Cost of living comparison
compared to
Jamaica vs. Puerto Rico Cost of Living Summary
Jamaica is 17.5% cheaper than Puerto Rico overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 35.6% less in Jamaica
- Groceries
-
pay 2.1% less in Jamaica
- Transportation
-
pay 56.7% more in Jamaica
- Housing
-
pay 35.8% less in Jamaica
- Childcare
-
pay 65.3% less in Jamaica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.3% less in Jamaica
- Clothing
-
pay 38.9% less in Jamaica
Expenses including childcare, clothing, housing, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Jamaica.
Jamaica vs. Puerto Rico Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Jamaica instead of Puerto Rico, you would:
pay 35.6% less for restaurants
|
Puerto Rico
|
Jamaica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.10
|
$7.18
JMD1,146.21
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.01
|
$7.65
JMD1,221.34
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.58
|
$1.24
JMD197.19
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.35
|
$0.75
JMD119.23
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Jamaica - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.1% less for groceries
|
Puerto Rico
|
Jamaica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.18
|
$2.71
JMD433.22
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.16
|
$5.07
JMD809.00
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.11
|
$13.82
JMD2,206.79
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.34
|
$3.51
JMD560.18
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.76
|
$2.83
JMD452.13
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.50
|
$2.51
JMD400.28
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.06
|
$1.32
JMD211.25
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.54
|
$1.91
JMD304.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$1.23
JMD195.64
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.65
|
$0.93
JMD148.82
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.04
|
$0.89
JMD142.25
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Jamaica - Cost of groceries
pay 56.7% more for transportation
|
Puerto Rico
|
Jamaica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.65
|
$4.77
JMD761.49
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$35.20
|
$48.93
JMD7,811.45
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,700.00
|
$42,765.27
JMD6,827,842.87
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.22
|
$21.56
JMD3,441.77
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Jamaica - Cost of transportation
pay 35.8% less for housing
|
Puerto Rico
|
Jamaica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.46
|
$49.24
JMD7,862.27
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$800.93
|
$505.52
JMD80,711.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$580.00
|
$400.25
JMD63,903.29
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$242.07
|
$111.28
JMD17,766.65
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Jamaica - Cost of housing
pay 65.3% less for childcare
|
Puerto Rico
|
Jamaica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$453.00
|
$184.63
JMD29,477.98
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,760.00
|
$2,785.57
JMD444,740.04
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Jamaica - Cost of childcare
pay 1.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Puerto Rico
|
Jamaica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.73
|
$2.34
JMD373.82
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.38
|
$3.50
JMD558.48
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.21
|
$8.58
JMD1,370.52
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.37
|
$41.65
JMD6,649.65
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.90
|
$11.47
JMD1,831.61
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Jamaica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 38.9% less for clothing
|
Puerto Rico
|
Jamaica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$42.97
|
$21.47
JMD3,427.66
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$54.22
|
$21.34
JMD3,407.55
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$81.06
|
$64.53
JMD10,303.09
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.00
|
$72.59
JMD11,589.61
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. Jamaica - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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