Living in Chikuma

In Chikuma, rents across existing tenancies average €5.28 per m² a month (2023).

At the end of 2020, unemployment in Chikuma reached 3.59%. At the end of 2020, the population density reached 491.3 people per km².

Last checked 2026-09-2428 sources

Population58,537people1 Jan 2026Official source · Resident Register Population, Population Movement and Number of Households Survey; 2026-01-01 municipal total

Median gross salary (region)268.5EUR/month31 Dec 2024Official source · www.e-stat.go.jp

Average net rent5.28EUR/m²/monthcountry median €6.27 — 16% belowOfficial source · www.e-stat.go.jp

Unemployment rate3.59%country median 3.8% — 5% belowOfficial source · 総務省統計局 (e-Stat, 国勢調査2020 就業状態等基本集計第1-2表)

Recorded crime406.9incidents per 100,00031 Dec 2025Regional figureOfficial source · 令和７年の犯罪情勢 / 令和７年の犯罪情勢統計表, 図表1-5-2

PM2.5, annual mean7.9µg/m³country median 8.4 — 6% belowOfficial source · tenbou.nies.go.jp

Cheaper rent than 71% of Japanese cities that publish it and cleaner air than 64% of Japanese cities that publish it.

Which Japan-wide rules apply when you move to Chikuma?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in JapanNational rates and thresholds that apply in Chikuma.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

Japan's Housing and Land Survey monthly-rent measure excludes security deposits, key money/right money and common-area charges. The Ministry of Land says deposit terms vary by regional custom; these sources provide context, not a comparable city-level distribution. Statistics Bureau glossary (2018) · MLIT rental-housing Q&A.

How much does it cost to rent in Chikuma?

Average net cold rent is about 5.28 EUR/m² per month (2023 Housing and Land Survey), excluding heating and operating charges.

Published average over existing tenancies; a specific flat can sit either side of it. Asking-rent series, where present, are separate rows in the table.

Average net rent (nettokalt): 5.28 EUR/m²/month · www.e-stat.go.jp¹⁵

What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€32

Mobile plan, 10 GB€22

Net rent across major citiesChikuma highlighted among comparable cities

net rent, € / m² / month

Kawasaki€13.36

Yokohama€11.97

Osaka€10.65

Kyoto€10.46

Sapporo€7.56

Chikuma€5.28

Show the other 6 cities

Saitama€10.37

Fukuoka€9.00

Kobe€8.87

Sendai€8.85

Nagoya€8.81

Hiroshima€8.38

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	31.61 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	ドコモ光月額料金 — NTTドコモ¹⁷Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	21.56 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	docomo mini 10GB²Official · national market
Average net rent (nettokalt)	5.28 EUR/m²/monthcountry median €6.27	31 Dec 2023	www.e-stat.go.jp¹⁵Official
Average monthly rent (whole dwelling)	286.1 EUR/month	31 Oct 2023	Housing and Land Survey 2023, Table 112-3-2: Monthly Rent of Dwelling by Type of Dwelling — Japan, prefecture, shi, ku, machi and mura⁵Official

Is Chikuma a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile

Remote worker56%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 47–65%

Skilled employee62%strong on work, weak on safety · range 54–70%

Student58%strong on education, weak on work · range 50–66%

Family61%strong on safety, weak on legal route · range 52–70%

Retirement55%strong on safety, weak on admin · range 45–65%

Worked out from these numbers

What does a 60 m² flat cost?

About 317 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of about 5.28 EUR/m² per month, before heating and operating charges.

Heating, water and operating charges come on top, and a specific flat can sit either side of an average.

Source period: 2023 Housing and Land Survey

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Chikuma?

The unemployment rate is about 3.6 % (October 2020).

Unemployment rate: 3.59 % · 総務省統計局 (e-Stat, 国勢調査2020 就業状態等基本集計第1-2表)²⁰

Unemployment across cities in JapanUnemployment in Chikuma is 3.6%. Of 1,816 cities with data, 818 have unemployment of 3 to under 4%.

250

818

531

126

0–11–22–33–44–55–66–77–88–99–10

Chikuma 3.6%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median gross salary (regional)	268.5 EUR/month	31 Dec 2024	www.e-stat.go.jp¹⁶Official
Unemployment rate	3.59 %country median 3.8%	31 Dec 2020	総務省統計局 (e-Stat, 国勢調査2020 就業状態等基本集計第1-2表)²⁰Official

What does a salary buy in Chikuma?

Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.

Left over each month€0of €0 take-home

Rent
Internet
Mobile

Line-by-line breakdown and sources

Each month	€
Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions; euro amounts at the ECB average for 2026-08.	outside the model's range
Rent, 60 m²€5.28/m² · official · e-stat.go.jp · 2023-12-31	− €317
Internet€32 · official · ドコモ光月額料金 · 2026-09-30	− €32
Mobile plan€22 · official · docomo mini 10GB · 2026-09-30	− €22
Other everyday billsnot published for this city: public transport pass, utilities	—
Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish	—

Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Chikuma Salary needed to live in Chikuma

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Chikuma. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

Hello Work — Public employment service

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan

Job Search

Search jobs

Open the Japan service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Chikuma. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Schools	17 schools	1 May 2024	MEXT School Basic Survey 2024 municipality table 000040231127⁸Official

Healthcare

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Hospital beds per 1,000 residents	10.32 per 1,000	31 Dec 2024	Japan official municipality health statistics 2024⁶Official
Physicians per 1,000 residents	1.13 per 1,000	31 Dec 2024	Japan official municipality health statistics 2024⁷Official
Physicians per 100,000 residents	120.9 per 100,000	2022	Exact e-Stat municipality row I6100 (医師数), derived with the exact same-JIS e-Stat A2301 total resident population row. No prefecture or parent-area value is used.⁴Official

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Chikuma when the national insurance or residence conditions are met.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide

Physicians per 1,000 residents1.13 per 1,000Verified 2026-08-31

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Safety

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	406.9 incidents per 100,000	31 Dec 2025	令和７年の犯罪情勢 / 令和７年の犯罪情勢統計表, 図表1-5-2¹⁸Official · regional context

Mobility and administration

Chikuma's nearest airport was MMJ, 43 km away and offered 2 direct destinations.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Direct destinations from the nearest major airport	2 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights⁹Official
Destinations from nearest airport	5 count	2024	Unique direct scheduled destination endpoints for the nearest scheduled-service airport in the complete 97-airport MLIT universe; domestic endpoints come from the official 2024 annual route table and international endpoints from the official 2024 summer and winter direct scheduled-flight tables.¹³Official
Distance to the nearest major airport	43 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹⁰Official
Nearest major airport (IATA code)	MMJ	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹⁰Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Chikuma. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.

Country-level information

Japanese Language Education Program for Foreigners Living in Japan — State Language Course

Agency for Cultural Affairs

For foreigners living in Japan.

JapaneseIn Person, Online

Open official information

Open the full Japan section

National programme information is not treated as proof of a course location in Chikuma.

Find courses near Chikuma

Climate and air quality

Monthly mean temperatures were −0.4°C in January and 24.3°C in July. Monthly precipitation was 54.6 mm in January and 137.7 mm in July. Chikuma's average monthly sunshine was 128.4 hours in January and 168.8 hours in July.

Is the air quality good in Chikuma?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 7.9 µg/m³ (2023) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: tenbou.nies.go.jp¹²

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

Temperature through the yearAverage daytime high and night-time low, °C

0°

4°-4°

5°-4°

10°-1°

17°5°

23°11°

26°16°

30°21°

31°22°

26°17°

20°10°

13°3°

7°-2°

JFMAMJJASOND

Night-time low to daytime high

Rainfall through the yearAverage monthly precipitation, mm

106

138

112

126

100

JFMAMJJASOND

Sunshine through the yearAverage monthly sunshine, hours

128

140

173

199

215

167

169

201

151

152

142

131

JFMAMJJASOND

hours

Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³

PM2.57.9WHO 5 · EU 25

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

PM2.5 across cities in JapanAnnual PM2.5 in Chikuma is 7.9 µg/m³. Of 804 cities with data, 209 have annual PM2.5 of 8 to under 9 µg/m³.

183

209

167

4–55–66–77–88–99–1010–1111–1212–1313–14

Chikuma 7.9

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	7.9 µg/m³country median 8.4	31 Dec 2023	tenbou.nies.go.jp¹²Official
Average daytime high by month	Jan 3.8 · Feb 5.3 · Mar 10.3 · Apr 17.4 · May 23.2 · Jun 26.1 · Jul 29.7 · Aug 31.1 · Sep 26.2 · Oct 19.7 · Nov 13.4 · Dec 6.9 °C	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station NAGANO¹⁴Official · parent municipality
Average night-time low by month	Jan -3.9 · Feb -3.7 · Mar -0.5 · Apr 4.9 · May 10.9 · Jun 16.1 · Jul 20.5 · Aug 21.5 · Sep 17.2 · Oct 10.3 · Nov 3.4 · Dec -1.5 °C	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station NAGANO¹⁴Official · parent municipality
Average temperature by month	Jan -0.4 · Feb 0.4 · Mar 4.3 · Apr 10.6 · May 16.4 · Jun 20.4 · Jul 24.3 · Aug 25.4 · Sep 21 · Oct 14.4 · Nov 7.9 · Dec 2.3 °C	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station NAGANO¹⁴Official · parent municipality
Average precipitation by month	Jan 54.6 · Feb 49.1 · Mar 60.1 · Apr 56.9 · May 69.3 · Jun 106.1 · Jul 137.7 · Aug 111.8 · Sep 125.5 · Oct 100.3 · Nov 44.4 · Dec 49.4 mm	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station NAGANO¹⁴Official · parent municipality
Average sunshine by month	Jan 128.4 · Feb 140.2 · Mar 173.3 · Apr 199.4 · May 214.8 · Jun 167.4 · Jul 168.8 · Aug 201.1 · Sep 151.2 · Oct 152.1 · Nov 142.3 · Dec 131.1 hours	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station NAGANO¹⁴Official · parent municipality

Similar climate. In Japan: Aizu-Wakamatsu ±0.6 °C. Elsewhere: Murfreesboro (United States) ±2.7 °C, Oklahoma City (United States) ±3.0 °C, Markham (Canada) ±3.2 °C, Mississauga (Canada) ±3.2 °C, Richmond Hill (Canada) ±3.2 °C. Twenty closest, compared month by month

Monthly highs and lows against the 1991–2020 station normals of the nearest station; ± is the average monthly difference.

Population and city profile

How many people live in Chikuma?

The published population was 58,537 people in 2026. Source: Resident Register Population, Population Movement and Number of Households Survey; 2026-01-01 municipal total¹¹

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport98.1%

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	119.8 km²	3 Aug 2026	国土地理院 (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan)¹⁹Official
Foreign-resident share	1.91 %	3 Aug 2026	総務省自治行政局 (住民基本台帳, 外国人住民 ÷ 総計)²²Official
Foreign residents	1,119 people	3 Aug 2026	総務省自治行政局 (住民基本台帳, 外国人住民)²²Official
Population density	491.3 people/km²	31 Dec 2020	総務省統計局 (e-Stat, 国勢調査2020 第1-1表)²¹Official
Population	58,537 people	1 Jan 2026	Resident Register Population, Population Movement and Number of Households Survey; 2026-01-01 municipal total¹¹Official

International community in Chikuma

Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.

Citizenship

Persons in the official 2020 Population Census Basic Complete Tabulation on Population and Households; sex-total population by source-native nationality category. · 2020

Published group	People	Share
Total	58,852	100.0%
Japanese	57,849	98.3%
Foreigner	754	1.3%
Nationality not reported	249	0.4%
People's Republic of China	181	0.3%
Republic of Korea	152	0.3%
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam	132	0.2%
Kingdom of Thailand	103	0.2%
Others	61	0.1%
Republic of the Philippines	47	0.1%
Federative Republic of Brazil	38	0.1%

Show 6 more groups

Published group	People	Share
United States of America	15	0.0%
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal	14	0.0%
Republic of Indonesia	8	0.0%
India	1	0.0%
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	1	0.0%
Republic of Peru	1	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source³

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median age	52.6 years	31 Dec 2026	2026 Resident Basic Register, population by age group by municipality (total residents)¹Official

Alternatives for people set on Chikuma

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Ōmachi as a Chikuma alternative in the same region

24 km away, better on 2 of 5 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1.

Rent: €3.80/m² Ōmachi vs €5.28/m² Chikuma−28%
Foreign residents: 3.0% Ōmachi vs 1.9% Chikuma+57%
Median gross pay, region: €253 Ōmachi vs €268 Chikuma−6%
Unemployment: 3.6% Ōmachi vs 3.6% Chikumasame level
Recorded crime, per 100k: 407 Ōmachi vs 407 Chikumasame level

Full comparison More about Ōmachi

Cities near Chikuma

Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Nagano 14.6 km away

Rent: 6.93 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2023-12-31

Ueda 18.7 km away

Rent: 6.2 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2023-12-31

Suzaka 21.8 km away

Rent: 6.01 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2023-12-31

Ōmachi 23.8 km away

Rent: 3.8 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2023-12-31

Alternative cities in Japan

Other cities in Japan to compare with Chikuma, nearest in population first.

All Japan cities

Tokoname58,474 residents Osakasayama58,435 residents Kinokawa58,287 residents Kitahiroshima58,171 residents Sanyōonoda58,118 residents Kurihara59,147 residents

How does Chikuma compare?

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Put Chikuma's key facts on your site — a card with this page's figures and a link back, free under CC BY 4.0.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Chikuma?

The published population was 58,537 people in 2026. Source: Resident Register Population, Population Movement and Number of Households Survey; 2026-01-01 municipal total.

How much does it cost to rent in Chikuma?

Average net cold rent is about 5.28 EUR/m² per month (2023 Housing and Land Survey), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 370 EUR a month before utilities. Source: www.e-stat.go.jp.

Is the air quality good in Chikuma?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 7.9 µg/m³ (2023) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: tenbou.nies.go.jp.

What is the unemployment rate in Chikuma?

The unemployment rate is about 3.6 % (October 2020). Source: 総務省統計局 (e-Stat, 国勢調査2020 就業状態等基本集計第1-2表).

What is the typical salary around Chikuma?

The median gross salary is 268.5 EUR/month. Source: www.e-stat.go.jp.

Is Chikuma a good place to live?

Chikuma may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Which cities are near Chikuma?

Nagano, Ueda, Suzaka, Ōmachi, Ikeda-machi are near Chikuma. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.

How many people are in the Japanese citizenship group in Chikuma?

The official citizenship distribution records 57,849 people (98.3%) in the source-defined population for 2020. This is a citizenship measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation

ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Chikuma, Japan: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 9dba7e5296adbfe8485c4d6ae8220a12]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/jp/chikuma/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_chikuma-japan-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_ba60fb2992c6,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Chikuma, Japan: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {9dba7e5296adbfe8485c4d6ae8220a12},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/jp/chikuma/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Chikuma, Japan: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/jp/chikuma/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 9dba7e5296adbfe8485c4d6ae8220a12; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown

2026 Resident Basic Register, population by age group by municipality (total residents) e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-09-24
docomo mini 10GB docomo.ne.jp · checked 2026-09-15
e-Stat / Statistics Bureau of Japan 2020 Population Census table 44-1 nationality e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-09-01
Exact e-Stat municipality row I6100 (医師数), derived with the exact same-JIS e-Stat A2301 total resident population row. No prefecture or parent-area value is used. e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-07-15
Housing and Land Survey 2023, Table 112-3-2: Monthly Rent of Dwelling by Type of Dwelling — Japan, prefecture, shi, ku, machi and mura Housing and Land Survey 2023, Table 112-3-2: Monthly Rent of Dwelling by Type of Dwelling · e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-09-12
Japan official municipality health statistics 2024 mhlw.go.jp · checked 2026-08-13
Japan official municipality health statistics 2024 mhlw.go.jp · checked 2026-08-13
MEXT School Basic Survey 2024 municipality table 000040231127 e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-07-16
OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03

Show 18 more sources

Resident Register Population, Population Movement and Number of Households Survey; 2026-01-01 municipal total e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-08-10
tenbou.nies.go.jp tenbou.nies.go.jp · checked 2026-08-26
Unique direct scheduled destination endpoints for the nearest scheduled-service airport in the complete 97-airport MLIT universe; domestic endpoints come from the official 2024 annual route table and international endpoints from the official 2024 summer and winter direct scheduled-flight tables. mlit.go.jp · checked 2026-07-15
WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station NAGANO WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 · ncei.noaa.gov · checked 2026-07-31
www.e-stat.go.jp e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-08-27
www.e-stat.go.jp e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-08-27
ドコモ光月額料金 — NTTドコモドコモ光月額料金 · docomo.ne.jp · checked 2026-09-19
令和７年の犯罪情勢 / 令和７年の犯罪情勢統計表, 図表1-5-2 npa.go.jp · checked 2026-09-23
国土地理院 (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan) gsi.go.jp · checked 2026-08-03
総務省統計局 (e-Stat, 国勢調査2020 就業状態等基本集計第1-2表) e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-08-03
総務省統計局 (e-Stat, 国勢調査2020 第1-1表) e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-08-03
総務省自治行政局 (住民基本台帳, 外国人住民) soumu.go.jp · checked 2026-08-03
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Wikidata identity and coordinates — Q1204048 Wikidata identity and coordinates · wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-05
Wikidata identity and coordinates — Q179757 Wikidata identity and coordinates · wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-05
Wikidata identity and coordinates — Q844852 Wikidata identity and coordinates · wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-05
Wikidata identity and coordinates — Q850461 Wikidata identity and coordinates · wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-05

Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.