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Living in Ōtawara

In Ōtawara, rents across existing tenancies average €6.05 per m² a month (2023).

Ōtawara is a city in Japan.

Last checked 2026-09-2316 sources

Population68,053people31 Dec 2024Official source · e-Stat 社会・人口統計体系 市区町村データ 基礎データ（オリジナル）0000020101 — A2301 住民基本台帳人口（総数）, 調査年 2024年度
Average gross salary1,908EUR/month30 Jun 2025Regional figureOfficial source · MHLW / e-Stat — Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, 47-prefecture scheduled earnings reference table
Average net rent6.05EUR/m²/monthcountry median €6.27 — 3% belowOfficial source · e-Stat Housing and Land Survey 2023, table 122-4-2: average rent per 1 m2 of floor area by municipality (家賃０円を含まない)
Unemployment rate2.98%country median 3.8% — 21% 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 crime678incidents 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 mean4.38µg/m³31 Dec 2023Nearest stationOfficial source · NIES monthly PM2.5 station means annualized to calendar 2023

Lower unemployment than 85% of Japanese cities that publish it and cleaner air than any other Japanese city that publishes it.

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

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 Ōtawara.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 Ōtawara?

Average net cold rent is about 6.05 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): 6.05 EUR/m²/month · e-Stat Housing and Land Survey 2023, table 122-4-2: average rent per 1 m2 of floor area by municipality (家賃０円を含まない)2
What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month
Ōtawara recurring monthly costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€32
Mobile plan, 10 GB€22
Net rent across major citiesŌtawara highlighted among comparable cities
Net rent across major cities with Ōtawara highlighted

net rent, € / m² / month

Kawasaki€13.36
Yokohama€11.97
Osaka€10.65
Kyoto€10.46
Sapporo€7.56
Ōtawara€6.05
Show the other 6 cities
Saitama€10.37
Fukuoka€9.00
Kobe€8.87
Sendai€8.85
Nagoya€8.81
Hiroshima€8.38
MetricValuePeriodSource
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited31.61 EUR/month30 Sept 2026ドコモ光 月額料金 — NTTドコモ11Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB21.56 EUR/month30 Sept 2026docomo mini 10GB1Official · national market
Average net rent (nettokalt)6.05 EUR/m²/monthcountry median €6.2731 Dec 2023e-Stat Housing and Land Survey 2023, table 122-4-2: average rent per 1 m2 of floor area by municipality (家賃０円を含まない)2Official
Average monthly rent (whole dwelling)258.5 EUR/month31 Oct 2023Housing and Land Survey 2023, Table 112-3-2: Monthly Rent of Dwelling by Type of Dwelling — Japan, prefecture, shi, ku, machi and mura4Official

Is Ōtawara 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 worker69%strong on work, weak on legal route · range 60–78%
Skilled employee72%strong on work, weak on education · range 63–81%
Student60%strong on cost, weak on education · range 50–70%
Family66%strong on family, weak on education · range 56–76%
Retirement57%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 45–69%

Worked out from these numbers

What does a 60 m² flat cost?

About 363 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of about 6.05 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 Ōtawara?

The unemployment rate is about 3 % (October 2020).

  • Unemployment rate: 2.98 % · 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)14
Unemployment across cities in JapanUnemployment in Ōtawara is 3.0%. Of 1,816 cities with data, 818 have unemployment of 3 to under 4%.

Unemployment rate (%)

MetricValuePeriodSource
Average gross earnings1,908 EUR/month30 Jun 2025MHLW / e-Stat — Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, 47-prefecture scheduled earnings reference table7Official · regional context
Unemployment rate2.98 %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)14Official

What does a salary buy in Ōtawara?

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

Japan median gross pay: €1,781 (2025-06-30).
Left over each month€996of €1,412 take-home
  • Rent
  • Internet
  • Mobile
  • Left over
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.€1,412
Rent, 60 m²€6.05/m² · official · e-Stat Housing and Land Survey 2023, table 122-4-2: average rent per 1 m2 of floor area by municipality (家賃０円を含まない) · 2023-12-31− €363
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€996
Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Ōtawara Salary needed to live in Ōtawara

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Ōtawara. 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 Ōtawara. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Healthcare

MetricValuePeriodSource
Hospital beds per 1,000 residents12.89 per 1,00031 Dec 2024Japan official municipality health statistics 20245Official
Physicians per 1,000 residents2.31 per 1,00031 Dec 2024Japan official municipality health statistics 20246Official

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Ōtawara 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 residents2.31 per 1,000Verified 2026-08-31
Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Safety

MetricValuePeriodSource
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents678 incidents per 100,00031 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1-5-212Official · regional context

Mobility and administration

Ōtawara's nearest airport was FKS, 53 km away and offered 2 direct destinations.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Direct destinations from the nearest major airport2 count3 Aug 2026OpenFlights9Official
Distance to the nearest major airport53 km3 Aug 2026OurAirports10Official
Nearest major airport (IATA code)FKS3 Aug 2026OurAirports10Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Ōtawara. 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 Ōtawara.

Find courses near Ōtawara

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Ōtawara?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 4.4 µg/m³ (2023) — within the WHO 2021 guideline.

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

  • PM2.5 — annual mean: 4.38 µg/m³ · NIES monthly PM2.5 station means annualized to calendar 20238
Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

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 Ōtawara is 4.4 µg/m³. Of 804 cities with data, 209 have annual PM2.5 of 8 to under 9 µg/m³.

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

MetricValuePeriodSource
PM2.5 — annual mean4.38 µg/m³31 Dec 2023NIES monthly PM2.5 station means annualized to calendar 20238Official · nearest-station reading

Population and city profile

How many people live in Ōtawara?

The published population was 68,053 people in 2024. Source: e-Stat 社会・人口統計体系 市区町村データ 基礎データ（オリジナル）0000020101 — A2301 住民基本台帳人口（総数）, 調査年 2024年度3

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

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

MetricValuePeriodSource
City area354.4 km²3 Aug 2026国土地理院 (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan)13Official
Foreign-resident share2.1 %3 Aug 2026総務省自治行政局 (住民基本台帳, 外国人住民 ÷ 総計)16Official
Foreign residents1,405 people3 Aug 2026総務省自治行政局 (住民基本台帳, 外国人住民)16Official
Population density203.4 people/km²31 Dec 2020総務省統計局 (e-Stat, 国勢調査2020 第1-1表)15Official
Population68,053 people31 Dec 2024e-Stat 社会・人口統計体系 市区町村データ 基礎データ（オリジナル）0000020101 — A2301 住民基本台帳人口（総数）, 調査年 2024年度3Official

Alternatives for people set on Ōtawara

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.

Alternative cities in Japan

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

All Japan cities
Sabae68,005 residentsKonan-ku (Niigata)67,972 residentsToyoake67,743 residentsMoriya68,421 residentsKatori-shi68,684 residentsOmigawa68,684 residents

How does Ōtawara compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Ōtawara's.

Open the full comparison

Ōtawara in rankings

#4 of 30 in Cities with cleanest air in Japan

Put Ōtawara'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 Ōtawara?

The published population was 68,053 people in 2024. Source: e-Stat 社会・人口統計体系 市区町村データ 基礎データ（オリジナル）0000020101 — A2301 住民基本台帳人口（総数）, 調査年 2024年度.

How much does it cost to rent in Ōtawara?

Average net cold rent is about 6.05 EUR/m² per month (2023 Housing and Land Survey), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 424 EUR a month before utilities. Source: e-Stat Housing and Land Survey 2023, table 122-4-2: average rent per 1 m2 of floor area by municipality (家賃０円を含まない).

Is the air quality good in Ōtawara?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 4.4 µg/m³ (2023) — within the WHO 2021 guideline. Source: NIES monthly PM2.5 station means annualized to calendar 2023.

What is the unemployment rate in Ōtawara?

The unemployment rate is about 3 % (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).

How many foreign residents live in Ōtawara?

1,405 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: 総務省自治行政局 (住民基本台帳, 外国人住民).

Is Ōtawara a good place to live?

Ōtawara 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.

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). Ōtawara, Japan: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version e3c6aa2a72411369f3d65bc7caa2f519]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/jp/otawara/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_otawara-japan-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_8c71a9337641,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Ōtawara, Japan: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {e3c6aa2a72411369f3d65bc7caa2f519},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/jp/otawara/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
Markdown citation
[Ōtawara, Japan: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/jp/otawara/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version e3c6aa2a72411369f3d65bc7caa2f519; 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
  1. docomo mini 10GB docomo.ne.jp · checked 2026-09-15
  2. e-Stat Housing and Land Survey 2023, table 122-4-2: average rent per 1 m2 of floor area by municipality (家賃０円を含まない) e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-09-18
  3. e-Stat 社会・人口統計体系 市区町村データ 基礎データ（オリジナル）0000020101 — A2301 住民基本台帳人口（総数）, 調査年 2024年度 e-Stat 社会・人口統計体系 市区町村データ 基礎データ（オリジナル）0000020101 · e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-09-18
  4. 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
  5. Japan official municipality health statistics 2024 mhlw.go.jp · checked 2026-08-13
  6. Japan official municipality health statistics 2024 mhlw.go.jp · checked 2026-08-13
  7. MHLW / e-Stat — Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, 47-prefecture scheduled earnings reference table MHLW / e-Stat · e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-09-23
  8. NIES monthly PM2.5 station means annualized to calendar 2023 gis.nies.go.jp · checked 2026-09-23
  9. OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
  10. OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
Show 6 more sources
  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 国土地理院 (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan) gsi.go.jp · checked 2026-08-03
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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

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.