Cost of living comparison

compared to

El Salvador vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

El Salvador is 11.9% more expensive than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 13.1% less in El Salvador
Groceries: pay 20.8% less in El Salvador
Transportation: pay 23.7% less in El Salvador
Housing: pay 0.2% more in El Salvador
Childcare: pay 59.3% more in El Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.9% less in El Salvador
Clothing: pay 2.2 times more in El Salvador

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

El Salvador vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in El Salvador instead of Jamaica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 13.1% less for restaurants

	Jamaica	El Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.18 JMD1,146.21	$5.50 SVC47.99	-23.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.65 JMD1,221.34	$6.33 SVC55.23	-17.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.24 JMD197.19	$0.99 SVC8.64	-19.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 JMD119.23	$0.81 SVC7.05	+8.2%
Average			-13.1%

Jamaica vs. El Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.8% less for groceries

	Jamaica	El Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$2.71 JMD433.22	$1.95 SVC17.01	-28.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.07 JMD809.00	$3.77 SVC32.86	-25.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.82 JMD2,206.79	$6.72 SVC58.61	-51.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.51 JMD560.18	$2.78 SVC24.25	-20.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.83 JMD452.13	$2.82 SVC24.64	-0.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.51 JMD400.28	$1.67 SVC14.60	-33.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.32 JMD211.25	$0.76 SVC6.60	-42.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.91 JMD304.37	$1.17 SVC10.17	-38.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.23 JMD195.64	$1.22 SVC10.61	-0.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 JMD148.82	$0.97 SVC8.44	+3.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.89 JMD142.25	$0.98 SVC8.51	+9.5%
Average			-20.8%

Jamaica vs. El Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.7% less for transportation

	Jamaica	El Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 JMD761.49	$3.75 SVC32.69	-21.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.93 JMD7,811.45	$15.00 SVC130.88	-69.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,765.27 JMD6,827,842.87	$24,666.67 SVC215,223.23	-42.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.56 JMD3,441.77	$29.78 SVC259.88	+38.2%
Average			-23.7%

Jamaica vs. El Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 0.2% more for housing

	Jamaica	El Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.24 JMD7,862.27	$41.89 SVC365.49	-14.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$505.52 JMD80,711.20	$666.67 SVC5,816.84	+31.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$400.25 JMD63,903.29	$502.78 SVC4,386.87	+25.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$111.28 JMD17,766.65	$64.97 SVC566.86	-41.6%
Average			+0.2%

Jamaica vs. El Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 59.3% more for childcare

	Jamaica	El Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.63 JMD29,477.98	$162.67 SVC1,419.31	-11.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,785.57 JMD444,740.04	$6,420.00 SVC56,016.21	+130.5%
Average			+59.3%

Jamaica vs. El Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	El Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.34 JMD373.82	$2.00 SVC17.45	-14.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.50 JMD558.48	$2.83 SVC24.69	-19.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.58 JMD1,370.52	$4.00 SVC34.90	-53.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.65 JMD6,649.65	$30.27 SVC264.08	-27.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.47 JMD1,831.61	$5.17 SVC45.08	-55.0%
Average			-33.9%

Jamaica vs. El Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.2 times more for clothing

	Jamaica	El Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$21.47 JMD3,427.66	$62.60 SVC546.20	+191.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.34 JMD3,407.55	$45.83 SVC399.91	+114.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.53 JMD10,303.09	$131.80 SVC1,149.99	+104.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.59 JMD11,589.61	$109.17 SVC952.51	+50.4%
Average			+115.2%

Jamaica vs. El Salvador - 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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