Cost of living comparison

compared to

Montego Bay vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

Montego Bay is 5.9% cheaper than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 3.7% more in Montego Bay
Groceries: pay 6.1% less in Montego Bay
Transportation: pay 6.9% more in Montego Bay
Housing: pay 0.2% less in Montego Bay
Childcare: pay 52.2% less in Montego Bay
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.0% more in Montego Bay
Clothing: pay 4.9% more in Montego Bay

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

Montego Bay vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Montego Bay instead of Jamaica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.7% more for restaurants

	Jamaica	Montego Bay
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.18 JMD1,147.64	$7.50 JMD1,199.24	+4.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.65 JMD1,222.86	$8.13 JMD1,299.18	+6.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.24 JMD197.44	$1.28 JMD205.33	+4.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 JMD119.38	$0.75 JMD119.54	+0.1%
Average			+3.7%

Jamaica vs. Montego Bay - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.1% less for groceries

	Jamaica	Montego Bay
Bread 1 loaf	$2.71 JMD433.76	$2.68 JMD427.86	-1.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.07 JMD810.00	$5.66 JMD905.12	+11.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.82 JMD2,209.54	$9.61 JMD1,535.91	-30.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.51 JMD560.88	$3.51 JMD561.65	+0.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.83 JMD452.69	$2.84 JMD453.31	+0.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.51 JMD400.77	$1.88 JMD299.81	-25.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.32 JMD211.51	$1.13 JMD181.32	-14.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.91 JMD304.75	$1.91 JMD305.17	+0.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.23 JMD195.88	$1.13 JMD181.32	-7.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 JMD149.01	$0.93 JMD149.21	+0.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.89 JMD142.42	$0.89 JMD142.62	+0.1%
Average			-6.1%

Jamaica vs. Montego Bay - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.9% more for transportation

	Jamaica	Montego Bay
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 JMD762.43	$4.78 JMD763.48	+0.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.93 JMD7,821.16	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,765.27 JMD6,836,327.11	$42,823.81 JMD6,845,684.90	+0.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.56 JMD3,446.05	$25.94 JMD4,147.39	+20.4%
Average			+6.9%

Jamaica vs. Montego Bay - Cost of transportation

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pay 0.2% less for housing

	Jamaica	Montego Bay
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.24 JMD7,872.04	$47.61 JMD7,610.95	-3.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$505.52 JMD80,811.49	$260.49 JMD41,640.42	-48.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$400.25 JMD63,982.69	$556.29 JMD88,927.05	+39.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$111.28 JMD17,788.73	$124.70 JMD19,933.51	+12.1%
Average			-0.2%

Jamaica vs. Montego Bay - Cost of housing

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pay 52.2% less for childcare

	Jamaica	Montego Bay
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.63 JMD29,514.61	$52.10 JMD8,328.08	-71.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,785.57 JMD445,292.67	$1,875.50 JMD299,811.02	-32.7%
Average			-52.2%

Jamaica vs. Montego Bay - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	Montego Bay
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.34 JMD374.29	$2.50 JMD399.75	+6.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.50 JMD559.17	$4.55 JMD728.11	+30.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.58 JMD1,372.22	$8.75 JMD1,399.12	+2.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.65 JMD6,657.91	$40.64 JMD6,495.91	-2.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.47 JMD1,833.88	$8.44 JMD1,349.15	-26.4%
Average			+2.0%

Jamaica vs. Montego Bay - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.9% more for clothing

	Jamaica	Montego Bay
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$21.47 JMD3,431.92	$23.44 JMD3,747.64	+9.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.34 JMD3,411.78	$21.88 JMD3,497.80	+2.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.53 JMD10,315.90	$66.68 JMD10,659.95	+3.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.59 JMD11,604.02	$76.06 JMD12,159.00	+4.8%
Average			+4.9%

Jamaica vs. Montego Bay - 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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