Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

Puerto Rico is 23.1% more expensive than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 30.7% more in Puerto Rico
Groceries: pay 2.0% more in Puerto Rico
Transportation: pay 16.7% less in Puerto Rico
Housing: pay 64.6% more in Puerto Rico
Childcare: pay 68.4% more in Puerto Rico
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.0% less in Puerto Rico
Clothing: pay 47.5% more in Puerto Rico

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

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Puerto Rico vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Puerto Rico instead of Jamaica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 30.7% more for restaurants

	Jamaica	Puerto Rico
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.69 JMD2,020.87	$16.34	+28.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	$9.24	+12.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 JMD172.18	$1.74	+60.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 JMD113.81	$1.35	+89.4%
Average			+30.7%

Jamaica vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.0% more for groceries

	Jamaica	Puerto Rico
Bread 1 loaf	$3.00 JMD477.64	$3.37	+12.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD907.58	$5.35	-6.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.76 JMD2,190.28	$7.71	-43.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD563.17	$6.03	+70.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.54	$3.95	+38.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.46 JMD391.14	$2.15	-12.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.56 JMD247.72	$1.17	-25.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.98 JMD475.04	$1.88	-36.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 JMD206.83	$2.09	+60.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.36 JMD216.67	$1.43	+5.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD191.12	$1.54	+28.5%
Average			+2.0%

Jamaica vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.7% less for transportation

	Jamaica	Puerto Rico
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.18 JMD823.90	$4.08	-21.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	$37.75
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,062.55 JMD7M	$38,571.43	-12.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.21 JMD4,172.00	$14.50	-44.7%
Average			-16.7%

Jamaica vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of transportation

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pay 64.6% more for housing

	Jamaica	Puerto Rico
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.12 JMD8,137.47	$66.43	+30.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$697.95 JMD111K	$1,098.02	+57.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$438.00 JMD69,728.23	$722.33	+64.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$114.56 JMD18,237.90	$228.66	+99.6%
Average			+64.6%

Jamaica vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of housing

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pay 68.4% more for childcare

	Jamaica	Puerto Rico
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$324.59 JMD51,673.95	$700.71	+115.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,236.21 JMD1M	$10,819.51	+31.4%
Average			+68.4%

Jamaica vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	Puerto Rico
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.20 JMD350.73	$2.61	+18.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 JMD845.51	$2.78	-47.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	$11.22	+18.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.18 JMD8,784.92	$29.37	-46.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.65 JMD1,853.85	$9.50	-18.4%
Average			-25.0%

Jamaica vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.5% more for clothing

	Jamaica	Puerto Rico
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	$52.28	+121.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	$47.82	+51.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.84 JMD11,913.64	$96.61	+29.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.02 JMD14,808.55	$101.25	+8.8%
Average			+47.5%

Jamaica vs. Puerto Rico - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Jamaica vs. Puerto Rico

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Puerto Rico?

Quality of Life Comparison · 16 statistics

Make 5.1 times more money in Puerto Rico

Size Comparison · See true size

Jamaica is about 1.2 times bigger than Puerto Rico.

Moving from Jamaica to Puerto Rico · UN DESA 2020

18 people born in Jamaica live in Puerto Rico.

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