Livability Report
Kawasaki
Kanagawa·Pop. 1,538,262·Data: 2024·Updated Mar 2026
Analyzing Kawasaki (Kanagawa) livability across safety, transport, education, and healthcare. Objective scores based on government open data (e-Stat).
Overall Score
/ 100
5-Axis Score Breakdown
Basic Information
Population
1,538,262
Prefecture
Kanagawa
Data Year
2024
Detailed Data
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Clinics | 1,070 |
| Clinics (per 10,000) | 6.96 |
| Crime Rate (per 1,000) | 4.75 |
| Hospitals | 39 |
| Hospitals (per 10,000) | 0.25 |
| Total Population | 1,538,262 |
| Public Transit Usage (%) | 59.6 |
| Schools (elementary + junior high + high) | 176 |
| Schools (per 1,000) | 0.11 |
Q&A with Kai
Alex, Yuki, and Kai discuss what it's really like to live here.
Overall
Alex
Kawasaki is sandwiched between Tokyo and Yokohama, right? What does the overall livability picture look like?
Yuki
With a population over 1.5 million, there must be some interesting patterns in the data.
Kai
Kawasaki has a population of approximately 1,538,262 with an overall score of 44.9. Its most striking feature is the extreme contrast: a perfect transport score of 100.0 (1st among 20 cities) alongside education and healthcare scores of 0.0 (lowest). The public transit usage rate of 63.7% is the highest nationally, but school density at 0.11 per 1,000 residents and hospital density at 0.18 per 10,000 are low relative to population. Note that scores are based on relative comparison among 20 cities, so 0 means the lowest value in that group.
Safety
Alex
How safe is Kawasaki? Some people have concerns about the area.
Yuki
I'd like to see the actual crime rate data. Perceptions and reality often differ.
Kai
Kawasaki's crime rate is 4.51 per 1,000 residents, yielding a safety score of 79.4. This ranks quite high among the 20 cities compared. For a city exceeding 1.5 million people, this is a strong figure, notably lower than major metropolitan areas like central Tokyo or Osaka.
Cost of Living
Alex
Being so close to Tokyo, rent must be expensive. Is there any cost-of-living data?
Yuki
Land price data would allow a concrete comparison.
Kai
Land price data has not yet been collected, so the cost score is currently null. As a general guide, studio apartments near Kawasaki Station run about 70,000-90,000 yen/month, while the Musashi-Kosugi area ranges from 80,000-110,000 yen/month. This is slightly cheaper than Tokyo's 23 wards but comparable to central Yokohama. Official scores will be calculated once published land price data is incorporated.
Transport
Alex
I heard the transport score is a perfect 100. Why is that?
Yuki
What specific rail lines serve the area, and how convenient is it really?
Kai
Kawasaki's public transit usage rate is 63.7%, the highest among all 20 cities. Multiple rail lines run through the city — JR Tokaido, Keihin-Tohoku, Nambu, Keikyu Main Line, Tokyu Toyoko, and Den-en-toshi lines — providing access to central Tokyo and Yokohama within 20 minutes. The transport score of 100.0 directly reflects having the highest public transit usage rate in the comparison group.
Education
Alex
An education score of 0.0 is surprising. Are there really not enough schools?
Yuki
How does the per-capita figure compare to other cities?
Kai
Kawasaki has 173 schools (elementary, middle, and high), but at 0.11 per 1,000 residents, it has the lowest density among the 20 cities. This is characteristic of very densely populated cities — while the absolute number of schools is sufficient, per-capita metrics are unfavorable. The 0.0 score is purely a relative ranking and does not mean the education environment is poor; rather, it reflects lower school density relative to the large population.
Healthcare
Alex
The healthcare score is also 0.0. Does that mean there aren't enough hospitals?
Yuki
Including clinics, how is actual healthcare access?
Kai
Kawasaki has 28 hospitals (0.18 per 10,000 residents) and 1,083 clinics (7.04 per 10,000). The 0.0 healthcare score reflects the lowest hospital density among the 20 cities, again influenced by high population density. The 1,083 clinics provide solid everyday medical access. However, for specialized care or hospitalization, medical facilities in neighboring Tokyo and Yokohama are also viable options.