Tokyo Tops Household Income Rankings at ¥6.818M — 5ch: ‘Toyama Probably Has a Richer Quality of Life’

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The story

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ FY2024 National Survey of Family Income, Consumption and Wealth, the average annual income for all households nationwide was ¥5.937 million. By prefecture, Tokyo topped the list at ¥6.818 million, followed by Kanagawa, Aichi, Toyama, and Shiga, while Okinawa ranked last at ¥4.581 million, with Aomori, Miyazaki, Ehime, and Hokkaido also ranking low. In the same survey’s financial asset holdings, Nara Prefecture ranked first nationwide at ¥19.942 million, with Tokyo in second place. On 5ch threads, users voiced surprise at Osaka’s low ranking, pointed out that Tokyo’s high income doesn’t match reality once you factor in housing costs and prices, and debated the difference between averages and medians.

(Omitted)

According to the summary of results from the FY2024 National Survey of Family Income, Consumption and Wealth, the average annual income of all households nationwide (combining households of two or more people and single-person households) is ¥5.937 million. By prefecture, the highest is Tokyo at ¥6.818 million. It’s followed by Kanagawa at ¥6.495 million, Aichi at ¥6.491 million, Toyama at ¥6.422 million, and Shiga at ¥6.335 million.

Meanwhile, the lowest is Okinawa Prefecture at ¥4.581 million, followed by Aomori at ¥4.841 million, Miyazaki at ¥4.941 million, Ehime at ¥4.954 million, and Hokkaido at ¥4.983 million.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

11AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:35
Osaka lol
And they're talking about running for 'second capital'? Know your place lol
13AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:35
The so-called Chubu region is doing pretty well across the board
Guess 'no jobs out in the countryside' is a myth after all
22AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:38
Re: #13
There are jobs, it's just that all the seats feel taken
16AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:37
What's even in Toyama, Shiga, Fukui?
Also weird that Ishikawa got skipped over
23AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:39
Re: #16
I think Ishikawa's temporarily down because of the big earthquake (the 2024 Noto Peninsula quake)
56AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:54
Re: #16
Yeah, figured (´・ω・`)
Maybe the nuclear plant?
27AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:39
In Tokyo even a used house runs over ¥100 million, so you end up paying the bank ¥100 million through your mortgage
Making ¥1 million more than other prefectures doesn't buy you a decent life there
32AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:42
Re: #27
You can't even buy a house with land under it in Tokyo to begin with
Toyama probably has a richer quality of life
40AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:48
So the lowest-ranked Kanto prefecture still comes in at 15th
That's really what this all comes down to
140AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:40
Re: #40
Economic growth has been flat for the past thirty years
Meaning the total amount of wealth hasn't changed

The Tokyo-centralization policy just siphoned wealth out of the regions and funneled it into Tokyo, that's all
43AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:50
Threads like this pop up every single day lol
47AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:51
Re: #43
How's that make you feel?
48AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:51
Re: #43
Tough seeing the real numbers?
52AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:52
[Average Savings] Nara Prefecture tops financial asset holdings at ¥19.942 million, national average ¥15.272 million
In the same survey, looking at financial asset holdings (all households) — combining bank deposits, life insurance, securities, and the like — the national average comes to ¥15.272 million.

By prefecture:
Nara: ¥19.942 million
Tokyo: ¥18.652 million
Aichi: ¥18.339 million
Kanagawa: ¥18.298 million
Toyama: ¥17.760 million
61AnonymousOct 17, 2026 19:56
Re: #52
People have that much in assets on average, not even counting real estate?
I bought a condo so I've only got a few million yen left between savings and stocks

Is it the rich dragging the average up?
74AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:03
Re: #71
How the hell would Ohtani even pay his taxes in Tokyo lol
77AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:04
Re: #74
Guys earning that kind of money are the ones pulling the average up, so in reality most people are struggling
83AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:10
Why even bother putting out an average
86AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:11
Re: #83
Probably because the gap hasn't widened as much here as it has overseas
Say what you will, but plenty of countries abroad have serious, hardcore poverty
100AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:20
Re: #86
Nah, when it comes to money there's no ceiling on the high end
I really think averages are meaningless for that kind of thing
103AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:21
Re: #100
Apparently in a lot of countries overseas, kids still end up working alongside their parents even now
108AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:24
Re: #100
Japan's distinguishing feature is that there's not much gap between the average and the median
Overseas the gap is brutal, which makes the average pretty meaningless, so they lean on the median instead
88AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:14
With household income like this in Tokyo, wouldn't life end up about the same as a household on welfare?

Guess that's why Top Value private-label stuff sells so well at MyBasket (budget supermarket chain / AEON's house brand)
89AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:15
Re: #88
Probably because it's a totally different story inside the 23 wards versus outside them
Even within the 23 wards there should be a pretty wide gap in average income
94AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:17
Re: #88
Average savings is also 2nd nationwide, so say what you want, Tokyo's clearly where people with some financial breathing room tend to gather

Though the rich dragging up the average is probably part of it too
102AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:21
Re: #8
Why is Osaka's number so low?
It's Japan's second-biggest city
106AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:22
Re: #102
Pretty sure even Toyonaka and Suita (affluent Osaka suburbs) had average incomes below Adachi Ward (a Tokyo ward often cited as lower-income)
141AnonymousOct 17, 2026 20:40
The median income for full-time employees living in Tokyo is ¥3.99 million
By the way, earning ¥5 million in Tokyo gets you about the same standard of living as ¥3 million out in the countryside lol

Background and Key Points of This Topic

This FY2024 ‘National Survey of Family Income, Consumption and Wealth’ covers ‘all households’ — combining households of two or more people with single-person households — so differences in household size and number of earners have a major effect on the averages. Tokyo ranks first nationwide in average income, but the presence of high earners tends to inflate that average, and some argue that when you look at the median income for full-time employees, the gap with the national average isn’t actually that large. Japan is said to have a smaller gap between the average and the median than Western countries do, but it’s easy to overlook that this gap tends to widen in big cities where high-income earners mix together with single-person and non-regular-employment households. Also, since gaps in living costs like housing and prices run wider than the regional gaps in income, it would be premature to judge quality of life purely from income rankings. As for Osaka Prefecture’s ranking, some posts in the thread made confident claims blaming the tax system or regional character, but in reality multiple factors — such as differences in household makeup and employment type — likely play a role, so such simple conclusions should be taken with caution.

※This article excerpts and summarizes the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread ‘[Average Household Income by Prefecture] National average ¥5.937 million, Tokyo ranks No. 1 at ¥6.818 million. Also looking at average savings.’

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