Cost of living comparison

compared to

Laos vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 17.6% more expensive than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 42.7% less in Laos
Groceries: pay 21.9% less in Laos
Transportation: pay 18.3% less in Laos
Housing: pay 18.8% more in Laos
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.1% less in Laos
Clothing: pay 77.0% more in Laos

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

Laos vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 42.7% less for restaurants

	Jamaica	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.18 JMD1,147.64	$2.08 LAK44,966	-71.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.65 JMD1,222.86	$5.54 LAK119,908	-27.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.24 JMD197.44	$0.76 LAK16,442	-38.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 JMD119.38	$0.50 LAK10,718	-33.7%
Average			-42.7%

Jamaica vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.9% less for groceries

	Jamaica	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$2.71 JMD433.76	$1.13 LAK24,563	-58.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.07 JMD810.00	$13.26 LAK287,030	+161.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.82 JMD2,209.54	$6.91 LAK149,595	-50.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.51 JMD560.88	$2.11 LAK45,582	-40.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.83 JMD452.69	$2.10 LAK45,369	-26.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.51 JMD400.77	$0.76 LAK16,404	-69.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.32 JMD211.51	$0.75 LAK16,237	-43.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.91 JMD304.75	$0.97 LAK20,984	-49.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.23 JMD195.88	$1.30 LAK28,220	+6.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 JMD149.01	$0.70 LAK15,259	-24.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.89 JMD142.42	$0.46 LAK9,907	-48.6%
Average			-21.9%

Jamaica vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.3% less for transportation

	Jamaica	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 JMD762.43	$4.72 LAK102,223	-1.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.93 JMD7,821.16	$54.89 LAK1,188,021	+12.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,765.27 JMD6,836,327.11	$28,639.89 LAK619,905,563	-33.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.56 JMD3,446.05	$10.51 LAK227,430	-51.3%
Average			-18.3%

Jamaica vs. Laos - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.8% more for housing

	Jamaica	Laos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.24 JMD7,872.04	$9.16 LAK198,182	-81.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$505.52 JMD80,811.49	$1,004.64 LAK21,745,269	+98.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$400.25 JMD63,982.69	$817.42 LAK17,693,017	+104.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$111.28 JMD17,788.73	$59.90 LAK1,296,616	-46.2%
Average			+18.8%

Jamaica vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	Jamaica	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.63 JMD29,514.61	$296.67 LAK6,421,270	+60.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,785.57 JMD445,292.67	$9,267.93 LAK200,602,878	+232.7%
Average			+146.7%

Jamaica vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.34 JMD374.29	$1.42 LAK30,724	-39.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.50 JMD559.17	$1.66 LAK35,847	-52.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.58 JMD1,372.22	$1.98 LAK42,881	-76.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.65 JMD6,657.91	$67.50 LAK1,461,034	+62.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.47 JMD1,833.88	$3.02 LAK65,425	-73.7%
Average			-36.1%

Jamaica vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 77.0% more for clothing

	Jamaica	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$21.47 JMD3,431.92	$50.20 LAK1,086,669	+133.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.34 JMD3,411.78	$65.21 LAK1,411,421	+205.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.53 JMD10,315.90	$66.39 LAK1,436,936	+2.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.59 JMD11,604.02	$47.52 LAK1,028,648	-34.5%
Average			+77.0%

Jamaica vs. Laos - 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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