Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Kingston Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 31.8% cheaper than Kingston.

Restaurants: pay 56.5% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 56.3% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 37.8% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 23.1% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.6% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 51.3% more in Beijing

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

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Beijing vs. Kingston Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Kingston, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 56.5% less for restaurants

	Kingston	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.53 JMD2,154.48	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-66.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-36.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.17 JMD186.64	$0.52 CN¥3.49	-55.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 JMD114.13	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-62.0%
Average			-56.5%

Kingston vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 56.3% less for groceries

	Kingston	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$3.75 JMD597.75	$1.73 CN¥11.56	-54.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD907.58	$7.22 CN¥48.28	+26.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$15.66 JMD2,493.06	$6.41 CN¥42.88	-59.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD563.17	$2.02 CN¥13.53	-42.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.54	$1.47 CN¥9.81	-48.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.74 JMD436.40	$0.93 CN¥6.25	-65.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.76 JMD280.67	$0.79 CN¥5.28	-55.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.33 JMD530.74	$0.93 CN¥6.21	-72.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.38 JMD219.34	$0.71 CN¥4.75	-48.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.47 JMD234.10	$0.32 CN¥2.15	-78.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD191.12	$0.40 CN¥2.66	-66.9%
Average			-56.3%

Kingston vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.8% less for transportation

	Kingston	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.42 JMD862.54	$4.96 CN¥33.20	-8.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	$34.30 CN¥229.53	-9.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,062.55 JMD7M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-56.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.37 JMD4,198.72	$4.68 CN¥31.34	-82.2%
Average			-37.8%

Kingston vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.1% less for housing

	Kingston	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.78 JMD8,402.27	$14.27 CN¥95.47	-73.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$960.80 JMD153K	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	-2.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$569.14 JMD90,604.94	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	-6.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$128.52 JMD20,460.16	$44.49 CN¥297.65	-65.4%
Average			-23.1%

Kingston vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Kingston	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$361.00 JMD57,469.28	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	+81.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,238.45 JMD1M	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	+194.7%
Average			+131.0%

Kingston vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Kingston	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.20 JMD350.73	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-45.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 JMD845.51	$3.60 CN¥24.09	-32.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	$4.33 CN¥28.94	-54.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$61.69 JMD9,820.41	$41.45 CN¥277.32	-32.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.22 JMD2,104.37	$7.46 CN¥49.90	-43.6%
Average			-40.6%

Kingston vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 51.3% more for clothing

	Kingston	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	$70.55 CN¥472.03	+198.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	$40.41 CN¥270.36	+28.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.63 JMD12,359.01	$86.99 CN¥582.00	+12.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.81 JMD16,367.34	$125.40 CN¥839.02	+22.0%
Average			+51.3%

Kingston vs. Beijing - 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

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