Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

China

China vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

China is 47.7% cheaper than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 62.2% less in China
Groceries: pay 57.8% less in China
Transportation: pay 45.9% less in China
Housing: pay 55.3% less in China
Childcare: pay 88.2% more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.9% less in China
Clothing: pay 15.4% more in China

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

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China vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 62.2% less for restaurants

	Jamaica	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.69 JMD2,020.87	$3.02 CN¥20.18	-76.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	$5.16 CN¥34.52	-37.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 JMD172.18	$0.51 CN¥3.39	-53.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 JMD113.81	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-58.8%
Average			-62.2%

Jamaica vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.8% less for groceries

	Jamaica	China
Bread 1 loaf	$3.00 JMD477.64	$1.66 CN¥11.09	-44.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD907.58	$6.71 CN¥44.88	+17.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.76 JMD2,190.28	$6.65 CN¥44.53	-51.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD563.17	$1.57 CN¥10.47	-55.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.54	$1.52 CN¥10.14	-46.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.46 JMD391.14	$0.83 CN¥5.55	-66.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.56 JMD247.72	$0.59 CN¥3.92	-62.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.98 JMD475.04	$0.67 CN¥4.46	-77.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 JMD206.83	$0.58 CN¥3.90	-55.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.36 JMD216.67	$0.33 CN¥2.18	-76.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD191.12	$0.40 CN¥2.67	-66.7%
Average			-57.8%

Jamaica vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.9% less for transportation

	Jamaica	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.18 JMD823.90	$4.77 CN¥31.92	-7.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	$20.77 CN¥138.99	-45.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,062.55 JMD7M	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	-57.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.21 JMD4,172.00	$4.24 CN¥28.39	-83.8%
Average			-45.9%

Jamaica vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 55.3% less for housing

	Jamaica	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.12 JMD8,137.47	$11.27 CN¥75.42	-77.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$697.95 JMD111K	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	-51.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$438.00 JMD69,728.23	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	-51.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$114.56 JMD18,237.90	$42.92 CN¥287.14	-62.5%
Average			-55.3%

Jamaica vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 88.2% more for childcare

	Jamaica	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$324.59 JMD51,673.95	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	+54.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,236.21 JMD1M	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+129.6%
Average			+88.2%

Jamaica vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.20 JMD350.73	$1.12 CN¥7.52	-49.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 JMD845.51	$2.84 CN¥19.00	-46.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	$3.71 CN¥24.79	-60.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.18 JMD8,784.92	$41.75 CN¥279.37	-24.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.65 JMD1,853.85	$6.28 CN¥41.99	-46.1%
Average			-43.9%

Jamaica vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.4% more for clothing

	Jamaica	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	$46.40 CN¥310.43	+96.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	$33.97 CN¥227.29	+7.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.84 JMD11,913.64	$73.79 CN¥493.72	-1.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.02 JMD14,808.55	$78.93 CN¥528.10	-15.1%
Average			+15.4%

Jamaica vs. China - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Jamaica vs. China

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Make 73.2% more money in China

Size Comparison · See true size

Jamaica is about 873 times smaller than China.

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