Cost of living comparison

compared to

Malaysia vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

Malaysia is 12.9% cheaper than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 46.4% less in Malaysia
Groceries: pay 34.9% less in Malaysia
Transportation: pay 54.0% less in Malaysia
Housing: pay 45.7% less in Malaysia
Childcare: pay 58.0% more in Malaysia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.9% less in Malaysia
Clothing: pay 50.9% more in Malaysia

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

Malaysia vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 46.4% less for restaurants

	Jamaica	Malaysia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.18 JMD1,146.21	$3.22 MYR13.31	-55.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.65 JMD1,221.34	$4.41 MYR18.24	-42.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.24 JMD197.19	$0.73 MYR3.01	-41.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 JMD119.23	$0.39 MYR1.63	-47.3%
Average			-46.4%

Jamaica vs. Malaysia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.9% less for groceries

	Jamaica	Malaysia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.71 JMD433.22	$1.02 MYR4.21	-62.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.07 JMD809.00	$7.79 MYR32.19	+53.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.82 JMD2,206.79	$6.67 MYR27.55	-51.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.51 JMD560.18	$1.99 MYR8.21	-43.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.83 JMD452.13	$1.93 MYR7.99	-31.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.51 JMD400.28	$1.28 MYR5.29	-48.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.32 JMD211.25	$0.67 MYR2.75	-49.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.91 JMD304.37	$1.29 MYR5.34	-32.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.23 JMD195.64	$0.73 MYR3.03	-40.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 JMD148.82	$0.53 MYR2.20	-42.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.89 JMD142.25	$0.59 MYR2.42	-34.3%
Average			-34.9%

Jamaica vs. Malaysia - Cost of groceries

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pay 54.0% less for transportation

	Jamaica	Malaysia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 JMD761.49	$1.86 MYR7.67	-61.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.93 JMD7,811.45	$15.26 MYR63.08	-68.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,765.27 JMD6,827,842.87	$35,849.31 MYR148,147.28	-16.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.56 JMD3,441.77	$6.52 MYR26.93	-69.8%
Average			-54.0%

Jamaica vs. Malaysia - Cost of transportation

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pay 45.7% less for housing

	Jamaica	Malaysia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.24 JMD7,862.27	$27.18 MYR112.33	-44.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$505.52 JMD80,711.20	$349.73 MYR1,445.27	-30.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$400.25 JMD63,903.29	$247.40 MYR1,022.40	-38.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$111.28 JMD17,766.65	$34.37 MYR142.05	-69.1%
Average			-45.7%

Jamaica vs. Malaysia - Cost of housing

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pay 58.0% more for childcare

	Jamaica	Malaysia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.63 JMD29,477.98	$170.62 MYR705.09	-7.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,785.57 JMD444,740.04	$6,229.51 MYR25,743.43	+123.6%
Average			+58.0%

Jamaica vs. Malaysia - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	Malaysia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.34 JMD373.82	$3.72 MYR15.38	+59.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.50 JMD558.48	$2.63 MYR10.85	-25.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.58 JMD1,370.52	$4.18 MYR17.26	-51.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.65 JMD6,649.65	$36.40 MYR150.42	-12.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.47 JMD1,831.61	$4.62 MYR19.07	-59.8%
Average			-17.9%

Jamaica vs. Malaysia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 50.9% more for clothing

	Jamaica	Malaysia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$21.47 JMD3,427.66	$59.37 MYR245.35	+176.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.34 JMD3,407.55	$29.69 MYR122.68	+39.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.53 JMD10,303.09	$70.68 MYR292.07	+9.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.59 JMD11,589.61	$56.86 MYR234.98	-21.7%
Average			+50.9%

Jamaica vs. Malaysia - 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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