Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

Tonga

Nuku'alofa vs. Kingston Cost of Living Summary

Nuku'alofa is 32.3% cheaper than Kingston.

Restaurants: pay 7.8% more in Nuku'alofa
Groceries: pay 30.9% less in Nuku'alofa
Transportation: pay 45.8% less in Nuku'alofa
Housing: pay 17.4% less in Nuku'alofa
Childcare: pay 88.5% less in Nuku'alofa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.8% more in Nuku'alofa
Clothing: pay 59.8% less in Nuku'alofa

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

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Nuku'alofa vs. Kingston Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nuku'alofa instead of Kingston, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.8% more for restaurants

	Kingston	Nuku'alofa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.53 JMD2,154.48	$8.31 TOP20.00	-38.6%
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)	$1.17 JMD186.64	$2.84 TOP6.83	+142.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 JMD114.13	$2.46 TOP5.92	+242.8%
Average			+7.8%

Kingston vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.9% less for groceries

	Kingston	Nuku'alofa
Bread 1 loaf	$3.75 JMD597.75	$1.04 TOP2.50	-72.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD907.58	$4.50 TOP10.83	-21.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$15.66 JMD2,493.06	$5.92 TOP14.26	-62.2%
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)	$2.74 JMD436.40	$1.26 TOP3.02	-54.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.76 JMD280.67	$1.26 TOP3.02	-28.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.33 JMD530.74	$1.32 TOP3.18	-60.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.38 JMD219.34	$1.70 TOP4.08	+23.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.47 JMD234.10	$1.44 TOP3.48	-1.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD191.12	$1.19 TOP2.87	-0.6%
Average			-30.9%

Kingston vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.8% less for transportation

	Kingston	Nuku'alofa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.42 JMD862.54	$5.50 TOP13.25	+1.6%
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)	$26.37 JMD4,198.72	$18.69 TOP45.00	-29.1%
Average			-45.8%

Kingston vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.4% less for housing

	Kingston	Nuku'alofa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.78 JMD8,402.27	$124.60 TOP300.00	+136.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$960.80 JMD153K	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	-35.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$569.14 JMD90,604.94	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$128.52 JMD20,460.16	$142.92 TOP344.12	+11.2%
Average			-17.4%

Kingston vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of housing

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pay 88.5% less for childcare

	Kingston	Nuku'alofa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$361.00 JMD57,469.28	$157.82 TOP380.00	-56.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,238.45 JMD1M	$249.19 TOP600.00	-97.0%
Average			-88.5%

Kingston vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Kingston	Nuku'alofa
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	$61.69 JMD9,820.41	$31.15 TOP75.00	-49.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.22 JMD2,104.37	$41.53 TOP100.00	+214.2%
Average			+8.8%

Kingston vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 59.8% less for clothing

	Kingston	Nuku'alofa
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	$77.63 JMD12,359.01	$20.77 TOP50.00	-73.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.81 JMD16,367.34	$29.07 TOP70.00	-71.7%
Average			-59.8%

Kingston vs. Nuku'alofa - 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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