Japan
Latest Average Wage
−2.2% · 5 years
$50,183
Country Comparison
Japan vs South Korea
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Japan
vs
South Korea
$50,1832025
Latest Average Wage
South Korea +22.1%
(vs Japan)
$61,2592025
−2.2%2025
5-Year Wage Change
South Korea +5.3 pts
(vs Japan)
+3.1%2025
−1.6%2025
10-Year Wage Change
South Korea +20.0 pts
(vs Japan)
+18.3%2025
59.22024
Overall Price Level
South Korea +0.9 index points
(vs Japan)
60.12024
Wages are PPP-adjusted average annual wages; price levels use the United States reference of 100. Years shown are each country's latest reported observation.
How Wages Have Changed
Follow PPP-adjusted average annual wages in constant prices across both economies.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
South Korea
Latest Average Wage
+3.1% · 5 years
$61,259
Wage Milestones
Japan
10 Years Ago
$51,027 (2015)
Historical Peak
$52,662 (1997)
Latest Wage
$50,183 (2025)
South Korea
10 Years Ago
$51,769 (2015)
Historical Peak
$61,259 (2025)
Latest Wage
$61,259 (2025)
Compare Everyday Price Levels
See how eight consumer price categories compare with the United States reference value of 100.
United States = 100 · Differences shown in index points
Japan (JPN)South Korea (KOR)
Overall
−0.9 index points
100
59.2vs60.1
Food
−24.0 index points
100
112vs136
Clothing
−32.0 index points
100
71vs103
Housing
+10.5 index points
100
48.5vs38
Health
−3.1 index points
100
33.9vs37
Transport
+10.6 index points
100
84.4vs73.8
Recreation
+6.8 index points
100
78.4vs71.6
Restaurants & Accommodation
−9.8 index points
100
72.6vs82.4
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
South Korea's latest average wage is $61,259 for 2025, about 22.1% higher than Japan's $50,183 for 2025 — a relative difference calculated from the two reported values. In annual terms the gap comes to about $11,077 on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, South Korea shows the stronger movement at +0.6%, against −0.5% for Japan. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +3.1% against −2.2%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Clothing shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 71 for Japan against 103 for South Korea. Measured on the US=100 scale, the two readings for this category are 32.0 index points apart, South Korea above Japan. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Overall: Japan reads 59.2 and South Korea 60.1 for 2024, just 0.9 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Health at 3.1 index points apart. Two readings this close mean the category sits at nearly the same point of the US=100 scale for both.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
A clear separation shows in the latest wage figures — South Korea at $61,259 for 2025, and Japan at $50,183 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 22.1% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $11,077 a year. Because both values already sit on the same USD PPP, constant-2025-price footing, the comparison adjusts for price-level differences between the two economies. For scale, neither series has moved by that much within any single reported year, so the gap is structural rather than the product of one unusual observation. Over ten years Japan recorded −1.6% against South Korea's +18.3%, so the current levels were reached on visibly different long-term paths.
Wage Direction
This pairing shows two wage paths pulling apart rather than tracking each other. Japan continues to drift below its peak, with a one-year change of −0.5% and a five-year change of −2.2%. South Korea sits at the highest point of its series — $61,259 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +18.3%. With South Korea gaining in real terms at +3.1% over five years and Japan at −2.2%, the five-year measures move away from each other rather than closing in. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
Japan's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 59.2, and South Korea's reads 60.1, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Neither country is uniformly higher: Japan leads in 3 of the 8 comparable categories and South Korea in 5, so the profile splits by category rather than by country. The widest separation is in Clothing: 71 for Japan against 103 for South Korea, a gap of 32.0 index points. At the other end, Overall brings the two closest — 59.2 versus 60.1, a gap of just 0.9 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Japan reads above 100 in 1 of its 8 reported categories, and South Korea in 2 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
