Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Jamaica

Kingston vs. Pretoria Cost of Living Summary

Kingston is 46.1% more expensive than Pretoria.

Restaurants: pay 37.8% more in Kingston
Groceries: pay 2.4 times more in Kingston
Transportation: pay 18.3% less in Kingston
Housing: pay 59.9% more in Kingston
Childcare: pay 20.7% more in Kingston
Entertainment and Sports: pay 76.5% more in Kingston
Clothing: pay 17.7% less in Kingston

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

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Kingston vs. Pretoria Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 37.8% more for restaurants

	Pretoria	Kingston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.01 ZAR148.66	$13.53 JMD2,154.48	+50.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.41 ZAR89.20	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	+51.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 ZAR17.48	$1.17 JMD186.64	+10.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ZAR14.04	$0.72 JMD114.13	-15.8%
Average			+37.8%

Pretoria vs. Kingston - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.4 times more for groceries

	Pretoria	Kingston
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 ZAR18.21	$3.75 JMD597.75	+240.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.18 ZAR68.94	$5.70 JMD907.58	+36.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.45 ZAR73.36	$15.66 JMD2,493.06	+252.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.47 ZAR40.74	$3.54 JMD563.17	+43.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.23 ZAR36.86	$2.86 JMD454.54	+27.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.10	$2.74 JMD436.40	+245.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.22	$1.76 JMD280.67	+138.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.11	$3.33 JMD530.74	+319.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 ZAR11.92	$1.38 JMD219.34	+90.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ZAR8.18	$1.47 JMD234.10	+196.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.54 ZAR8.93	$1.20 JMD191.12	+121.6%
Average			+136.4%

Pretoria vs. Kingston - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.3% less for transportation

	Pretoria	Kingston
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.75 ZAR94.81	$5.42 JMD862.54	-5.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$177.56 ZAR2,928.68	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	-78.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	$44,062.55 JMD7M	+24.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.55 ZAR108.03	$26.37 JMD4,198.72	+302.7%
Average			-18.3%

Pretoria vs. Kingston - Cost of transportation

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pay 59.9% more for housing

	Pretoria	Kingston
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.83 ZAR607.50	$52.78 JMD8,402.27	+43.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$454.27 ZAR7,492.67	$960.80 JMD153K	+111.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$405.14 ZAR6,682.45	$569.14 JMD90,604.94	+40.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.49 ZAR1,904.94	$128.52 JMD20,460.16	+11.3%
Average			+59.9%

Pretoria vs. Kingston - Cost of housing

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pay 20.7% more for childcare

	Pretoria	Kingston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$260.78 ZAR4,301.35	$361.00 JMD57,469.28	+38.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,821.75 ZAR129K	$8,238.45 JMD1M	+5.3%
Average			+20.7%

Pretoria vs. Kingston - Cost of childcare

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pay 76.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Pretoria	Kingston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.55 ZAR42.12	$2.20 JMD350.73	-13.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ZAR37.17	$5.31 JMD845.51	+135.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.25 ZAR53.60	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	+190.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.49 ZAR519.46	$61.69 JMD9,820.41	+95.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.21 ZAR118.93	$13.22 JMD2,104.37	+83.3%
Average			+76.5%

Pretoria vs. Kingston - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.7% less for clothing

	Pretoria	Kingston
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.03 ZAR874.71	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	-55.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.00 ZAR527.89	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	-1.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.85 ZAR1,515.02	$77.63 JMD12,359.01	-15.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.87 ZAR1,366.87	$102.81 JMD16,367.34	+24.1%
Average			-17.7%

Pretoria 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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