Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

Jamaica

Jamaica vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary

Jamaica is 15.0% cheaper than New Zealand overall.

Restaurants: pay 19.0% less in Jamaica
Groceries: pay 36.7% more in Jamaica
Transportation: pay 4.5% less in Jamaica
Housing: pay 30.8% less in Jamaica
Childcare: pay 53.1% less in Jamaica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.1% less in Jamaica
Clothing: pay 30.6% less in Jamaica

Expenses including childcare, housing, clothing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Jamaica.

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

Jamaica vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Jamaica instead of New Zealand, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 19.0% less for restaurants

	New Zealand	Jamaica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.26 NZ$23.46	$12.69 JMD2,020.87	-4.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.99 NZ$15.90	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	-9.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.04 NZ$3.61	$1.08 JMD172.18	-47.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.83 NZ$3.24	$0.71 JMD113.81	-61.0%
Average			-19.0%

New Zealand vs. Jamaica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.7% more for groceries

	New Zealand	Jamaica
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 NZ$3.05	$3.00 JMD477.64	+73.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.78 NZ$6.69	$5.70 JMD907.58	+50.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.47 NZ$11.45	$13.76 JMD2,190.28	+112.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.79 NZ$10.24	$3.54 JMD563.17	-38.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 NZ$6.77	$2.86 JMD454.54	-25.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.22 NZ$2.15	$2.46 JMD391.14	+102.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.94 NZ$1.67	$1.56 JMD247.72	+64.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 NZ$2.33	$2.98 JMD475.04	+126.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.20 NZ$3.89	$1.30 JMD206.83	-40.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 NZ$1.57	$1.36 JMD216.67	+52.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 NZ$1.18	$1.20 JMD191.12	+80.3%
Average			+36.7%

New Zealand vs. Jamaica - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.5% less for transportation

	New Zealand	Jamaica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.34 NZ$11.21	$5.18 JMD823.90	-18.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$83.43 NZ$147.53	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	-54.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,108.51 NZ$42,632.21	$44,062.55 JMD7M	+82.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.20 NZ$30.41	$26.21 JMD4,172.00	+52.4%
Average			-4.5%

New Zealand vs. Jamaica - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.8% less for housing

	New Zealand	Jamaica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.30 NZ$87.18	$51.12 JMD8,137.47	+3.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$976.74 NZ$1,727.21	$697.95 JMD111K	-28.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$843.74 NZ$1,492.02	$438.00 JMD69,728.23	-48.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$95.64 NZ$169.12	$114.56 JMD18,237.90	+19.8%
Average			-30.8%

New Zealand vs. Jamaica - Cost of housing

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pay 53.1% less for childcare

	New Zealand	Jamaica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$716.92 NZ$1,267.75	$324.59 JMD51,673.95	-54.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,937.81 NZ$29,951.92	$8,236.21 JMD1M	-51.4%
Average			-53.1%

New Zealand vs. Jamaica - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.1% less for entertainment and sports

	New Zealand	Jamaica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.70 NZ$10.07	$2.20 JMD350.73	-61.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.26 NZ$5.77	$5.31 JMD845.51	+62.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$22.75 NZ$40.22	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	-58.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.17 NZ$69.26	$55.18 JMD8,784.92	+40.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.27 NZ$18.16	$11.65 JMD1,853.85	+13.4%
Average			-6.1%

New Zealand vs. Jamaica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.6% less for clothing

	New Zealand	Jamaica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$63.30 NZ$111.94	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	-62.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.63 NZ$59.46	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	-6.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.48 NZ$161.76	$74.84 JMD11,913.64	-18.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$114.46 NZ$202.41	$93.02 JMD14,808.55	-18.7%
Average			-30.6%

New Zealand vs. Jamaica - 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

Compare further: New Zealand vs. Jamaica

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Jamaica?

Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics

Make 83.9% less money in Jamaica

Size Comparison · See true size

New Zealand is about 24 times bigger than Jamaica.

Moving from New Zealand to Jamaica · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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