Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 32.6% more expensive than Jamaica overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 13.3% less in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 4.9% less in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 4.2% less in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 7.2% less in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 3.2 times more in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.1% less in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 42.0% more in Japan
The cost of childcare and clothing in Japan are more expensive than in Jamaica. Expenses including restaurants, housing, groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Japan. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Japan.
Japan vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of Jamaica, you would:
pay 13.3% less for restaurants
|
Jamaica
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.18
JMD1,148.80
|
$6.60
¥1,042
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.65
JMD1,224.10
|
$5.10
¥804
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.24
JMD197.64
|
$1.07
¥168
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.75
JMD119.50
|
$0.76
¥120
|
|
Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.9% less for groceries
|
Jamaica
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.71
JMD434.19
|
$1.50
¥237
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.07
JMD810.82
|
$5.07
¥799
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$13.82
JMD2,211.77
|
$5.67
¥894
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.51
JMD561.45
|
$2.08
¥328
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.83
JMD453.15
|
$2.93
¥462
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.51
JMD401.18
|
$2.14
¥337
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.32
JMD211.72
|
$1.12
¥176
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
JMD305.06
|
$1.69
¥267
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.23
JMD196.08
|
$2.13
¥336
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.93
JMD149.16
|
$1.22
¥192
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.89
JMD142.57
|
$1.15
¥182
|
|
Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 4.2% less for transportation
|
Jamaica
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.77
JMD763.21
|
$4.39
¥692
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$48.93
JMD7,829.07
|
$59.14
¥9,330
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$42,765.27
JMD6,843,245.04
|
$22,599.51
¥3,564,994
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.56
JMD3,449.54
|
$25.32
¥3,995
|
|
Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 7.2% less for housing
|
Jamaica
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.24
JMD7,880.01
|
$33.91
¥5,350
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$505.52
JMD80,893.26
|
$543.18
¥85,685
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$400.25
JMD64,047.44
|
$353.61
¥55,781
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$111.28
JMD17,806.73
|
$118.72
¥18,727
|
|
Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 3.2 times more for childcare
|
Jamaica
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$184.63
JMD29,544.47
|
$296.89
¥46,833
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,785.57
JMD445,743.28
|
$13,159.48
¥2,075,862
|
|
Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 1.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Jamaica
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.34
JMD374.66
|
$2.60
¥411
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.50
JMD559.74
|
$3.03
¥477
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.58
JMD1,373.61
|
$3.89
¥613
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$41.65
JMD6,664.65
|
$59.54
¥9,392
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.47
JMD1,835.74
|
$12.46
¥1,966
|
|
Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 42.0% more for clothing
|
Jamaica
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$21.47
JMD3,435.39
|
$44.79
¥7,066
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$21.34
JMD3,415.23
|
$32.04
¥5,054
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$64.53
JMD10,326.33
|
$57.37
¥9,050
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$72.59
JMD11,615.76
|
$87.37
¥13,783
|
|
Jamaica vs. Japan - Cost of clothing
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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