Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

Japan

Japan vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 17.7% cheaper than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 35.6% less in Japan
Groceries: pay 25.7% less in Japan
Transportation: pay 16.5% less in Japan
Housing: pay 18.0% less in Japan
Childcare: pay 32.8% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.2% less in Japan
Clothing: pay 7.8% more in Japan

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

Planning a move to Japan? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Japan vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.6% less for restaurants

	Jamaica	Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.69 JMD2,020.87	$6.75 ¥1,066	-46.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	$5.10 ¥805	-37.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 JMD172.18	$1.13 ¥179	+4.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 JMD113.81	$0.76 ¥120	+5.9%
Average			-35.6%

Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.7% less for groceries

	Jamaica	Japan
Bread 1 loaf	$3.00 JMD477.64	$1.53 ¥241	-49.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD907.58	$5.55 ¥877	-2.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.76 JMD2,190.28	$5.56 ¥879	-59.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD563.17	$2.01 ¥318	-43.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.54	$2.85 ¥450	-0.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.46 JMD391.14	$2.16 ¥342	-11.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.56 JMD247.72	$1.08 ¥171	-30.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.98 JMD475.04	$1.54 ¥243	-48.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 JMD206.83	$1.92 ¥303	+47.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.36 JMD216.67	$1.10 ¥174	-19.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD191.12	$1.08 ¥170	-10.4%
Average			-25.7%

Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.5% less for transportation

	Jamaica	Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.18 JMD823.90	$4.11 ¥649	-20.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	$63.20 ¥9,986	+67.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,062.55 JMD7M	$21,047.50 ¥3M	-52.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.21 JMD4,172.00	$24.65 ¥3,895	-6.0%
Average			-16.5%

Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.0% less for housing

	Jamaica	Japan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.12 JMD8,137.47	$33.54 ¥5,300	-34.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$697.95 JMD111K	$546.58 ¥86,367	-21.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$438.00 JMD69,728.23	$360.78 ¥57,008	-17.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$114.56 JMD18,237.90	$113.26 ¥17,897	-1.1%
Average			-18.0%

Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.8% more for childcare

	Jamaica	Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$324.59 JMD51,673.95	$417.01 ¥65,893	+28.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,236.21 JMD1M	$11,300.14 ¥2M	+37.2%
Average			+32.8%

Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.20 JMD350.73	$2.57 ¥406	+16.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 JMD845.51	$3.06 ¥483	-42.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	$3.83 ¥605	-59.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.18 JMD8,784.92	$53.31 ¥8,424	-3.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.65 JMD1,853.85	$11.73 ¥1,853	+0.7%
Average			-16.2%

Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.8% more for clothing

	Jamaica	Japan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	$46.32 ¥7,320	+96.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	$31.33 ¥4,950	-0.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.84 JMD11,913.64	$59.45 ¥9,394	-20.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.02 JMD14,808.55	$81.04 ¥12,805	-12.9%
Average			+7.8%

Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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. Japan

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Japan?

Quality of Life Comparison · 23 statistics

Make 4.5 times more money in Japan

Size Comparison · See true size

Jamaica is about 34 times smaller than Japan.

Moving from Jamaica to Japan · OECD 2023

178 people moved from Jamaica to Japan.

More cost comparisons

Jamaica vs.

United States

Jamaica vs.

Canada

Jamaica vs.

United Kingdom

Jamaica vs.

Cayman Islands

Jamaica vs.

Bahamas

Jamaica vs.

Antigua and Barbuda

Jamaica vs.

Germany

Jamaica vs.

British Virgin Islands

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Kingston vs. Tokyo

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Jamaica

Add prices for Japan

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Japan or Jamaica. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.