Cost of living comparison

compared to

Jamaica vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

Jamaica is 6.5% cheaper than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants: pay 11.4% more in Jamaica
Groceries: pay 77.0% more in Jamaica
Transportation: pay 53.6% more in Jamaica
Housing: pay 46.3% less in Jamaica
Childcare: pay 64.4% less in Jamaica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.5% less in Jamaica
Clothing: pay 51.6% less in Jamaica

The cost of groceries, transportation, and restaurants in Jamaica are more expensive than in United Arab Emirates. Expenses including childcare, clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Jamaica. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Jamaica.

Jamaica vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Jamaica instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 11.4% more for restaurants

	United Arab Emirates	Jamaica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.91 AED29.06	$7.18 JMD1,146.21	-9.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.65 AED31.75	$7.65 JMD1,221.34	-11.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 AED3.83	$1.24 JMD197.19	+18.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 AED1.85	$0.75 JMD119.23	+48.1%
Average			+11.4%

United Arab Emirates vs. Jamaica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 77.0% more for groceries

	United Arab Emirates	Jamaica
Bread 1 loaf	$1.47 AED5.39	$2.71 JMD433.22	+85.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.36 AED19.68	$5.07 JMD809.00	-5.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.96 AED25.56	$13.82 JMD2,206.79	+98.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.81 AED10.34	$3.51 JMD560.18	+24.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.68 AED13.51	$2.83 JMD452.13	-23.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 AED3.59	$2.51 JMD400.28	+156.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 AED2.75	$1.32 JMD211.25	+76.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 AED2.69	$1.91 JMD304.37	+160.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 AED2.15	$1.23 JMD195.64	+109.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 AED1.76	$0.93 JMD148.82	+94.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.93	$0.89 JMD142.25	+69.2%
Average			+77.0%

United Arab Emirates vs. Jamaica - Cost of groceries

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pay 53.6% more for transportation

	United Arab Emirates	Jamaica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.91 AED10.69	$4.77 JMD761.49	+63.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$53.10 AED195.00	$48.93 JMD7,811.45	-7.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,680.12 AED149,397.75	$42,765.27 JMD6,827,842.87	+5.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.50 AED31.21	$21.56 JMD3,441.77	+153.6%
Average			+53.6%

United Arab Emirates vs. Jamaica - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.3% less for housing

	United Arab Emirates	Jamaica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$101.41 AED372.42	$49.24 JMD7,862.27	-51.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,438.18 AED5,281.71	$505.52 JMD80,711.20	-64.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$990.79 AED3,638.67	$400.25 JMD63,903.29	-59.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$122.67 AED450.49	$111.28 JMD17,766.65	-9.3%
Average			-46.3%

United Arab Emirates vs. Jamaica - Cost of housing

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pay 64.4% less for childcare

	United Arab Emirates	Jamaica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$497.28 AED1,826.25	$184.63 JMD29,477.98	-62.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,164.49 AED29,984.10	$2,785.57 JMD444,740.04	-65.9%
Average			-64.4%

United Arab Emirates vs. Jamaica - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.5% less for entertainment and sports

	United Arab Emirates	Jamaica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.43 AED38.31	$2.34 JMD373.82	-77.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.99 AED18.32	$3.50 JMD558.48	-29.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.23 AED22.88	$8.58 JMD1,370.52	+37.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.55 AED277.45	$41.65 JMD6,649.65	-44.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.19 AED48.44	$11.47 JMD1,831.61	-13.0%
Average			-25.5%

United Arab Emirates vs. Jamaica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 51.6% less for clothing

	United Arab Emirates	Jamaica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$75.04 AED275.58	$21.47 JMD3,427.66	-71.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.50 AED218.51	$21.34 JMD3,407.55	-64.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.66 AED388.03	$64.53 JMD10,303.09	-38.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.53 AED391.23	$72.59 JMD11,589.61	-31.9%
Average			-51.6%

United Arab Emirates 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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