Materials Engineer Salary: Boston vs Tokyo
Annual median salary comparison (2024). All figures include local currency, USD equivalent, and PPP-adjusted purchasing power.
🇺🇸 Boston
United States
$116K USD
$116K USD
$116K PPP
Higher Purchasing Power
VS
USD Difference
+157%
Boston vs Tokyo
🇯🇵 Tokyo
Japan
¥6.8M JPY
$45K USD
$72K PPP
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Boston | Tokyo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Currency Salary | $116K USD | ¥6.8M JPY | — |
| USD Equivalent | $116K | $45K | +157% |
| PPP-Adjusted SalaryWINNER | $116K 🏆 | $72K | +62% |
| 25th Percentile | $93K USD | ¥5.4M JPY | — |
| Median | $116K USD | ¥6.8M JPY | — |
| 75th Percentile | $145K USD | ¥8.4M JPY | — |
| Annual Mean | $126K USD | ¥7.3M JPY | — |
What Does This Mean?
Boston offers a Materials Engineer salary of $116K USD, while Tokyo offers $45K USD — a difference of +157% in raw terms.
After adjusting for purchasing power parity (PPP), Boston's salary is worth $116K in US purchasing power terms, versus $72K for Tokyo. This means Boston 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.