Cost of living comparison

Kingston, Jamaica

compared to

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane vs. Kingston Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 11.3% more expensive than Kingston.

Restaurants: pay 63.4% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 37.2% less in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 14.2% less in Vientiane
Housing: pay 13.1% less in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 2.9 times more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.8% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 78.2% more in Vientiane

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

Vientiane vs. Kingston Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 63.4% less for restaurants

	Kingston	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.52 JMD1,198.39	$1.98 LAK42,814	-73.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.62 JMD1,373.16	$2.97 LAK64,221	-65.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 JMD225.08	$0.53 LAK11,418	-62.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 JMD139.81	$0.42 LAK9,135	-51.8%
Average			-63.4%

Kingston vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.2% less for groceries

	Kingston	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$3.54 JMD564.47	$0.91 LAK19,694	-74.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.58 JMD1,047.96	$13.72 LAK296,229	+108.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$15.26 JMD2,431.66	$6.42 LAK138,631	-57.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.27 JMD680.75	$1.75 LAK37,803	-59.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.97 JMD473.07	$2.95 LAK63,719	-0.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.70 JMD430.59	$0.88 LAK19,044	-67.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 JMD220.88	$0.49 LAK10,631	-64.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.82 JMD290.59	$0.92 LAK19,940	-49.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.59 JMD253.91	$0.60 LAK12,866	-62.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 JMD166.09	$0.73 LAK15,676	-30.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.95 JMD151.17	$0.46 LAK9,892	-51.7%
Average			-37.2%

Kingston vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.2% less for transportation

	Kingston	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.83 JMD770.43	$5.00 LAK108,058	+3.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.59 JMD5,991.95	$49.23 LAK1,063,162	+31.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,920.30 JMD6,840,813.68	$28,330.27 LAK611,770,395	-34.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.32 JMD4,194.37	$11.18 LAK241,471	-57.5%
Average			-14.2%

Kingston vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.1% less for housing

	Kingston	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.89 JMD8,429.49	$11.17 LAK241,267	-78.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$874.50 JMD139,381.55	$859.15 LAK18,552,729	-1.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$425.21 JMD67,771.09	$775.98 LAK16,756,633	+82.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.83 JMD18,939.27	$54.31 LAK1,172,744	-54.3%
Average			-13.1%

Kingston vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 2.9 times more for childcare

	Kingston	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$227.66 JMD36,284.61	$332.66 LAK7,183,531	+46.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,105.29 JMD335,549.40	$9,252.41 LAK199,798,618	+339.5%
Average			+192.8%

Kingston vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Kingston	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.13 JMD499.33	$0.95 LAK20,485	-69.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.28 JMD682.63	$1.50 LAK32,296	-65.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.77 JMD1,398.12	$1.59 LAK34,251	-81.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.97 JMD11,151.69	$49.74 LAK1,074,063	-28.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.16 JMD2,097.18	$3.50 LAK75,664	-73.4%
Average			-63.8%

Kingston vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 78.2% more for clothing

	Kingston	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.32 JMD4,194.37	$85.86 LAK1,854,016	+226.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$25.59 JMD4,077.86	$62.88 LAK1,357,815	+145.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.01 JMD11,318.13	$57.29 LAK1,237,081	-19.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$68.92 JMD10,985.25	$41.48 LAK895,672	-39.8%
Average			+78.2%

Kingston vs. Vientiane - 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: June 2025

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

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