QA Engineer Salary: Tokyo vs San Francisco
Annual median salary comparison (2024). All figures include local currency, USD equivalent, and PPP-adjusted purchasing power.
🇯🇵 Tokyo
Japan
¥6.8M JPY
$45K USD
$72K PPP
VS
USD Difference
-67%
Tokyo vs San Francisco
🇺🇸 San Francisco
United States
$139K USD
$139K USD
$139K PPP
Higher Purchasing Power
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Tokyo | San Francisco | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Currency Salary | ¥6.8M JPY | $139K USD | — |
| USD Equivalent | $45K | $139K | -67% |
| PPP-Adjusted SalaryWINNER | $72K | $139K 🏆 | -48% |
| 25th Percentile | ¥5.4M JPY | $111K USD | — |
| Median | ¥6.8M JPY | $139K USD | — |
| 75th Percentile | ¥8.4M JPY | $173K USD | — |
| Annual Mean | ¥7.3M JPY | $150K USD | — |
What Does This Mean?
Tokyo offers a QA Engineer salary of $45K USD, while San Francisco offers $139K USD — a difference of -67% in raw terms.
After adjusting for purchasing power parity (PPP), Tokyo's salary is worth $72K in US purchasing power terms, versus $139K for San Francisco. This means San Francisco offers better real purchasing power for this role.
PPP adjustment accounts for differences in local prices — for example, housing costs 3x more in San Francisco than in Warsaw, so a San Francisco salary needs to be much higher to provide an equivalent standard of living.