Compare the cost of your home country to the actual living costs in Jamaica, simply select your home currency and see the difference!
All data is kept up to date by local members and actual students. Our latest update was on: 30th of June 2020
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| Food | Price in $ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 12 eggs dozen, large |
12.50 JMD | |||
 1 beer pint in local shops, markets |
7 JMD | |||
 1 kg of tomatoes |
8.50 JMD | |||
 Full chicken 2kg |
38.75 JMD | |||
 1litre 100% fruit juice |
8.50 JMD | |||
 1 package of cigarettes imported brands |
25 JMD | |||
 1 kg (2 lb.) of apples |
7.50 JMD | |||
 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality |
48.95 JMD | |||
| 2.5 liters of Coca-Cola |
0.95 JMD | |||
 1 Bread loaf standard |
9.50 JMD | |||
 Whole fat Yogurt. 500ml |
12 JMD | |||
 1x6 pack Dardanelle tuna |
18.50 JMD | |||
| Heinz baked beans 1 tin |
8 JMD | |||
 1.5 kg Sugar |
10 JMD | |||
| 2 liter cooking oil |
20 JMD | |||
 Yum-yum noodles per pack |
2.00 JMD | |||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes |
5.50 JMD | |||
 1 liter milk |
8.50 JMD | |||
 Fast food restaurant large serving/ take away |
25 JMD | |||
| Housing | ||||
 Utilities per month (water, electricity, gas) for 2 people in flat |
165 JMD | |||
 Wi-Fi monthly fee 8 Mbps (1 month) |
145 JMD | |||
 Laundry detergent (bleach, sunlight liquid, washing surf… altogether) |
58.50 JMD | |||
 House Cleaning fee per day |
105 JMD | |||
 Large Gas heater price range upwards. |
200 JMD | |||
 Original branded Electric Fans |
200 JMD | |||
 Original branded Electric kettle. |
120 JMD | |||
 40 inches Beko flat screen HD TV set |
2000 JMD | |||
 Single bed Blankets |
120 JMD | |||
| Personal Care | ||||
 Avon for women and men cologne |
100 JMD | |||
 Ladies hair plaiting. |
60 JMD | |||
 Ladies Sanitaryware (Pads and Tampoons) |
18 JMD | |||
 Men's haircut |
40 JMD | |||
 Ibuprofen, Panadol, Grandpa Pain killers box of 12 dosses |
24.50 JMD | |||
 Mobile package local network providers’ talk-time, data and messages |
65 JMD | |||
 1 month of gym subscription. |
105 JMD | |||
 Earphones original (Samsung. iPhone) |
90 JMD | |||
| Unisex Loris perfume |
30 JMD | |||
 Gadgets maintenance and repairs (cellphone, laptops, tablets...) starting price. |
100 JMD | |||
| Smart phones (Samsung, Xiaomi, HTC, IPhone) price range upwards |
1000 JMD | |||
 Laptops (Samsung, Lenovo, Hp, Monster, Dell etc.) price range upwards |
3000 JMD | |||
| Entertainment | ||||
 Boat cruise with refreshments and finger snacks |
120 JMD | |||
 Go carting 30mins |
120 JMD | |||
 Movie House 3d cinema |
30 JMD | |||
 Summer Festivals (jet, bumper cars, lucky deep ...(per ticket) |
15 JMD | |||
 Photo shoot |
120 JMD | |||
 Cappuccino / expresso/ coffee |
12.50 JMD | |||
 3 course dinner local restaurant two people |
96.50 JMD | |||
 3 course dinner classy, exotic restaurant two people |
150 JMD | |||
 Play station 4 console without games. |
2000 JMD | |||
 Spalding Basketball |
200 JMD | |||
 Original branded Racket and Wilson’s tennis balls |
500 JMD | |||
| Transportation | ||||
 Taxi fare on average 5-10km |
45 JMD | |||
 Public transport per trip one way maximum fare |
30 JMD | |||
 1 liter petrol/diesel |
6.50 JMD | |||
| 1 day rent a car cost |
140 JMD | |||
 Driver’s license |
2300 JMD | |||
| Clothes | ||||
 1 pair of jeans (Denim or similar) |
150 JMD | |||
 1 pair of men’s formal shoes |
215 JMD | |||
 1 pair original sport/casual shoes (Nike, Adidas, or equivalent brands) |
280 JMD | |||
 1 classy summer dress (Zara, H&M or similar retailers) |
135.79 JMD | |||
 Ladies formal shoes original and durable |
120 JMD | |||
 Back-pack, gym bag (Nike, Adidas, New balance) |
150 JMD | |||
The country a lovely place to live, if you have money. It is filled with adventures and fun things to do, but most locals cannot enjoy all the goodies that this island has to offer because they lack financial income.
However, the food is good and general costs of living, apart from petrol and imported products are reasonable. What is expensive is the rent: for example a decent one bedroom apartment in a nice area would probably cost USD 400 per month, and with utilities costing around USD 150 per month, there is hardly any amount that’s left for personal luxury.
Restaurants
Food here is relatively expensive if you take into consideration their paychecks, so eating out isn’t recommended if you want to save up your money. Of course, there are always inexpensive restaurants with delicious food for USD 4, but if you go to a mid-range restaurant, expect the prices to be like anywhere around the country.
Markets
The price of groceries is very high compared to even European prices. Though it is relatively inexpensive to cook, definitely, than to go out and eat in restaurants, groceries are still pretty expensive. Jamaica is actually known for having high prices of meals and transportation. For example, expect a loaf of bread to cost over USD 2.
Transportation
Transportation is also cheap in this country. For example, a normal workday where you have to travel back and forth using public transportation, together with that day's lunch would cost on average around USD 10 per day. Monthly pass for public transport costs around USD 10 and a one way ticket less than a dollar.
Utilities
Utilities are also expensive and on par with European most expensive cities in Jamaica, with one difference: here, the internet is more expensive, too. So, all the basic utilities, including gas, electricity, heating, cooling and garbage services, cost almost USD 100 for a larger apartment of about 80m2.
Clothing and shoes
One thing that is inexpensive in Jamaica is clothing. So if you are planning on spending any money on clothes that might be a good idea since the prices are half as much as they are in other continents. For good, quality jeans, you’ll have to pay only around USD 40 while quality sneakers are around USD 60. The interesting thing is that light pieces of clothing like summer dresses and shirts priced almost the same as jeans.
Rent per month
Rent is expensive but largely depends on whether you’re staying in a rural area or closer to the towns. The rent would average at around USD 340 per month, because outside of the city it would cost somewhere around USD 250, while in the center of one of the cities, it would cost above USD 500 per month.
Health Care
Cost is average for consulting a doctor in a public institution that will cost about USD 50 and for a private doctor can vary between USD 50 to USD 100 depending on the city. There are student medical aids that are accepted by various institutions in Jamaica. It is advised to check with your offer letter on what procedures need to be followed on health insurance!
