Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Jamaica

Jamaica vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

Jamaica is 76.1% more expensive than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in Jamaica
Groceries: pay 86.2% more in Jamaica
Transportation: pay 83.8% more in Jamaica
Housing: pay 94.2% more in Jamaica
Childcare: pay 19.9% more in Jamaica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 52.6% more in Jamaica
Clothing: pay 16.7% less in Jamaica

The cost of restaurants, housing, groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, and childcare in Jamaica are more expensive than in Malaysia. Notably, restaurants, housing, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Jamaica.

Planning a move to Jamaica? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Jamaica vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Malaysia	Jamaica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.42 MYR13.89	$12.69 JMD2,014.74	+270.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.64 MYR18.83	$8.18 JMD1,298.76	+76.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 MYR3.05	$1.08 JMD171.65	+44.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 MYR1.71	$0.71 JMD113.47	+69.5%
Average			+140.5%

Malaysia vs. Jamaica - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 86.2% more for groceries

	Malaysia	Jamaica
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 MYR4.47	$3.00 JMD476.20	+172.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.94 MYR28.15	$5.70 JMD904.83	-17.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.18 MYR29.13	$13.76 JMD2,183.65	+91.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.09 MYR8.48	$3.54 JMD561.46	+69.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.90 MYR7.70	$2.86 JMD453.16	+50.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.35 MYR5.50	$2.46 JMD389.96	+81.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 MYR2.95	$1.56 JMD246.97	+113.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 MYR4.81	$2.98 JMD473.60	+151.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.82	$1.30 JMD206.20	+87.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.32	$1.36 JMD216.01	+137.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 MYR2.48	$1.20 JMD190.54	+96.4%
Average			+86.2%

Malaysia vs. Jamaica - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 83.8% more for transportation

	Malaysia	Jamaica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.76 MYR11.22	$5.18 JMD821.40	+87.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.28 MYR62.01	$37.77 JMD5,994.28	+147.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,802.19 MYR166K	$44,062.55 JMD7M	+8.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.46 MYR26.21	$26.21 JMD4,159.36	+305.7%
Average			+83.8%

Malaysia vs. Jamaica - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 94.2% more for housing

	Malaysia	Jamaica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.60 MYR112.02	$51.12 JMD8,112.82	+85.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$363.41 MYR1,474.81	$697.95 JMD111K	+92.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$265.07 MYR1,075.72	$438.00 JMD69,517.01	+65.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$36.69 MYR148.88	$114.56 JMD18,182.65	+212.3%
Average			+94.2%

Malaysia vs. Jamaica - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.9% more for childcare

	Malaysia	Jamaica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$231.07 MYR937.73	$324.59 JMD51,517.43	+40.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,043.53 MYR32,642.26	$8,236.21 JMD1M	+2.4%
Average			+19.9%

Malaysia vs. Jamaica - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 52.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Malaysia	Jamaica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.61 MYR14.64	$2.20 JMD349.67	-38.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.76 MYR11.22	$5.31 JMD842.95	+92.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.35 MYR17.63	$9.44 JMD1,498.57	+117.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.82 MYR157.55	$55.18 JMD8,758.31	+42.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.73 MYR19.19	$11.65 JMD1,848.24	+146.3%
Average			+52.6%

Malaysia vs. Jamaica - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.7% less for clothing

	Malaysia	Jamaica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.43 MYR237.14	$23.60 JMD3,746.43	-59.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.42 MYR123.46	$31.47 JMD4,995.23	+3.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.72 MYR315.41	$74.84 JMD11,877.56	-3.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$77.79 MYR315.70	$93.02 JMD14,763.69	+19.6%
Average			-16.7%

Malaysia vs. Jamaica - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Malaysia vs. Jamaica

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Jamaica?

Quality of Life Comparison · 23 statistics

Be 52.9% more likely to live below the poverty line in Jamaica

Size Comparison · See true size

Malaysia is about 30 times bigger than Jamaica.

Moving from Malaysia to Jamaica · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

More cost comparisons

Malaysia vs.

Thailand

Malaysia vs.

Indonesia

Malaysia vs.

Tunisia

Malaysia vs.

India

Malaysia vs.

Singapore

Malaysia vs.

Vietnam

Malaysia vs.

South Africa

Malaysia vs.

China

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Kuala Lumpur vs. Kingston

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Malaysia

Add prices for Jamaica

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Jamaica or Malaysia. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.