Cost of living comparison

Maldives

compared to

Jamaica

Kingston vs. Male Cost of Living Summary

Kingston is 19.1% more expensive than Male.

Restaurants: pay 43.4% more in Kingston
Groceries: pay 49.1% more in Kingston
Transportation: pay 35.9% more in Kingston
Housing: pay 4.2% less in Kingston
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Kingston
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.8% less in Kingston
Clothing: pay 9.8% less in Kingston

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

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

Kingston vs. Male Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 43.4% more for restaurants

	Male	Kingston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 MVR92.74	$13.53 JMD2,147.95	+125.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.73 MVR150.39	$8.18 JMD1,298.76	-15.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.63 MVR25.12	$1.17 JMD186.07	-27.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 MVR4.59	$0.72 JMD113.78	+141.3%
Average			+43.4%

Male vs. Kingston - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 49.1% more for groceries

	Male	Kingston
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 MVR25.57	$3.75 JMD595.94	+126.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.34 MVR82.43	$5.70 JMD904.83	+6.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.69 MVR118.80	$15.66 JMD2,485.51	+103.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 MVR29.70	$3.54 JMD561.46	+84.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.77 MVR42.73	$2.86 JMD453.16	+3.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 MVR27.83	$2.74 JMD435.08	+52.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 MVR21.40	$1.76 JMD279.82	+27.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.85 MVR28.65	$3.33 JMD529.14	+79.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 MVR18.84	$1.38 JMD218.67	+13.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 MVR14.40	$1.47 JMD233.39	+57.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.86 MVR13.30	$1.20 JMD190.54	+39.5%
Average			+49.1%

Male vs. Kingston - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.9% more for transportation

	Male	Kingston
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 MVR58.81	$5.42 JMD859.92	+42.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.82 MVR476.23	$37.77 JMD5,994.28	+22.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,446.46 MVR501K	$44,062.55 JMD7M	+35.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.52 MVR270.70	$26.37 JMD4,186.01	+50.5%
Average			+35.9%

Male vs. Kingston - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.2% less for housing

	Male	Kingston
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	$52.78 JMD8,376.82	-27.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$951.14 MVR14,695.19	$960.80 JMD152K	+1.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$699.92 MVR10,813.71	$569.14 JMD90,330.48	-18.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$90.98 MVR1,405.60	$128.52 JMD20,398.19	+41.3%
Average			-4.2%

Male vs. Kingston - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Male	Kingston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.98 MVR2,857.90	$361.00 JMD57,295.20	+95.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,004.83 MVR46,424.59	$8,238.45 JMD1M	+174.2%
Average			+131.3%

Male vs. Kingston - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Male	Kingston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.87 MVR75.19	$2.20 JMD349.67	-54.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 MVR54.84	$5.31 JMD842.95	+49.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.93 MVR230.60	$9.44 JMD1,498.57	-36.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	$61.69 JMD9,790.66	-12.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.73 MVR150.39	$13.22 JMD2,098.00	+35.8%
Average			-7.8%

Male vs. Kingston - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.8% less for clothing

	Male	Kingston
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.51 MVR610.48	$23.60 JMD3,746.43	-40.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.64 MVR766.88	$31.47 JMD4,995.23	-36.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.13 MVR1,346.11	$77.63 JMD12,321.58	-10.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.52 MVR811.39	$102.81 JMD16,317.76	+95.8%
Average			-9.8%

Male vs. Kingston - 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: Male vs. Kingston

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Kingston?

More cost comparisons

Male vs.

Cairo

Male vs.

Sydney

Male vs.

Quito

Male vs.

Madrid

Male vs.

Warsaw

Male vs.

Lima

Male vs.

Rome

Male vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Maldives vs. Jamaica. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Maldives and Jamaica.

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 Male

Add prices for Kingston

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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