Cost of living comparison

Tonga

compared to

Jamaica

Kingston vs. Nuku'alofa Cost of Living Summary

Kingston is 47.7% more expensive than Nuku'alofa.

Restaurants: pay 7.3% less in Kingston
Groceries: pay 44.7% more in Kingston
Transportation: pay 84.6% more in Kingston
Housing: pay 21.0% more in Kingston
Childcare: pay 8.7 times more in Kingston
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.1% less in Kingston
Clothing: pay 2.5 times more in Kingston

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

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Kingston vs. Nuku'alofa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kingston instead of Nuku'alofa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.3% less for restaurants

	Nuku'alofa	Kingston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$13.53 JMD2,154.48	+62.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	-21.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$1.17 JMD186.64	-58.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$0.72 JMD114.13	-70.8%
Average			-7.3%

Nuku'alofa vs. Kingston - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.7% more for groceries

	Nuku'alofa	Kingston
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	$3.75 JMD597.75	+261.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$5.70 JMD907.58	+26.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$15.66 JMD2,493.06	+164.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$3.54 JMD563.17	-30.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$2.86 JMD454.54	+7.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$2.74 JMD436.40	+118.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$1.76 JMD280.67	+40.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$3.33 JMD530.74	+152.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$1.38 JMD219.34	-18.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$1.47 JMD234.10	+1.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$1.20 JMD191.12	+0.6%
Average			+44.7%

Nuku'alofa vs. Kingston - Cost of groceries

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pay 84.6% more for transportation

	Nuku'alofa	Kingston
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$5.42 JMD862.54	-1.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	-9.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$44,062.55 JMD7M	+657.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	$26.37 JMD4,198.72	+41.1%
Average			+84.6%

Nuku'alofa vs. Kingston - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.0% more for housing

	Nuku'alofa	Kingston
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$52.78 JMD8,402.27	-57.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$960.80 JMD153K	+54.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$569.14 JMD90,604.94
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$128.52 JMD20,460.16	-10.1%
Average			+21.0%

Nuku'alofa vs. Kingston - Cost of housing

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pay 8.7 times more for childcare

	Nuku'alofa	Kingston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$361.00 JMD57,469.28	+128.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$8,238.45 JMD1M	+3206.0%
Average			+769.6%

Nuku'alofa vs. Kingston - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Nuku'alofa	Kingston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$2.20 JMD350.73	-33.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$5.31 JMD845.51	+82.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	-7.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$61.69 JMD9,820.41	+98.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$13.22 JMD2,104.37	-68.2%
Average			-8.1%

Nuku'alofa vs. Kingston - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.5 times more for clothing

	Nuku'alofa	Kingston
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	+62.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	+78.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$77.63 JMD12,359.01	+273.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$102.81 JMD16,367.34	+253.6%
Average			+148.7%

Nuku'alofa 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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