Cost of living comparison

Nicaragua

compared to

Jamaica

Jamaica vs. Nicaragua Cost of Living Summary

Jamaica is 49.4% more expensive than Nicaragua overall.

Restaurants: pay 46.5% more in Jamaica
Groceries: pay 63.7% more in Jamaica
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Jamaica
Housing: pay 55.0% more in Jamaica
Childcare: pay 3.2% less in Jamaica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 91.9% more in Jamaica
Clothing: pay 22.8% less in Jamaica

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

Jamaica vs. Nicaragua Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 46.5% more for restaurants

	Nicaragua	Jamaica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.15 NIO152.77	$7.25 JMD1,141.46	+74.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.48 NIO201.53	$7.80 JMD1,228.76	+42.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 NIO35.01	$1.33 JMD209.54	+39.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 NIO24.10	$0.85 JMD133.24	+29.1%
Average			+46.5%

Nicaragua vs. Jamaica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 63.7% more for groceries

	Nicaragua	Jamaica
Bread 1 loaf	$1.43 NIO52.74	$2.62 JMD413.02	+82.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.35 NIO86.57	$5.91 JMD931.65	+151.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.24 NIO156.00	$13.43 JMD2,114.76	+216.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 NIO69.14	$3.35 JMD527.29	+78.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.20 NIO81.11	$2.97 JMD467.53	+34.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.80 NIO102.98	$2.46 JMD387.81	-12.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 NIO22.13	$1.21 JMD189.83	+100.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.72 NIO63.26	$1.71 JMD269.23	-0.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.65 NIO24.09	$1.22 JMD191.80	+86.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.08 NIO39.75	$0.92 JMD144.70	-15.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.97 NIO35.80	$0.77 JMD120.62	-21.3%
Average			+63.7%

Nicaragua vs. Jamaica - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Nicaragua	Jamaica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.15 NIO189.40	$4.83 JMD761.41	-6.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.05 NIO1,105.63	$37.59 JMD5,921.76	+25.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,168.72 NIO668,447.39	$40,601.97 JMD6,395,495.92	+123.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.42 NIO199.30	$22.62 JMD3,562.92	+317.6%
Average			+115.0%

Nicaragua vs. Jamaica - Cost of transportation

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pay 55.0% more for housing

	Nicaragua	Jamaica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$44.72 NIO1,645.44	$48.42 JMD7,627.48	+8.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$308.00 NIO11,331.74	$594.87 JMD93,701.32	+93.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$281.86 NIO10,370.03	$355.79 JMD56,042.61	+26.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.83 NIO1,943.53	$101.67 JMD16,014.20	+92.5%
Average			+55.0%

Nicaragua vs. Jamaica - Cost of housing

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pay 3.2% less for childcare

	Nicaragua	Jamaica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.78 NIO4,149.22	$194.86 JMD30,694.43	+72.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,900.00 NIO364,231.99	$2,060.17 JMD324,512.20	-79.2%
Average			-3.2%

Nicaragua vs. Jamaica - Cost of childcare

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pay 91.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Nicaragua	Jamaica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.22 NIO44.80	$2.65 JMD416.88	+117.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.28 NIO83.88	$3.05 JMD480.29	+33.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.97 NIO109.13	$8.65 JMD1,362.00	+191.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.12 NIO961.16	$41.08 JMD6,470.07	+57.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.30 NIO268.48	$11.65 JMD1,835.74	+59.7%
Average			+91.9%

Nicaragua vs. Jamaica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.8% less for clothing

	Nicaragua	Jamaica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$42.40 NIO1,560.02	$24.19 JMD3,809.66	-43.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.36 NIO1,484.85	$21.83 JMD3,437.91	-45.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$58.79 NIO2,163.01	$66.00 JMD10,395.97	+12.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$79.04 NIO2,907.91	$67.67 JMD10,659.16	-14.4%
Average			-22.8%

Nicaragua vs. Jamaica - 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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