Cost of living comparison

Kingston, Jamaica

compared to

Nairobi, Kenya

Nairobi vs. Kingston Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 16.1% cheaper than Kingston.

Restaurants: pay 42.4% less in Nairobi
Groceries: pay 52.9% less in Nairobi
Transportation: pay 23.2% less in Nairobi
Housing: pay 54.6% less in Nairobi
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.8% less in Nairobi
Clothing: pay 20.8% less in Nairobi

Expenses including housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, transportation, and clothing are lower in Nairobi. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Nairobi.

Nairobi vs. Kingston Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nairobi instead of Kingston, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 42.4% less for restaurants

	Kingston	Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.52 JMD1,181.92	$3.85 KES498.05	-48.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.62 JMD1,354.28	$6.17 KES796.87	-28.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 JMD221.99	$0.66 KES85.65	-53.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 JMD137.89	$0.53 KES68.82	-39.3%
Average			-42.4%

Kingston vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 52.9% less for groceries

	Kingston	Nairobi
Bread 1 loaf	$3.54 JMD556.71	$0.56 KES72.13	-84.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.58 JMD1,033.55	$5.59 KES722.48	-15.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$15.26 JMD2,398.23	$3.35 KES433.19	-78.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.27 JMD671.39	$1.70 KES220.07	-60.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.97 JMD466.56	$2.71 KES350.21	-8.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.70 JMD424.67	$1.26 KES163.33	-53.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 JMD217.84	$0.50 KES64.58	-63.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.82 JMD286.59	$0.87 KES112.93	-52.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.59 JMD250.42	$0.46 KES59.08	-71.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 JMD163.81	$0.48 KES62.36	-53.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.95 JMD149.09	$0.56 KES71.90	-41.3%
Average			-52.9%

Kingston vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.2% less for transportation

	Kingston	Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.83 JMD759.84	$6.17 KES798.05	+27.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.59 JMD5,909.58	$30.83 KES3,984.37	-18.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,920.30 JMD6,746,766.04	$19,266.80 KES2,490,233.99	-55.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.32 JMD4,136.70	$13.87 KES1,792.97	-47.3%
Average			-23.2%

Kingston vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.6% less for housing

	Kingston	Nairobi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.89 JMD8,313.60	$39.39 KES5,091.51	-25.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$874.50 JMD137,465.33	$428.53 KES55,387.25	-51.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$425.21 JMD66,839.37	$166.44 KES21,511.79	-60.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.83 JMD18,678.90	$22.39 KES2,894.23	-81.2%
Average			-54.6%

Kingston vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Kingston	Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$227.66 JMD35,785.77	$166.67 KES21,542.71	-26.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,105.29 JMD330,936.26	$8,008.06 KES1,035,041.33	+280.4%
Average			+126.8%

Kingston vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Kingston	Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.13 JMD492.46	$2.31 KES298.83	-26.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.28 JMD673.25	$2.24 KES289.63	-47.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.77 JMD1,378.90	$3.08 KES398.44	-64.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.97 JMD10,998.38	$44.12 KES5,702.13	-36.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.16 JMD2,068.35	$6.17 KES796.87	-53.1%
Average			-45.8%

Kingston vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.8% less for clothing

	Kingston	Nairobi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.32 JMD4,136.70	$16.84 KES2,176.94	-36.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$25.59 JMD4,021.79	$22.95 KES2,966.15	-10.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.01 JMD11,162.53	$61.84 KES7,992.47	-12.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$68.92 JMD10,834.22	$52.50 KES6,785.85	-23.8%
Average			-20.8%

Kingston vs. Nairobi - 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

Kingston vs.

Vienna

Kingston vs.

Reykjavik

Kingston vs.

Moscow

Kingston vs.

London

Kingston vs.

Mexico City

Kingston vs.

Cairo

Kingston vs.

Paris

Kingston vs.

Phnom Penh

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Jamaica vs. Kenya. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Jamaica and Kenya.

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 Kingston

Add prices for Nairobi

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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