Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

Italy

Rome vs. Montego Bay Cost of Living Summary

Rome is 59.5% more expensive than Montego Bay.

Restaurants: pay 63.6% more in Rome
Groceries: pay 20.0% less in Rome
Transportation: pay 8.4% more in Rome
Housing: pay 3.0 times more in Rome
Childcare: pay 66.2% more in Rome
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.0% more in Rome
Clothing: pay 50.6% more in Rome

The cost of housing, childcare, restaurants, clothing, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Rome are more expensive than in Montego Bay. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Rome.

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Rome vs. Montego Bay Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Rome instead of Montego Bay, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 63.6% more for restaurants

	Montego Bay	Rome
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.02 JMD1,751.75	$16.80 €15.07	+52.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.18 JMD1,301.30	$11.20 €10.05	+36.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.90 JMD143.10	$2.96 €2.66	+228.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 JMD113.07	$1.48 €1.33	+108.2%
Average			+63.6%

Montego Bay vs. Rome - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.0% less for groceries

	Montego Bay	Rome
Bread 1 loaf	$2.70 JMD428.76	$2.22 €2.00	-17.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD906.60	$7.42 €6.66	+30.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$12.51 JMD1,989.33	$6.49 €5.82	-48.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD562.56	$4.66 €4.18	+31.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.05	$5.66 €5.08	+98.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.89 JMD300.30	$1.17 €1.05	-37.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.14 JMD181.62	$1.05 €0.95	-7.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.33 JMD530.17	$1.09 €0.98	-67.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 JMD181.62	$1.07 €0.96	-6.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 JMD181.62	$0.64 €0.58	-43.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD190.91	$0.72 €0.64	-40.3%
Average			-20.0%

Montego Bay vs. Rome - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.4% more for transportation

	Montego Bay	Rome
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.22 JMD830.63	$8.04 €7.21	+53.9%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$39.19 €35.16
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,062.55 JMD7M	$35,551.60 €31,895.12	-19.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.12 JMD4,154.16	$20.16 €18.08	-22.8%
Average			+8.4%

Montego Bay vs. Rome - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.0 times more for housing

	Montego Bay	Rome
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$47.79 JMD7,599.69	$31.87 €28.59	-33.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$314.73 JMD50,050.12	$1,208.81 €1,084.48	+284.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$220.31 JMD35,035.08	$873.39 €783.57	+296.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$128.52 JMD20,438.11	$157.13 €140.97	+22.3%
Average			+200.1%

Montego Bay vs. Rome - Cost of housing

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pay 66.2% more for childcare

	Montego Bay	Rome
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$361.00 JMD57,407.35	$487.21 €437.10	+35.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,238.45 JMD1M	$16,862.20 €15,127.92	+104.7%
Average			+66.2%

Montego Bay vs. Rome - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Montego Bay	Rome
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.20 JMD350.35	$5.60 €5.02	+154.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 JMD844.60	$2.07 €1.86	-61.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,501.50	$7.28 €6.53	-22.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.06 JMD7,007.02	$65.43 €58.70	+48.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.50 JMD1,351.35	$11.20 €10.05	+31.8%
Average			+15.0%

Montego Bay vs. Rome - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 50.6% more for clothing

	Montego Bay	Rome
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,753.76	$71.31 €63.98	+202.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,005.01	$36.31 €32.58	+15.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.24 JMD11,011.03	$83.63 €75.03	+20.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.71 JMD16,016.04	$123.17 €110.50	+22.3%
Average			+50.6%

Montego Bay vs. Rome - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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