Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 2.3% cheaper than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 26.5% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 13.5% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 18.5% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 12.1% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.1% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 53.9% more in South Korea

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

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South Korea vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Jamaica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 26.5% less for restaurants

	Jamaica	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.69 JMD2,018.69	$7.06 ₩9,627	-44.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.18 JMD1,301.30	$6.17 ₩8,410	-24.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 JMD171.99	$1.53 ₩2,083	+41.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 JMD113.69	$0.88 ₩1,207	+23.8%
Average			-26.5%

Jamaica vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.5% more for groceries

	Jamaica	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.00 JMD477.13	$3.04 ₩4,143	+1.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD906.60	$6.12 ₩8,352	+7.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.76 JMD2,187.92	$8.23 ₩11,221	-40.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD562.56	$2.94 ₩4,009	-16.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.05	$4.11 ₩5,604	+43.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.46 JMD390.72	$4.00 ₩5,458	+62.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.56 JMD247.45	$1.55 ₩2,114	-0.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.98 JMD474.53	$3.00 ₩4,087	+0.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 JMD206.61	$2.63 ₩3,590	+102.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.36 JMD216.44	$2.03 ₩2,774	+49.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD190.91	$1.26 ₩1,722	+5.2%
Average			+13.5%

Jamaica vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.5% less for transportation

	Jamaica	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.18 JMD823.01	$5.01 ₩6,830	-3.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.77 JMD6,006.01	$46.10 ₩62,878	+22.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,062.55 JMD7M	$28,394.53 ₩39M	-35.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.21 JMD4,167.51	$8.59 ₩11,720	-67.2%
Average			-18.5%

Jamaica vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.1% less for housing

	Jamaica	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.12 JMD8,128.70	$24.34 ₩33,198	-52.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$697.95 JMD111K	$561.73 ₩766K	-19.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$438.00 JMD69,653.08	$387.83 ₩529K	-11.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$114.56 JMD18,218.24	$153.72 ₩210K	+34.2%
Average			-12.1%

Jamaica vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Jamaica	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$324.59 JMD51,618.27	$545.93 ₩745K	+68.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,236.21 JMD1M	$20,214.53 ₩28M	+145.4%
Average			+103.2%

Jamaica vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.20 JMD350.35	$3.30 ₩4,499	+49.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 JMD844.60	$3.66 ₩4,995	-31.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,501.50	$3.35 ₩4,565	-64.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.18 JMD8,775.45	$57.32 ₩78,173	+3.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.65 JMD1,851.85	$11.28 ₩15,390	-3.1%
Average			-9.1%

Jamaica vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 53.9% more for clothing

	Jamaica	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,753.76	$67.53 ₩92,101	+186.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,005.01	$53.43 ₩72,869	+69.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.84 JMD11,900.81	$78.10 ₩107K	+4.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.02 JMD14,792.59	$102.84 ₩140K	+10.6%
Average			+53.9%

Jamaica vs. South Korea - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Jamaica vs. South Korea

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Korea?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Make 4.5 times more money in South Korea

Size Comparison · See true size

Jamaica is about 9 times smaller than South Korea.

Moving from Jamaica to South Korea · OECD 2023

14 people moved from Jamaica to South Korea.

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