Cost of living comparison

 Montego Bay, Jamaica
compared to
 Jamaica
Jamaica vs. Montego Bay Cost of Living Summary

Jamaica is 23.1% more expensive than Montego Bay.

Restaurants
pay 0.4% more in Jamaica
Groceries
pay 17.3% more in Jamaica
Transportation
pay 8.3% more in Jamaica
Housing
pay 23.5% more in Jamaica
Childcare
pay 2.1 times more in Jamaica
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.4% more in Jamaica
Clothing
pay 0.3% less in Jamaica

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Jamaica are more expensive than in Montego Bay. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Jamaica.

Jamaica vs. Montego Bay Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Jamaica instead of Montego Bay, you would:

pay 0.4% more for restaurants

 
Montego Bay
Jamaica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $7.41
JMD1,182.44
$7.25
JMD1,156.29
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.89
JMD1,099.76
$7.80
JMD1,244.73
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.41
JMD225.34
$1.33
JMD212.26

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pay 17.3% more for groceries

 
Montego Bay
Jamaica
Bread
1 loaf
$2.51
JMD400.48
$2.62
JMD418.38
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.58
JMD1,049.13
$5.91
JMD943.76
Milk (1 gallon) $9.39
JMD1,497.75
$13.43
JMD2,142.23

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pay 8.3% more for transportation

 
Montego Bay
Jamaica
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.83
JMD771.30
$4.83
JMD771.30
Monthly public transit pass ?? $37.59
JMD5,998.68
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,328.68
JMD4,998,900.21
$40,601.97
JMD6,478,574.67

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pay 23.5% more for housing

 
Montego Bay
Jamaica
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$47.49
JMD7,577.97
$48.42
JMD7,726.56
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $261.07
JMD41,657.50
$594.87
JMD94,918.52
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $454.19
JMD72,471.28
$355.79
JMD56,770.62

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

 
Montego Bay
Jamaica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $63.70
JMD10,164.43
$194.86
JMD31,093.16
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $1,879.72
JMD299,934.01
$2,060.17
JMD328,727.68

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pay 4.4% more for entertainment and sports

 
Montego Bay
Jamaica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.13
JMD499.89
$2.65
JMD422.29
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.10
JMD653.94
$3.05
JMD486.53
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$8.77
JMD1,399.69
$8.65
JMD1,379.70

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pay 0.3% less for clothing

 
Montego Bay
Jamaica
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$26.32
JMD4,199.08
$24.19
JMD3,859.15
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$19.84
JMD3,165.97
$21.83
JMD3,482.57
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$66.83
JMD10,664.32
$66.00
JMD10,531.02

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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: July 2025
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