Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

Philippines

Manila vs. Kingston Cost of Living Summary

Manila is 40.7% cheaper than Kingston.

Restaurants: pay 46.0% less in Manila
Groceries: pay 41.6% less in Manila
Transportation: pay 52.9% less in Manila
Housing: pay 44.9% less in Manila
Childcare: pay 36.4% more in Manila
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.2% less in Manila
Clothing: pay 4.5% more in Manila

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

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Manila vs. Kingston Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 46.0% less for restaurants

	Kingston	Manila
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.53 JMD2,154.48	$5.58 ₱351.45	-58.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	$3.98 ₱251.03	-51.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.17 JMD186.64	$1.40 ₱88.36	+19.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 JMD114.13	$0.85 ₱53.31	+18.0%
Average			-46.0%

Kingston vs. Manila - Cost of restaurants

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pay 41.6% less for groceries

	Kingston	Manila
Bread 1 loaf	$3.75 JMD597.75	$1.44 ₱90.93	-61.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD907.58	$3.89 ₱244.77	-31.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$15.66 JMD2,493.06	$7.23 ₱455.56	-53.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD563.17	$2.28 ₱143.70	-35.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.54	$2.18 ₱137.50	-23.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.74 JMD436.40	$1.49 ₱93.83	-45.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.76 JMD280.67	$0.85 ₱53.49	-51.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.33 JMD530.74	$1.36 ₱85.76	-59.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.38 JMD219.34	$0.83 ₱51.97	-40.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.47 JMD234.10	$1.03 ₱64.97	-29.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD191.12	$1.20 ₱75.72	+0.1%
Average			-41.6%

Kingston vs. Manila - Cost of groceries

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pay 52.9% less for transportation

	Kingston	Manila
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.42 JMD862.54	$4.96 ₱312.22	-8.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	$12.75 ₱803.31	-66.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,062.55 JMD7M	$21,359.52 ₱1M	-51.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.37 JMD4,198.72	$2.54 ₱160.16	-90.4%
Average			-52.9%

Kingston vs. Manila - Cost of transportation

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pay 44.9% less for housing

	Kingston	Manila
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.78 JMD8,402.27	$24.14 ₱1,520.93	-54.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$960.80 JMD153K	$543.82 ₱34,257.78	-43.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$569.14 JMD90,604.94	$281.50 ₱17,733.05	-50.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$128.52 JMD20,460.16	$94.04 ₱5,924.32	-26.8%
Average			-44.9%

Kingston vs. Manila - Cost of housing

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pay 36.4% more for childcare

	Kingston	Manila
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$361.00 JMD57,469.28	$619.65 ₱39,034.94	+71.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,238.45 JMD1M	$8,932.60 ₱563K	+8.4%
Average			+36.4%

Kingston vs. Manila - Cost of childcare

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pay 47.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Kingston	Manila
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.20 JMD350.73	$1.20 ₱75.31	-45.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 JMD845.51	$2.55 ₱160.66	-52.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	$3.11 ₱195.81	-67.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$61.69 JMD9,820.41	$42.86 ₱2,700.12	-30.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.22 JMD2,104.37	$6.77 ₱426.76	-48.8%
Average			-47.2%

Kingston vs. Manila - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.5% more for clothing

	Kingston	Manila
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	$58.27 ₱3,670.68	+146.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	$27.47 ₱1,730.75	-12.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.63 JMD12,359.01	$76.69 ₱4,830.90	-1.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.81 JMD16,367.34	$57.51 ₱3,623.11	-44.1%
Average			+4.5%

Kingston vs. Manila - 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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