Living in 札幌市

札幌市 is a city in Japan. There were 356.1 physicians per 100,000 residents in 2022. The unemployment rate was 4.7% in October 2020. 札幌市 had a population of 1,973,395 in October 2020. In 2024, the foreign population was 20,665.

Pricier rent than 84% of Japanese cities that publish it and higher unemployment than 85% of Japanese cities that publish it.

Which Japan-wide rules apply when you move to 札幌市?

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 札幌市.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

How much does it cost to rent in 札幌市?

Average net cold rent is 8.59 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): 8.59 EUR/m²/month · www.e-stat.go.jp¹¹

What recurs every month6 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Private kindergarten€280

Utilities, 85 m² flat€235

Transport pass€141

Internet, 60 Mbps€53

Fitness club€44

Mobile plan, 10 GB€22

Supplemental estimate lane; these items are not official statistics.

Net rent across major cities札幌市 highlighted among comparable cities

net rent, € / m² / month

川崎市€15.18

Yokohama€13.60

大阪市€12.11

京都市€11.89

広島市€9.52

札幌市€8.59

Show the other 6 cities

さいたま市€11.78

千葉市€10.32

福岡市€10.23

神戸市€10.08

仙台市€10.06

名古屋市€10.01

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Fitness club membership, monthly	44.07 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	52.73 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Private kindergarten, monthly	279.8 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant	7.73 EUR	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Mobile plan, 10 GB	22.17 EUR/month	31 Dec 2024	Numbeo — Cost of Living in Sapporo (Wayback capture 20241203181932)¹⁴Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Monthly transport pass	140.6 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Basic utilities, 85 m² home	235.3 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Average net rent (nettokalt)	8.59 EUR/m²/monthcountry median €6.78	31 Dec 2023	www.e-stat.go.jp¹¹Official

Worked out from these numbers

What does a 60 m² flat cost?

About 515 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of 8.59 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 札幌市?

The unemployment rate is 4.7 % (October 2020). Source: Japan 2020 Census labor force status by municipality⁵

Unemployment across cities in JapanUnemployment in 札幌市 is 4.7%. Of 2,344 cities with data, 1,088 have unemployment of 3 to under 4%.

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median gross salary (regional)	302.8 EUR/month	31 Dec 2024	www.e-stat.go.jp¹²Official
Unemployment rate	4.7 %country median 3.7%	1 Oct 2020	Japan 2020 Census labor force status by municipality⁵Official

Public employment service

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

Healthcare

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Physicians per 100,000 residents	356.1 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 札幌市 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

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Mobility and administration

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Destinations from nearest airport	12 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.⁹Official

Language courses and integration

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

Climate and air quality

Monthly mean temperatures were −3.2°C in January and 21.1°C in July. Monthly precipitation was 108.4 mm in January and 90.7 mm in July.

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

Rainfall through the yearAverage monthly precipitation, mm

Sunshine through the yearAverage monthly sunshine, hours

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Average daytime high by month	Jan -0.4 · Feb 0.4 · Mar 4.5 · Apr 11.7 · May 17.9 · Jun 21.8 · Jul 25.4 · Aug 26.4 · Sep 22.8 · Oct 16.4 · Nov 8.7 · Dec 2 °C	31 Dec 2020	JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991-2020) — Sapporo⁸Official
Average night-time low by month	Jan -6.4 · Feb -6.2 · Mar -2.4 · Apr 3.4 · May 9 · Jun 13.4 · Jul 17.9 · Aug 19.1 · Sep 14.8 · Oct 8 · Nov 1.6 · Dec -4 °C	31 Dec 2020	JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991-2020) — Sapporo⁸Official
Average temperature by month	Jan -3.2 · Feb -2.7 · Mar 1.1 · Apr 7.3 · May 13 · Jun 17 · Jul 21.1 · Aug 22.3 · Sep 18.6 · Oct 12.1 · Nov 5.2 · Dec -0.9 °C	31 Dec 2020	JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991-2020) — Sapporo⁸Official
Average precipitation by month	Jan 108.4 · Feb 91.9 · Mar 77.6 · Apr 54.6 · May 55.5 · Jun 60.4 · Jul 90.7 · Aug 126.8 · Sep 142.2 · Oct 109.9 · Nov 113.8 · Dec 114.5 mm	31 Dec 2020	JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991-2020) — Sapporo⁸Official
Average sunshine by month	Jan 90.4 · Feb 103.5 · Mar 144.7 · Apr 175.8 · May 200.4 · Jun 180 · Jul 168 · Aug 168.1 · Sep 159.3 · Oct 145.9 · Nov 99.1 · Dec 82.7 hours	31 Dec 2020	JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991-2020) — Sapporo⁸Official

Cities of a similar size in Japan

Closest published populations, for a like-for-like comparison.

All Japan cities

名古屋市2,332,176 residents Fukuoka1,620,853 residents 福岡市1,612,392 residents Kawasaki1,542,534 residents 川崎市1,538,262 residents 神戸市1,525,152 residents

Population and city profile

The city covered 1,121.3 km² in 2025. Population density was 1,744.2 people per km² in 2024.

How many people live in 札幌市?

The published population was 1,973,395 people in October 2020. Source: Japan 2020 Census municipality population table⁷

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	1,121 km²	31 Dec 2025	www.city.sapporo.jp¹⁰Official
Foreign residents	20,665 people	2024	Exact e-Stat municipality row A2201: 住民基本台帳人口（外国人）.²Official
Population density	1,744 people/km²	2024	Exact e-Stat municipality row B1101: 総面積（北方地域及び竹島を除く）, converted from ha to km2.³Official
Population	1,973,395 people	1 Oct 2020	Japan 2020 Census municipality population table⁷Official

International community in 札幌市

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	1,973,395	100.0%
Japanese	1,933,094	98.0%
Nationality not reported	27,667	1.4%
Foreigner	12,634	0.6%
People's Republic of China	4,573	0.2%
Others	2,399	0.1%
Republic of Korea	2,363	0.1%
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam	1,377	0.1%
United States of America	522	0.0%
Republic of the Philippines	445	0.0%
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal	231	0.0%

Show 6 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Kingdom of Thailand	181	0.0%
Republic of Indonesia	176	0.0%
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	163	0.0%
India	134	0.0%
Federative Republic of Brazil	58	0.0%
Republic of Peru	12	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹

Is 札幌市 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 worker47%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 38–56%

Skilled employee56%strong on work, weak on safety · range 47–65%

Student48%strong on cost, weak on safety · range 38–58%

Family52%strong on family, weak on safety · range 42–62%

Retirement52%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 40–64%

Foreign residents20,665 people2024Official source · Exact e-Stat municipality row A2201: 住民基本台帳人口（外国人）.

Population1,973,395 people1 Oct 2020Official source · Japan 2020 Census municipality population table

Average net rent (nettokalt)8.59 EUR/m²/month31 Dec 2023Official source · www.e-stat.go.jp

Median gross salary (regional)302.8 EUR/month31 Dec 2024Official source · www.e-stat.go.jp

Unemployment rate4.7 %1 Oct 2020Official source · Japan 2020 Census labor force status by municipality

City area1,121 km²31 Dec 2025Official source · www.city.sapporo.jp

Every value keeps its source, geographic scope and verification date · Last checked 2026-08-27

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median age	48.5 years	1 Oct 2020	Japan 2020 Census municipality median age table⁶Official

Common questions

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

How many people live in 札幌市?

The published population was 1,973,395 people in October 2020. Source: Japan 2020 Census municipality population table.

How much does it cost to rent in 札幌市?

Average net cold rent is 8.59 EUR/m² per month (2023 Housing and Land Survey), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 601 EUR a month before utilities. Source: www.e-stat.go.jp.

What is the unemployment rate in 札幌市?

The unemployment rate is 4.7 % (October 2020). Source: Japan 2020 Census labor force status by municipality.

What is the typical salary around 札幌市?

The median gross salary is 302.8 EUR/month. Source: www.e-stat.go.jp.

How many foreign residents live in 札幌市?

20,665 people residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Exact e-Stat municipality row A2201: 住民基本台帳人口（外国人）..

How much is public transport in 札幌市?

A monthly transport pass is 140.6 EUR/month. This is a supplemental estimate, not an official municipal measurement. Source: Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2.

Is 札幌市 a good place to live?

札幌市 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.

How many people are in the Total citizenship group in 札幌市?

The official citizenship distribution records 1,973,395 people (100.0%) 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, September 12). 札幌市, Japan: rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/jp/sapporoshi/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_japan-rent-salary-cost-of-living_71e0c0ac0e3e,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {札幌市, Japan: rent, salary, cost of living},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-09-12},
  version = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  snapshot = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/jp/sapporoshi/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[札幌市, Japan: rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/jp/sapporoshi/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; retrieved 2026-09-12; built 2026-09-12.

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

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 A2201: 住民基本台帳人口（外国人）. e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-07-15
Exact e-Stat municipality row B1101: 総面積（北方地域及び竹島を除く）, converted from ha to km2. e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-07-15
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
Japan 2020 Census labor force status by municipality e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-07-16
Japan 2020 Census municipality median age table e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-07-16
Japan 2020 Census municipality population table e-stat.go.jp · checked 2026-07-16
JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991-2020) — Sapporo JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991-2020) · data.jma.go.jp · checked 2026-07-26
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
www.city.sapporo.jp city.sapporo.jp · checked 2026-07-14

Show 4 more sources

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
Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2 Global Cost of Living · kaggle.com · checked 2026-07-27
Numbeo — Cost of Living in Sapporo (Wayback capture 20241203181932) Numbeo · web.archive.org · checked 2026-08-01

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.