Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Kingston Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 27.9% cheaper than Kingston.

Restaurants: pay 54.6% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 54.3% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 38.7% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 17.9% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 3.6 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.3% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 28.4% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Kingston Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 54.6% less for restaurants

	Kingston	Shanghai
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	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-48.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 JMD114.13	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-48.4%
Average			-54.6%

Kingston vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 54.3% less for groceries

	Kingston	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$3.75 JMD597.75	$1.98 CN¥13.22	-47.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD907.58	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+50.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$15.66 JMD2,493.06	$6.88 CN¥46.02	-56.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD563.17	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-52.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.54	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-48.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.74 JMD436.40	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-63.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.76 JMD280.67	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-56.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.33 JMD530.74	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-72.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.38 JMD219.34	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-44.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.47 JMD234.10	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-75.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD191.12	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-63.9%
Average			-54.3%

Kingston vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.7% less for transportation

	Kingston	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.42 JMD862.54	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-8.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-21.0%
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	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-78.5%
Average			-38.7%

Kingston vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.9% less for housing

	Kingston	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.78 JMD8,402.27	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-80.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$960.80 JMD153K	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+7.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$569.14 JMD90,604.94	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+3.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$128.52 JMD20,460.16	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-65.7%
Average			-17.9%

Kingston vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 3.6 times more for childcare

	Kingston	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$361.00 JMD57,469.28	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+291.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,238.45 JMD1M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+236.1%
Average			+262.7%

Kingston vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Kingston	Shanghai
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	$3.35 CN¥22.41	-36.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-60.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$61.69 JMD9,820.41	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+6.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.22 JMD2,104.37	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-32.3%
Average			-32.3%

Kingston vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.4% more for clothing

	Kingston	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+130.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	$37.09 CN¥248.19	+17.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.63 JMD12,359.01	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-2.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.81 JMD16,367.34	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+2.8%
Average			+28.4%

Kingston vs. Shanghai - 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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