Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

Costa Rica vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 63.5% more expensive than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 44.6% more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 8.9% less in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 0.6% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 13.0% more in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 4.0 times more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.1% less in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 96.3% more in Costa Rica

The cost of childcare, clothing, restaurants, housing, and transportation in Costa Rica are more expensive than in Jamaica. Expenses including groceries and entertainment and sports are lower in Costa Rica. Notably, childcare and clothing are significantly more expensive in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Jamaica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 44.6% more for restaurants

	Jamaica	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.25 JMD1,146.26	$9.75 CRC4,991.04	+34.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.80 JMD1,233.93	$9.08 CRC4,650.05	+16.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.33 JMD210.42	$2.01 CRC1,029.50	+51.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 JMD133.80	$1.49 CRC763.73	+76.3%
Average			+44.6%

Jamaica vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.9% less for groceries

	Jamaica	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$2.62 JMD414.75	$2.53 CRC1,296.57	-3.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.91 JMD935.57	$3.76 CRC1,926.66	-36.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.43 JMD2,123.66	$6.98 CRC3,571.93	-48.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.35 JMD529.51	$3.21 CRC1,644.77	-4.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.97 JMD469.49	$3.97 CRC2,033.25	+33.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.46 JMD389.44	$1.79 CRC916.23	-27.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.21 JMD190.62	$0.62 CRC315.87	-48.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.71 JMD270.36	$1.22 CRC622.84	-28.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 JMD192.60	$1.22 CRC625.53	+0.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.92 JMD145.31	$1.09 CRC560.32	+19.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.77 JMD121.13	$1.11 CRC570.27	+45.4%
Average			-8.9%

Jamaica vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.6% more for transportation

	Jamaica	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.83 JMD764.61	$5.63 CRC2,881.25	+16.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.59 JMD5,946.67	$49.00 CRC25,089.32	+30.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,601.97 JMD6,422,406.34	$35,063.37 CRC17,953,776.85	-13.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.62 JMD3,577.91	$15.62 CRC7,999.17	-30.9%
Average			+0.6%

Jamaica vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.0% more for housing

	Jamaica	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.42 JMD7,659.57	$48.50 CRC24,834.06	+0.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$594.87 JMD94,095.59	$778.04 CRC398,384.81	+30.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$355.79 JMD56,278.43	$547.50 CRC280,342.47	+53.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$101.67 JMD16,081.58	$68.26 CRC34,950.54	-32.9%
Average			+13.0%

Jamaica vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 4.0 times more for childcare

	Jamaica	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$194.86 JMD30,823.59	$519.07 CRC265,782.29	+166.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,060.17 JMD325,877.66	$10,987.74 CRC5,626,141.45	+433.3%
Average			+299.9%

Jamaica vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.65 JMD418.63	$2.73 CRC1,396.41	+3.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.05 JMD482.32	$3.65 CRC1,871.11	+19.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.65 JMD1,367.73	$4.58 CRC2,346.32	-47.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.08 JMD6,497.29	$59.46 CRC30,446.07	+44.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.65 JMD1,843.47	$8.63 CRC4,416.79	-26.0%
Average			-1.1%

Jamaica vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 96.3% more for clothing

	Jamaica	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.19 JMD3,825.69	$65.32 CRC33,448.19	+170.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.83 JMD3,452.37	$44.54 CRC22,806.35	+104.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.00 JMD10,439.71	$110.39 CRC56,521.58	+67.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$67.67 JMD10,704.01	$97.22 CRC49,778.72	+43.7%
Average			+96.3%

Jamaica vs. Costa Rica - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2025

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