Cost of living comparison

compared to

North Carolina vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

North Carolina is 2.5 times more expensive than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in North Carolina
Groceries: pay 31.6% more in North Carolina
Transportation: pay 10.6% less in North Carolina
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in North Carolina
Childcare: pay 7.8 times more in North Carolina
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.3% more in North Carolina
Clothing: pay 74.1% more in North Carolina

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, clothing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in North Carolina are more expensive than in Jamaica. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in North Carolina.

North Carolina vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in North Carolina instead of Jamaica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Jamaica	North Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.18 JMD1,146.21	$17.06	+137.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.65 JMD1,221.34	$10.47	+36.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.24 JMD197.19	$2.28	+84.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 JMD119.23	$1.82	+144.2%
Average			+100.9%

Jamaica vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.6% more for groceries

	Jamaica	North Carolina
Bread 1 loaf	$2.71 JMD433.22	$3.79	+39.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.07 JMD809.00	$6.80	+34.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.82 JMD2,206.79	$3.73	-73.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.51 JMD560.18	$3.98	+13.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.83 JMD452.13	$5.20	+83.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.51 JMD400.28	$2.47	-1.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.32 JMD211.25	$0.71	-46.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.91 JMD304.37	$2.20	+15.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.23 JMD195.64	$2.38	+94.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 JMD148.82	$1.74	+86.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.89 JMD142.25	$1.80	+102.1%
Average			+31.6%

Jamaica vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.6% less for transportation

	Jamaica	North Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 JMD761.49	$2.98	-37.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.93 JMD7,811.45	$60.67	+24.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,765.27 JMD6,827,842.87	$33,588.64	-21.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.56 JMD3,441.77	$19.99	-7.3%
Average			-10.6%

Jamaica vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Jamaica	North Carolina
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.24 JMD7,862.27	$72.77	+47.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$505.52 JMD80,711.20	$1,488.15	+194.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$400.25 JMD63,903.29	$1,261.77	+215.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$111.28 JMD17,766.65	$132.31	+18.9%
Average			+119.1%

Jamaica vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing

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pay 7.8 times more for childcare

	Jamaica	North Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.63 JMD29,477.98	$1,261.89	+583.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,785.57 JMD444,740.04	$24,633.15	+784.3%
Average			+683.9%

Jamaica vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	North Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.34 JMD373.82	$5.12	+118.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.50 JMD558.48	$4.82	+37.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.58 JMD1,370.52	$7.77	-9.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.65 JMD6,649.65	$48.40	+16.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.47 JMD1,831.61	$12.98	+13.2%
Average			+35.3%

Jamaica vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 74.1% more for clothing

	Jamaica	North Carolina
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$21.47 JMD3,427.66	$49.30	+129.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.34 JMD3,407.55	$37.76	+76.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.53 JMD10,303.09	$88.37	+36.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.59 JMD11,589.61	$111.01	+52.9%
Average			+74.1%

Jamaica vs. North Carolina - 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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