Cost of living comparison

compared to

Barbados vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

Barbados is 62.3% more expensive than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Barbados
Groceries: pay 51.4% more in Barbados
Transportation: pay 21.2% more in Barbados
Housing: pay 38.2% more in Barbados
Childcare: pay 94.1% more in Barbados
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.2% more in Barbados
Clothing: pay 74.5% more in Barbados

The cost of restaurants, childcare, clothing, groceries, housing, and entertainment and sports in Barbados are more expensive than in Jamaica. Notably, restaurants and childcare are significantly more expensive in Barbados.

Barbados vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Jamaica	Barbados
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.18 JMD1,146.21	$31.67 BBD63.33	+341.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.65 JMD1,221.34	$11.42 BBD22.83	+49.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.24 JMD197.19	$1.87 BBD3.74	+51.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 JMD119.23	$1.47 BBD2.94	+97.1%
Average			+134.8%

Jamaica vs. Barbados - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.4% more for groceries

	Jamaica	Barbados
Bread 1 loaf	$2.71 JMD433.22	$2.88 BBD5.77	+6.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.07 JMD809.00	$3.66 BBD7.33	-27.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.82 JMD2,206.79	$13.79 BBD27.57	-0.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.51 JMD560.18	$5.88 BBD11.75	+67.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.83 JMD452.13	$6.08 BBD12.15	+114.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.51 JMD400.28	$2.01 BBD4.01	-20.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.32 JMD211.25	$1.44 BBD2.89	+9.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.91 JMD304.37	$2.77 BBD5.55	+45.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.23 JMD195.64	$2.63 BBD5.26	+114.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 JMD148.82	$2.27 BBD4.53	+143.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.89 JMD142.25	$1.90 BBD3.79	+113.0%
Average			+51.4%

Jamaica vs. Barbados - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.2% more for transportation

	Jamaica	Barbados
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 JMD761.49	$7.80 BBD15.61	+63.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.93 JMD7,811.45	$26.00 BBD52.00	-46.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,765.27 JMD6,827,842.87	$43,750.00 BBD87,500.00	+2.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.56 JMD3,441.77	$35.77 BBD71.55	+65.9%
Average			+21.2%

Jamaica vs. Barbados - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.2% more for housing

	Jamaica	Barbados
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.24 JMD7,862.27	$65.83 BBD131.67	+33.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$505.52 JMD80,711.20	$726.53 BBD1,453.07	+43.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$400.25 JMD63,903.29	$651.39 BBD1,302.78	+62.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$111.28 JMD17,766.65	$125.22 BBD250.44	+12.5%
Average			+38.2%

Jamaica vs. Barbados - Cost of housing

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pay 94.1% more for childcare

	Jamaica	Barbados
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.63 JMD29,477.98	$302.50 BBD605.00	+63.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,785.57 JMD444,740.04	$6,250.00 BBD12,500.00	+124.4%
Average			+94.1%

Jamaica vs. Barbados - Cost of childcare

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pay 22.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	Barbados
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.34 JMD373.82	$2.67 BBD5.33	+13.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.50 JMD558.48	$4.82 BBD9.65	+37.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.58 JMD1,370.52	$7.87 BBD15.73	-8.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.65 JMD6,649.65	$74.38 BBD148.75	+78.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.47 JMD1,831.61	$10.25 BBD20.50	-10.7%
Average			+22.2%

Jamaica vs. Barbados - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 74.5% more for clothing

	Jamaica	Barbados
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$21.47 JMD3,427.66	$57.92 BBD115.83	+169.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.34 JMD3,407.55	$35.83 BBD71.67	+67.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.53 JMD10,303.09	$98.61 BBD197.22	+52.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.59 JMD11,589.61	$78.06 BBD156.11	+7.5%
Average			+74.5%

Jamaica vs. Barbados - 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: December 2025

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