Living in 仙台市

There were 385.6 physicians per 100,000 residents in 2022. The unemployment rate was 4.2% in October 2020. 仙台市, a city in Japan, had a population of 1,096,704 in October 2020. Monthly mean temperatures were 2°C in January and 22.9°C in July. The city covered 786.3 km² in 2025. Population density was 1,353.3 people per km² in 2024.

Pricier rent than 93% of Japanese cities that publish it and higher unemployment than 70% of Japanese cities that publish it.

Which Japan-wide rules apply when you move to 仙台市?

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 仙台市.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

How much does it cost to rent in 仙台市?

Average net cold rent is 10.06 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): 10.06 EUR/m²/month · www.e-stat.go.jp¹¹

What recurs every month6 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Private kindergarten€192

Transport pass€141

Utilities, 85 m² flat€129

Fitness club€55

Internet, 60 Mbps€35

Mobile plan, 10 GB€18

Supplemental estimate lane; these items are not official statistics.

Net rent across major cities仙台市 highlighted among comparable cities

net rent, € / m² / month

川崎市€15.18

Yokohama€13.60

大阪市€12.11

仙台市€10.06

広島市€9.52

札幌市€8.59

Show the other 6 cities

京都市€11.89

さいたま市€11.78

千葉市€10.32

福岡市€10.23

神戸市€10.08

名古屋市€10.01

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Fitness club membership, monthly	55.31 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	35.16 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Private kindergarten, monthly	192.2 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant	5.98 EUR	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Mobile plan, 10 GB	18.08 EUR/month	31 Dec 2025	Numbeo — Cost of Living in Sendai (Wayback capture 20250118103037)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	128.9 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Average net rent (nettokalt)	10.06 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 604 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of 10.06 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 仙台市?

The unemployment rate is 4.2 % (October 2020). Source: Japan 2020 Census labor force status by municipality⁵

Unemployment across cities in JapanUnemployment in 仙台市 is 4.2%. 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)	320.5 EUR/month	31 Dec 2024	www.e-stat.go.jp¹²Official
Unemployment rate	4.2 %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 仙台市. 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 仙台市. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Healthcare

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Physicians per 100,000 residents	385.6 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 仙台市 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	13 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 in 仙台市

1 exact course-location record is linked to this city. Check the linked source for dates, availability and enrolment.

Verified locally

1verified local records

Sendai City

2-1-4 Ichibancho, Aoba-ku, Sendai

View official record

Check courses in 仙台市 How the country programme works

Exact city-linked record checked 2026-08-10. Provider-supplied records are supplemental and are not presented as official accreditation.

Climate and air quality

Monthly precipitation was 42.3 mm in January and 178.4 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 5.6 · Feb 6.5 · Mar 10 · Apr 15.5 · May 20.2 · Jun 23.1 · Jul 26.6 · Aug 28.2 · Sep 25 · Oct 19.8 · Nov 14.1 · Dec 8.3 °C	31 Dec 2020	JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991-2020) — Sendai⁸Official
Average night-time low by month	Jan -1.3 · Feb -1.1 · Mar 1.4 · Apr 6.3 · May 11.7 · Jun 16.1 · Jul 20.2 · Aug 21.6 · Sep 18 · Oct 11.9 · Nov 5.6 · Dec 0.9 °C	31 Dec 2020	JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991-2020) — Sendai⁸Official
Average temperature by month	Jan 2 · Feb 2.4 · Mar 5.5 · Apr 10.7 · May 15.6 · Jun 19.2 · Jul 22.9 · Aug 24.4 · Sep 21.2 · Oct 15.7 · Nov 9.8 · Dec 4.5 °C	31 Dec 2020	JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991-2020) — Sendai⁸Official
Average precipitation by month	Jan 42.3 · Feb 33.9 · Mar 74.4 · Apr 90.2 · May 110.2 · Jun 143.7 · Jul 178.4 · Aug 157.8 · Sep 192.6 · Oct 150.6 · Nov 58.7 · Dec 44.1 mm	31 Dec 2020	JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991-2020) — Sendai⁸Official
Average sunshine by month	Jan 149 · Feb 154.7 · Mar 178.6 · Apr 193.7 · May 191.9 · Jun 143.7 · Jul 126.3 · Aug 144.5 · Sep 128 · Oct 147 · Nov 143.4 · Dec 136.3 hours	31 Dec 2020	JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991-2020) — Sendai⁸Official

Cities of a similar size in Japan

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

All Japan cities

Sendai1,063,198 residents Hiroshima1,167,911 residents 広島市1,200,754 residents Chiba986,605 residents 千葉市974,951 residents 北九州市939,029 residents

Population and city profile

How many people live in 仙台市?

The published population was 1,096,704 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	786.3 km²	31 Dec 2025	www.city.sendai.jp¹⁰Official
Foreign residents	17,344 people	2024	Exact e-Stat municipality row A2201: 住民基本台帳人口（外国人）.²Official
Population density	1,353 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	1,096,704 people	1 Oct 2020	Japan 2020 Census municipality population table⁷Official

International community in 仙台市

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	1,096,704	100.0%
Japanese	1,052,030	95.9%
Nationality not reported	33,167	3.0%
Foreigner	11,507	1.0%
People's Republic of China	3,534	0.3%
Republic of Korea	1,797	0.2%
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam	1,650	0.2%
Others	1,595	0.1%
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal	1,389	0.1%
Republic of the Philippines	472	0.0%
United States of America	365	0.0%

Show 6 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Republic of Indonesia	245	0.0%
Kingdom of Thailand	159	0.0%
India	147	0.0%
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	82	0.0%
Federative Republic of Brazil	56	0.0%
Republic of Peru	16	0.0%

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

Is 仙台市 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 worker46%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 37–55%

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

Student46%strong on cost, weak on safety · range 36–56%

Family53%strong on family, weak on safety · range 43–63%

Retirement50%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 38–62%

Foreign residents17,344 people2024Official source · Exact e-Stat municipality row A2201: 住民基本台帳人口（外国人）.

Population1,096,704 people1 Oct 2020Official source · Japan 2020 Census municipality population table

Average net rent (nettokalt)10.06 EUR/m²/month31 Dec 2023Official source · www.e-stat.go.jp

Median gross salary (regional)320.5 EUR/month31 Dec 2024Official source · www.e-stat.go.jp

Unemployment rate4.2 %1 Oct 2020Official source · Japan 2020 Census labor force status by municipality

City area786.3 km²31 Dec 2025Official source · www.city.sendai.jp

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

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median age	45.8 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 仙台市?

The published population was 1,096,704 people in October 2020. Source: Japan 2020 Census municipality population table.

How much does it cost to rent in 仙台市?

Average net cold rent is 10.06 EUR/m² per month (2023 Housing and Land Survey), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 704 EUR a month before utilities. Source: www.e-stat.go.jp.

What is the unemployment rate in 仙台市?

The unemployment rate is 4.2 % (October 2020). Source: Japan 2020 Census labor force status by municipality.

What is the typical salary around 仙台市?

The median gross salary is 320.5 EUR/month. Source: www.e-stat.go.jp.

How many foreign residents live in 仙台市?

17,344 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 仙台市?

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 仙台市 a good place to live?

仙台市 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 仙台市?

The official citizenship distribution records 1,096,704 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). 仙台市, Japan: rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/jp/sendaishi/ 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_677a9fd3a015,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {仙台市, 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/sendaishi/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[仙台市, Japan: rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/jp/sendaishi/) — 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) — Sendai 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.sendai.jp city.sendai.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 Sendai (Wayback capture 20250118103037) 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.