# Helsinki vs Tokyo

> On balanced weights, Helsinki comes out ahead: 53 against 50 out of 100, mostly on happiness and research output. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/helsinki-fi-vs-tokyo-jp/

Scores out of 100: Helsinki 53, Tokyo 50. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=helsinki-fi,tokyo-jp

## Line by line

| Line | Helsinki | Tokyo |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,532 take-home a month | €3,618 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | €2,683 a month (Rents of dwellings (Statistics Finland table 15fc); World Development Indicators) | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 23 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 22 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 5 h 49 min | 9 h 44 min |
| Sunshine | 1,890 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) | 1,927 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) |
| Dry days | 143 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 131 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 5.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 10.8 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 1.0 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 0.2 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 82.3 years (World Development Indicators) | 84.0 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €58 a month (World Development Indicators) | €33 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 51 weeks (mother 40, father 11) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 68 weeks (mother 36, father 32) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.80 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 5.89 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 61 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 41 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 17 km (OurAirports airports) | 18 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 52 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | no data |
| Rail and metro stations | 81 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 458 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | 35 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | no data |
| Cycle network | 7.00 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 0.11 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 93 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 100 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 22.0 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | no data |
| Quick way out by bike | 9.2 km, about 37 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 34.0 km, about 136 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 2 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 8 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 51 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 29.6 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 5.5 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 38 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 44 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 70 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | no data |
| International crowd | 17.5 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | no data |
| Doctors | 3.6 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 2.7 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 9.5 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 2.5 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 49.9 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | no data |
| Developers around | 21.5 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 6.5 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 2.14 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 1.45 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre, 5.5 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | no data |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | also on social or economic grounds; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | legal, no union in law; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 19 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 61 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 11 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 11 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 19 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 26 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 9 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 168 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 203 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 110 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 180 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 146 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 93 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 77 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 38 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 14 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 19 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Helsinki or Tokyo?

Everyday prices are lower in Japan: 69.0 against 90.6 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Tokyo, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Helsinki and in Tokyo?

About €42,379 a year in Helsinki (Finland 2026 tax rules) and JP¥7,647,069 in Tokyo (Japan 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Helsinki or Tokyo?

Tokyo is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 20.8 °C against 9.3 °C in Helsinki (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Helsinki or Tokyo?

Helsinki has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 5.4 µg/m³ against 10.8 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2019).

### Can a citizen of Finland live and work in Tokyo without a visa?

No. Citizens of Finland need a visa or permit to live and work in Japan.

## Cite

Borgo, "Helsinki vs Tokyo", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/helsinki-fi-vs-tokyo-jp/, figures as of 2026-11-05.