Cost of living comparison

Kingston, Jamaica

compared to

Thimphu, Bhutan

Thimphu vs. Kingston Cost of Living Summary

Thimphu is 52.1% cheaper than Kingston.

Restaurants: pay 66.5% less in Thimphu
Groceries: pay 64.8% less in Thimphu
Transportation: pay 50.4% less in Thimphu
Housing: pay 73.5% less in Thimphu
Childcare: pay 29.8% less in Thimphu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.6% less in Thimphu
Clothing: pay 56.4% less in Thimphu

Expenses including housing, restaurants, groceries, clothing, transportation, and childcare are lower in Thimphu.

Thimphu vs. Kingston Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 66.5% less for restaurants

	Kingston	Thimphu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.52 JMD1,189.33	$2.95 BTN253.16	-60.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.62 JMD1,362.78	$2.95 BTN253.16	-65.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 JMD223.38	$0.55 BTN47.59	-60.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 JMD138.76	$0.19 BTN16.03	-78.7%
Average			-66.5%

Kingston vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 64.8% less for groceries

	Kingston	Thimphu
Bread 1 loaf	$3.54 JMD560.21	$0.94 BTN81.01	-73.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.58 JMD1,040.04	$1.68 BTN144.30	-74.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$15.26 JMD2,413.28	$3.17 BTN272.16	-79.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.27 JMD675.61	$2.20 BTN189.36	-48.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.97 JMD469.49	$1.74 BTN149.28	-41.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.70 JMD427.34	$1.07 BTN91.87	-60.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 JMD219.21	$0.65 BTN56.27	-52.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.82 JMD288.39	$0.82 BTN70.74	-54.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.59 JMD251.99	$0.37 BTN31.69	-76.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 JMD164.84	$0.23 BTN19.75	-77.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.95 JMD150.03	$0.26 BTN22.05	-72.9%
Average			-64.8%

Kingston vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries

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pay 50.4% less for transportation

	Kingston	Thimphu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.83 JMD764.61	$3.93 BTN337.29	-18.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.59 JMD5,946.67	$3.97 BTN340.78	-89.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,920.30 JMD6,789,117.82	$21,215.98 BTN1,822,757.32	-50.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.32 JMD4,162.67	$15.09 BTN1,296.18	-42.7%
Average			-50.4%

Kingston vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation

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pay 73.5% less for housing

	Kingston	Thimphu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.89 JMD8,365.79	$31.25 BTN2,684.44	-40.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$874.50 JMD138,328.25	$124.45 BTN10,692.15	-85.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$425.21 JMD67,258.95	$79.38 BTN6,820.07	-81.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.83 JMD18,796.15	$16.69 BTN1,433.67	-86.0%
Average			-73.5%

Kingston vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing

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pay 29.8% less for childcare

	Kingston	Thimphu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$227.66 JMD36,010.41	$246.05 BTN21,138.92	+8.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,105.29 JMD333,013.66	$677.73 BTN58,226.97	-67.8%
Average			-29.8%

Kingston vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Kingston	Thimphu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.13 JMD495.56	$6.43 BTN552.56	+105.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.28 JMD677.47	$1.53 BTN131.64	-64.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.77 JMD1,387.56	$3.83 BTN329.11	-56.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.97 JMD11,067.42	$49.11 BTN4,219.35	-29.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.16 JMD2,081.34	$3.54 BTN303.79	-73.1%
Average			-23.6%

Kingston vs. Thimphu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 56.4% less for clothing

	Kingston	Thimphu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.32 JMD4,162.67	$9.43 BTN810.11	-64.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$25.59 JMD4,047.04	$11.79 BTN1,012.64	-53.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.01 JMD11,232.60	$32.41 BTN2,784.77	-54.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$68.92 JMD10,902.23	$32.41 BTN2,784.77	-53.0%
Average			-56.4%

Kingston vs. Thimphu - 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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