Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

Thailand

Thailand vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

Thailand is 11.1% more expensive than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 48.2% less in Thailand
Groceries: pay 37.6% less in Thailand
Transportation: pay 30.0% less in Thailand
Housing: pay 45.4% less in Thailand
Childcare: pay 3.4 times more in Thailand
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.0% less in Thailand
Clothing: pay 29.1% more in Thailand

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

Thailand vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Thailand instead of Jamaica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 48.2% less for restaurants

	Jamaica	Thailand
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.25 JMD1,134.06	$2.33 THB78.66	-67.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.80 JMD1,220.80	$6.02 THB202.97	-22.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.33 JMD208.18	$0.70 THB23.76	-47.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 JMD132.38	$0.38 THB12.79	-55.1%
Average			-48.2%

Jamaica vs. Thailand - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.6% less for groceries

	Jamaica	Thailand
Bread 1 loaf	$2.62 JMD410.34	$1.40 THB47.17	-46.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.91 JMD925.61	$8.16 THB275.19	+38.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.43 JMD2,101.05	$6.68 THB225.37	-50.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.35 JMD523.87	$2.05 THB68.99	-38.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.97 JMD464.49	$1.29 THB43.50	-56.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.46 JMD385.30	$1.23 THB41.50	-50.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.21 JMD188.59	$0.52 THB17.55	-56.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.71 JMD267.48	$0.82 THB27.48	-52.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 JMD190.55	$0.66 THB22.20	-45.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.92 JMD143.76	$0.69 THB23.34	-24.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.77 JMD119.84	$0.54 THB18.06	-30.1%
Average			-37.6%

Jamaica vs. Thailand - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.0% less for transportation

	Jamaica	Thailand
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.83 JMD756.47	$4.47 THB150.62	-7.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.59 JMD5,883.37	$25.43 THB857.48	-32.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,601.97 JMD6,354,038.42	$31,362.48 THB1,057,400.67	-22.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.62 JMD3,539.83	$9.67 THB325.89	-57.3%
Average			-30.0%

Jamaica vs. Thailand - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.4% less for housing

	Jamaica	Thailand
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.42 JMD7,578.04	$17.13 THB577.70	-64.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$594.87 JMD93,093.92	$389.22 THB13,122.73	-34.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$355.79 JMD55,679.33	$225.23 THB7,593.89	-36.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$101.67 JMD15,910.39	$55.17 THB1,860.22	-45.7%
Average			-45.4%

Jamaica vs. Thailand - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.4 times more for childcare

	Jamaica	Thailand
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$194.86 JMD30,495.46	$341.66 THB11,519.17	+75.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,060.17 JMD322,408.62	$10,344.18 THB348,758.80	+402.1%
Average			+238.7%

Jamaica vs. Thailand - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	Thailand
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.65 JMD414.18	$2.20 THB74.16	-16.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.05 JMD477.18	$1.90 THB64.04	-37.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.65 JMD1,353.17	$3.85 THB129.71	-55.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.08 JMD6,428.13	$48.79 THB1,645.03	+18.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.65 JMD1,823.84	$5.42 THB182.77	-53.5%
Average			-29.0%

Jamaica vs. Thailand - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.1% more for clothing

	Jamaica	Thailand
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.19 JMD3,784.97	$38.62 THB1,302.02	+59.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.83 JMD3,415.62	$29.36 THB989.90	+34.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.00 JMD10,328.58	$82.78 THB2,791.02	+25.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$67.67 JMD10,590.06	$65.55 THB2,210.20	-3.1%
Average			+29.1%

Jamaica vs. Thailand - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: March 2025

More cost comparisons

Jamaica vs.

China

Jamaica vs.

Russia

Jamaica vs.

United States

Jamaica vs.

Austria

Jamaica vs.

Egypt

Jamaica vs.

Ireland

Jamaica vs.

Poland

Jamaica vs.

Italy

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Kingston vs. Bangkok

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Jamaica

Add prices for Thailand

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Thailand or Jamaica. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.