Cost of living comparison

Philippines

compared to

Jamaica

Kingston vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Kingston is 68.7% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 85.2% more in Kingston
Groceries: pay 71.3% more in Kingston
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Kingston
Housing: pay 81.3% more in Kingston
Childcare: pay 26.7% less in Kingston
Entertainment and Sports: pay 89.3% more in Kingston
Clothing: pay 4.3% less in Kingston

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

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Kingston vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 85.2% more for restaurants

	Manila	Kingston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.58 ₱351.45	$13.53 JMD2,154.48	+142.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.98 ₱251.03	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	+105.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.40 ₱88.36	$1.17 JMD186.64	-16.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ₱53.31	$0.72 JMD114.13	-15.3%
Average			+85.2%

Manila vs. Kingston - Cost of restaurants

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pay 71.3% more for groceries

	Manila	Kingston
Bread 1 loaf	$1.44 ₱90.93	$3.75 JMD597.75	+160.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.89 ₱244.77	$5.70 JMD907.58	+46.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 ₱455.56	$15.66 JMD2,493.06	+116.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 ₱143.70	$3.54 JMD563.17	+55.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.18 ₱137.50	$2.86 JMD454.54	+30.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.49 ₱93.83	$2.74 JMD436.40	+84.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 ₱53.49	$1.76 JMD280.67	+107.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 ₱85.76	$3.33 JMD530.74	+144.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 ₱51.97	$1.38 JMD219.34	+67.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.03 ₱64.97	$1.47 JMD234.10	+42.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₱75.72	$1.20 JMD191.12	-0.1%
Average			+71.3%

Manila vs. Kingston - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Manila	Kingston
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 ₱312.22	$5.42 JMD862.54	+9.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.75 ₱803.31	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	+196.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,359.52 ₱1M	$44,062.55 JMD7M	+106.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.54 ₱160.16	$26.37 JMD4,198.72	+937.4%
Average			+112.5%

Manila vs. Kingston - Cost of transportation

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pay 81.3% more for housing

	Manila	Kingston
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.14 ₱1,520.93	$52.78 JMD8,402.27	+118.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$543.82 ₱34,257.78	$960.80 JMD153K	+76.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$281.50 ₱17,733.05	$569.14 JMD90,604.94	+102.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.04 ₱5,924.32	$128.52 JMD20,460.16	+36.7%
Average			+81.3%

Manila vs. Kingston - Cost of housing

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pay 26.7% less for childcare

	Manila	Kingston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$619.65 ₱39,034.94	$361.00 JMD57,469.28	-41.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,932.60 ₱563K	$8,238.45 JMD1M	-7.8%
Average			-26.7%

Manila vs. Kingston - Cost of childcare

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pay 89.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Kingston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.20 ₱75.31	$2.20 JMD350.73	+84.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.55 ₱160.66	$5.31 JMD845.51	+108.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.11 ₱195.81	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	+203.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.86 ₱2,700.12	$61.69 JMD9,820.41	+43.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.77 ₱426.76	$13.22 JMD2,104.37	+95.1%
Average			+89.3%

Manila vs. Kingston - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.3% less for clothing

	Manila	Kingston
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.27 ₱3,670.68	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	-59.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.47 ₱1,730.75	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	+14.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.69 ₱4,830.90	$77.63 JMD12,359.01	+1.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$57.51 ₱3,623.11	$102.81 JMD16,367.34	+78.8%
Average			-4.3%

Manila vs. Kingston - 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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