Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

Tonga

Tonga vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

Tonga is 23.9% cheaper than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 11.9% more in Tonga
Groceries: pay 25.4% less in Tonga
Transportation: pay 44.9% less in Tonga
Housing: pay 5.5% more in Tonga
Childcare: pay 87.9% less in Tonga
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.5% more in Tonga
Clothing: pay 58.4% less in Tonga

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

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Tonga vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 11.9% more for restaurants

	Jamaica	Tonga
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.69 JMD2,020.87	$8.31 TOP20.00	-34.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	$10.38 TOP25.00	+26.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 JMD172.18	$2.84 TOP6.83	+162.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 JMD113.81	$2.46 TOP5.92	+243.8%
Average			+11.9%

Jamaica vs. Tonga - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.4% less for groceries

	Jamaica	Tonga
Bread 1 loaf	$3.00 JMD477.64	$1.04 TOP2.50	-65.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD907.58	$4.50 TOP10.83	-21.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.76 JMD2,190.28	$5.92 TOP14.26	-57.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD563.17	$5.09 TOP12.27	+44.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.54	$2.67 TOP6.43	-6.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.46 JMD391.14	$1.26 TOP3.02	-48.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.56 JMD247.72	$1.26 TOP3.02	-19.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.98 JMD475.04	$1.32 TOP3.18	-55.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 JMD206.83	$1.70 TOP4.08	+30.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.36 JMD216.67	$1.44 TOP3.48	+6.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD191.12	$1.19 TOP2.87	-0.6%
Average			-25.4%

Jamaica vs. Tonga - Cost of groceries

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pay 44.9% less for transportation

	Jamaica	Tonga
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.18 JMD823.90	$5.50 TOP13.25	+6.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	$41.53 TOP100.00	+10.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,062.55 JMD7M	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	-86.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.21 JMD4,172.00	$18.69 TOP45.00	-28.7%
Average			-44.9%

Jamaica vs. Tonga - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.5% more for housing

	Jamaica	Tonga
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.12 JMD8,137.47	$124.60 TOP300.00	+143.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$697.95 JMD111K	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	-10.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$438.00 JMD69,728.23	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$114.56 JMD18,237.90	$142.92 TOP344.12	+24.8%
Average			+5.5%

Jamaica vs. Tonga - Cost of housing

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pay 87.9% less for childcare

	Jamaica	Tonga
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$324.59 JMD51,673.95	$157.82 TOP380.00	-51.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,236.21 JMD1M	$249.19 TOP600.00	-97.0%
Average			-87.9%

Jamaica vs. Tonga - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	Tonga
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.20 JMD350.73	$3.32 TOP8.00	+50.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 JMD845.51	$2.91 TOP7.00	-45.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	$10.18 TOP24.50	+7.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.18 JMD8,784.92	$31.15 TOP75.00	-43.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.65 JMD1,853.85	$41.53 TOP100.00	+256.7%
Average			+15.5%

Jamaica vs. Tonga - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 58.4% less for clothing

	Jamaica	Tonga
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	$14.54 TOP35.00	-38.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	$17.65 TOP42.50	-43.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.84 JMD11,913.64	$20.77 TOP50.00	-72.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.02 JMD14,808.55	$29.07 TOP70.00	-68.7%
Average			-58.4%

Jamaica vs. Tonga - 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. Tonga

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Tonga?

Quality of Life Comparison · 18 statistics

Be 2.6 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Tonga

Size Comparison · See true size

Jamaica is about 15 times bigger than Tonga.

Moving from Jamaica to Tonga · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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