Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Jamaica

Montego Bay vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Montego Bay is 1.6% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 95.2% more in Montego Bay
Groceries: pay 85.7% more in Montego Bay
Transportation: pay 74.4% more in Montego Bay
Housing: pay 47.0% less in Montego Bay
Childcare: pay 72.4% less in Montego Bay
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.5% more in Montego Bay
Clothing: pay 24.7% less in Montego Bay

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

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Montego Bay vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 95.2% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Montego Bay
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.87	$11.02 JMD1,751.75	+146.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.85	$8.18 JMD1,301.30	+56.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$0.90 JMD143.10	+50.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.71 JMD113.07	+92.2%
Average			+95.2%

Shanghai vs. Montego Bay - Cost of restaurants

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pay 85.7% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Montego Bay
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.19	$2.70 JMD428.76	+36.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.39	$5.70 JMD906.60	-33.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.91	$12.51 JMD1,989.33	+81.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$3.54 JMD562.56	+108.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.87	$2.86 JMD454.05	+93.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.89 JMD300.30	+90.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$1.14 JMD181.62	+48.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$3.33 JMD530.17	+268.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$1.14 JMD181.62	+48.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$1.14 JMD181.62	+219.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$1.20 JMD190.91	+177.1%
Average			+85.7%

Shanghai vs. Montego Bay - Cost of groceries

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pay 74.4% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Montego Bay
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$5.22 JMD830.63	+5.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.12	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$44,062.55 JMD7M	+127.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$26.12 JMD4,154.16	+360.9%
Average			+74.4%

Shanghai vs. Montego Bay - Cost of transportation

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pay 47.0% less for housing

	Shanghai	Montego Bay
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.42	$47.79 JMD7,599.69	+353.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,921.79	$314.73 JMD50,050.12	-69.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.69	$220.31 JMD35,035.08	-62.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.08	$128.52 JMD20,438.11	+191.7%
Average			-47.0%

Shanghai vs. Montego Bay - Cost of housing

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pay 72.4% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Montego Bay
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,435.22	$361.00 JMD57,407.35	-74.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$8,238.45 JMD1M	-70.2%
Average			-72.4%

Shanghai vs. Montego Bay - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Montego Bay
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$2.20 JMD350.35	+84.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$5.31 JMD844.60	+58.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$9.44 JMD1,501.50	+153.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.48	$44.06 JMD7,007.02	-32.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.74	$8.50 JMD1,351.35	-5.0%
Average			+21.5%

Shanghai vs. Montego Bay - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.7% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Montego Bay
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.93	$23.60 JMD3,753.76	-56.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.61	$31.47 JMD5,005.01	-15.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.90	$69.24 JMD11,011.03	-8.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.59	$100.71 JMD16,016.04	-4.7%
Average			-24.7%

Shanghai vs. Montego Bay - 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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