Cost of living comparison

San Salvador, El Salvador

compared to

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston vs. San Salvador Cost of Living Summary

Kingston is 21.1% more expensive than San Salvador.

Restaurants: pay 6.1% more in Kingston
Groceries: pay 52.9% more in Kingston
Transportation: pay 40.0% more in Kingston
Housing: pay 9.9% more in Kingston
Childcare: pay 10.6% less in Kingston
Entertainment and Sports: pay 95.1% more in Kingston
Clothing: pay 45.8% less in Kingston

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

Kingston vs. San Salvador Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kingston instead of San Salvador, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 6.1% more for restaurants

	San Salvador	Kingston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 SVC87.45	$7.52 JMD1,198.39	-24.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 SVC61.22	$8.62 JMD1,373.16	+23.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.09 SVC9.51	$1.41 JMD225.08	+29.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.91 SVC7.98	$0.88 JMD139.81	-3.9%
Average			+6.1%

San Salvador vs. Kingston - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.9% more for groceries

	San Salvador	Kingston
Bread 1 loaf	$2.12 SVC18.54	$3.54 JMD564.47	+67.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.24 SVC28.30	$6.58 JMD1,047.96	+103.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.39 SVC64.59	$15.26 JMD2,431.66	+106.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.04 SVC26.55	$4.27 JMD680.75	+40.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.78 SVC24.28	$2.97 JMD473.07	+6.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.44 SVC12.62	$2.70 JMD430.59	+87.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 SVC6.72	$1.39 JMD220.88	+80.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.17 SVC10.19	$1.82 JMD290.59	+56.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 SVC10.63	$1.59 JMD253.91	+31.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.99 SVC8.69	$1.04 JMD166.09	+4.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.98 SVC8.53	$0.95 JMD151.17	-2.8%
Average			+52.9%

San Salvador vs. Kingston - Cost of groceries

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pay 40.0% more for transportation

	San Salvador	Kingston
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.97 SVC34.74	$4.83 JMD770.43	+21.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.00 SVC174.91	$37.59 JMD5,991.95	+88.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 SVC218,631.30	$42,920.30 JMD6,840,813.68	+71.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$33.43 SVC292.33	$26.32 JMD4,194.37	-21.3%
Average			+40.0%

San Salvador vs. Kingston - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.9% more for housing

	San Salvador	Kingston
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.14 SVC368.55	$52.89 JMD8,429.49	+25.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$858.33 SVC7,506.34	$874.50 JMD139,381.55	+1.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$641.67 SVC5,611.54	$425.21 JMD67,771.09	-33.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.52 SVC712.91	$118.83 JMD18,939.27	+45.8%
Average			+9.9%

San Salvador vs. Kingston - Cost of housing

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pay 10.6% less for childcare

	San Salvador	Kingston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$160.29 SVC1,401.74	$227.66 JMD36,284.61	+42.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,740.67 SVC50,203.58	$2,105.29 JMD335,549.40	-63.3%
Average			-10.6%

San Salvador vs. Kingston - Cost of childcare

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pay 95.1% more for entertainment and sports

	San Salvador	Kingston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 SVC17.49	$3.13 JMD499.33	+56.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.24 SVC28.32	$4.28 JMD682.63	+32.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 SVC34.98	$8.77 JMD1,398.12	+119.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.67 SVC268.19	$69.97 JMD11,151.69	+128.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.50 SVC48.10	$13.16 JMD2,097.18	+139.2%
Average			+95.1%

San Salvador vs. Kingston - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 45.8% less for clothing

	San Salvador	Kingston
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$72.14 SVC630.91	$26.32 JMD4,194.37	-63.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.86 SVC418.52	$25.59 JMD4,077.86	-46.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.14 SVC980.72	$71.01 JMD11,318.13	-36.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$108.33 SVC947.40	$68.92 JMD10,985.25	-36.4%
Average			-45.8%

San Salvador vs. Kingston - 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 El Salvador vs. Jamaica. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within El Salvador and Jamaica.

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