305.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$24.78 ¥3,915

351.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 SGD 165

$31.02 ¥4,901

315.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,015 SGD 3,858

$531 ¥83.9K

467.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,171 SGD 2,778

$126 ¥20.0K

1616.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,842 SGD 7,475

$468 ¥73.9K

1149.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,044 SGD 5,174

$315 ¥49.8K

1184.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.8K SGD 30.4K

$4,267 ¥674.1K

457.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.8K SGD 21.4K

$1,883 ¥297.4K

789.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,385 SGD 5,611

$1,537 ¥242.8K

185.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

1.97

23.86%

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

Last update for Singapore: October 13, 2026

Last update for Kurume: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.2K 62%

Kurume

$126 13.1% 94.2% $2K

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$458 13.1%

Kurume

$299 30.9% 34.7% $159

Eating Out

Singapore

$256 7.3%

Kurume

$94 9.7% 63.3% $162

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$210 6%

Kurume

$257 26.7% 22.4% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$167 4.8%

Kurume

$53 5.5% 68.6% $115

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$131 3.8%

Kurume

$69 7.1% 47.6% $62

Getting Around

Singapore

$107 3.1%

Kurume

$68 7% 37.2% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $3,015 in Singapore and $531 in Kurume. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 185% 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 $44.00 in Kurume for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $458 vs $299 per month, with Kurume cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇯🇵 Kurume

🕒 Local time

16:48 4:48 PM

17:48 5:48 PM

1 h ahead of Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

303,316

💱 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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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 Kurume: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Singapore and Kurume differ by about 263% in total monthly costs ($3,500 vs $965 including rent). Kurume is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 185% 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 $531 in Kurume. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 53% higher in Singapore. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Kurume – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $71.0 in Singapore. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $965 in Kurume versus $3,500 in Singapore, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kurume but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Kurume 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 Kurume 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 Kurume gentler on the wallet – expenses run 263% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.