Tokyo and Los Angeles are both known as vibrant, bustling cities. These two major metropolises have many differences, but they also share a range of similarities.
This article will explore the many comparisons between Tokyo and Los Angeles.
Comparing Tokyo vs Los Angeles
The following topics will be covered in this comparison guide.
- World location
- Size
- Population
- Real estate
- Cost of living
- Income
- Languages
- Weather
- Education
- Sports
- Transportation
World Location
Tokyo is the capital of Japan. The city, which was once called Edo, is located on Tokyo Bay. The bay is located on the eastern or Pacific coast of Honshu, which is Tokyo’s largest island. Tokyo is part of the Kanto region.
Los Angeles is located in California in the United States. The city is situated along the Pacific Ocean in the southern part of the state. It is the seat of Los Angeles County.
Size
Los Angeles has a total square mileage of 501.55. About 469 square miles are land, and another 32 square miles is water. The city has an elevation of about 305 feet.
Tokyo has a total size of 847.14 square miles. The elevation of the city varies drastically. The highest elevation is 6,617 feet, while the lowest is equal to sea level.
Population
The city of Tokyo has a total population of 13,988,129 as of 2022. The metropolitan area has a total population of about 37,468,000 people.
As of 2020, Los Angeles has a total population of 3,898,747, and the greater metropolitan area has a population of about 13,200,988. Los Angeles is the second-most populous city in the U.S., behind New York City.
Real Estate
Tokyo is known for its high cost of living, and the cost of real estate makes up a large portion of that cost. A new apartment in Tokyo in one of the busier areas sells for about $533,500.
Living spaces in Tokyo are also very small, which brings the price per square foot up significantly. The average price per square foot for a home in Tokyo is about $7,790.
Prices for a mortgage or rent vary greatly in Los Angeles, as some areas are much more desirable than others.
If you’re purchasing a home in Los Angeles, the price per square foot can range from $311 to about $1,320, and the average price per square foot is $507.
If you’re renting a home, the average price per square foot is about $34.
Homes are generally quite large in Los Angeles, which brings the average price per square foot down. However, homes in the city are also quite expensive. The average cost of a home is about $991,551.
Cost of Living
Los Angeles, like most of California, has a relatively high cost of living. A single person living in the city can expect to pay about $1,085 per month, excluding rent. A family of four usually spends about $3,950 per month, without rent.
The cost of living in Tokyo is quite similar to that of Los Angeles. A single person in Tokyo will generally spend about $1,008 per month, without taking rent or a mortgage payment into account. A family of four will spend about $3,660 per month, not including rent.
Income
The average income in Tokyo is about 6 million yen per year, which is about 2 million yen more than the national average for Japan. Six million yen equals about $43,777, which gives an average monthly salary of about $3,648.
The average annual income for an individual in Los Angeles is about $30,225. This means that the average monthly salary in Los Angeles is $2,518.75.
Languages
Los Angeles is a very diverse city, and immigrants from more than 140 countries call the area home.
About 224 languages are spoken in the city. However, the most commonly spoken languages are English and Spanish.
Korean is also very common, and other commonly spoken languages include Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Armenian, Hebrew, and Arabic.
Japanese is the official language of Tokyo. Japanese is also the only language spoken by most of the people living in the area.
However, many people, particularly those who work in hospitality, tourism, or whose work calls on them to connect with business contacts around the world, also speak English.
Almost a million people in the region also speak Okinawan, which is a dialect of Japanese.
Weather
Tokyo has a humid subtropical climate. This means that summers are generally quite warm, with daytime temperatures in the mid to high 80s.
Winters in Tokyo are relatively mild, and temperatures usually hover in the mid-30s or 40s, although freezing temperatures do occur, particularly at night.
Summers are very humid, and rain is common. Tokyo gets about 3 inches of snow per year, with most snow falling in January and February.
Los Angeles has what is considered to be a Mediterranean climate. Summers are hot and dry, and temperatures are usually in the 80s. The summer months see very little rain.
Winters in Los Angeles are mild, and temperatures rarely drop below 40 degrees. Most of the time, winter temperatures are in the 60s and 70s.
Winters tend to have more rain than the summers, and about 3 inches of rain will fall per month in December, January, and February.
Education
Tokyo is known for its excellent education system. Both public and private schools are available for children from kindergarten through senior high school.
The city is also home to many prestigious universities, including the University of Tokyo, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meiji University, and Tokyo University of Science.
The United Nations University is also located in Tokyo.
Los Angeles is served by the Los Angeles Unified School District and has a student population of about 800,000 students from kindergarten through high school.
Although Los Angeles features many excellent public schools, the school district is often underfunded, and campuses are generally overcrowded, with a high teacher-to-student ratio.
Los Angeles is also home to three public universities and is known for its excellent private universities, which include the American Film Institute Conservatory, Loyola Marymount University, and the University of Southern California.
Sports
Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan, and Tokyo is home to two professional baseball clubs, called the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and the Yomiuri Giants.
Tokyo also has three professional soccer clubs and three basketball teams. Tokyo was also the first Asian city to host the Summer Olympic Games in 1964.
The city hosted the Summer Olympics again in 2020.
Sports culture is also very important to Los Angeles residents. The city has several professional sports teams, and some professional teams that are based in nearby communities use the city in their name.
The teams Los Angeles is home to include two professional football teams, the Rams and the Chargers, two professional baseball teams, the Angels and the Dodgers, and two professional basketball teams, the Clippers and the Lakers.
Los Angeles is also home to the Kings and the Anaheim Ducks, which are professional hockey teams, and the Los Angeles Galaxy and Los Angeles FC, which are professional soccer clubs.
The Los Angeles Sparks are the city’s professional women’s basketball team.
Transportation
Getting around Los Angeles in a timely manner is notoriously difficult. The city is served by a network of freeways and highways, but these roads are often heavily congested.
A transit system of buses, light rails, and subways helps to relieve some of this congestion and makes it easier for people to travel around the city.
Tokyo is the largest hub in Japan for rail and ground transportation. The city is known for its clean, speedy trains and subways, and there are more than 900 stations within Tokyo to make transportation as efficient as possible.
A system of trams and buses further reduces congestion within the city and makes transportation simple.
