Cost of living comparison

compared to

Jamaica vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Jamaica is 0.8% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 5.2% more in Jamaica
Groceries: pay 9.9% less in Jamaica
Transportation: pay 58.1% more in Jamaica
Housing: pay 32.5% more in Jamaica
Childcare: pay 66.3% less in Jamaica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.9% more in Jamaica
Clothing: pay 41.6% less in Jamaica

The cost of transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Jamaica are more expensive than in South Korea. Expenses including childcare, clothing, and groceries are lower in Jamaica.

Jamaica vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Jamaica instead of South Korea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.2% more for restaurants

	South Korea	Jamaica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,907	$7.18 JMD1,149.07	+6.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,102	$7.65 JMD1,224.39	+39.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,161	$1.24 JMD197.68	-15.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,216	$0.75 JMD119.53	-9.5%
Average			+5.2%

South Korea vs. Jamaica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.9% less for groceries

	South Korea	Jamaica
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,235	$2.71 JMD434.30	-5.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,290	$5.07 JMD811.02	-9.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,311	$13.82 JMD2,212.30	+80.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,180	$3.51 JMD561.58	+23.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,917	$2.83 JMD453.25	-15.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,768	$2.51 JMD401.27	-22.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,045	$1.32 JMD211.77	-4.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,121	$1.91 JMD305.13	-31.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,543	$1.23 JMD196.12	-49.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,627	$0.93 JMD149.19	-47.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,775	$0.89 JMD142.60	-26.0%
Average			-9.9%

South Korea vs. Jamaica - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.1% more for transportation

	South Korea	Jamaica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,485	$4.77 JMD763.39	+8.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,524	$48.93 JMD7,830.93	+3.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	$42,765.27 JMD6,844,868.88	+61.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,280	$21.56 JMD3,450.36	+158.7%
Average			+58.1%

South Korea vs. Jamaica - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.5% more for housing

	South Korea	Jamaica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,958	$49.24 JMD7,881.88	+127.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩698,442	$505.52 JMD80,912.46	+6.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩526,420	$400.25 JMD64,062.64	+12.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩195,326	$111.28 JMD17,810.95	-16.0%
Average			+32.5%

South Korea vs. Jamaica - Cost of housing

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pay 66.3% less for childcare

	South Korea	Jamaica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩557,869	$184.63 JMD29,551.48	-51.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	$2,785.57 JMD445,849.05	-81.5%
Average			-66.3%

South Korea vs. Jamaica - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.9% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Jamaica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,595	$2.34 JMD374.75	-24.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,258	$3.50 JMD559.87	-2.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,693	$8.58 JMD1,373.94	+169.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,483	$41.65 JMD6,666.23	-16.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,912	$11.47 JMD1,836.17	+13.4%
Average			+27.9%

South Korea vs. Jamaica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.6% less for clothing

	South Korea	Jamaica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,948	$21.47 JMD3,436.21	-67.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,697	$21.34 JMD3,416.05	-57.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩107,204	$64.53 JMD10,328.78	-11.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩152,146	$72.59 JMD11,618.51	-29.7%
Average			-41.6%

South Korea vs. Jamaica - Cost of clothing

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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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