Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Duncans

For one person, living is cheaper in Duncans: $1,011 a month against $1,633 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Duncans
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Duncans Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,633

/mo nomad

Duncans

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,011

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Duncans

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Buenos Aires and in Duncans actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,633 in Buenos Aires versus $1,011 in Duncans.

Buenos Aires $1,633
Duncans $1,011

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,640 in Buenos Aires versus $1,673 in Duncans.

Buenos Aires $2,640
Duncans $1,673

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,646 in Buenos Aires versus $2,336 in Duncans.

Buenos Aires $3,646
Duncans $2,336

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 62% more expensive than in Duncans, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 20% above, Duncans is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.24 ARS 28.1K

$13.60 JMD 2,144

34.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.3 ARS 101.9K

$75.7 JMD 11.9K

-12.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.96 ARS 19.9K

$8.14 JMD 1,284

59.21%

Cappuccino

$3.73 ARS 5,742

$5.44 JMD 858

-31.43%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ARS 3,128

$1.14 JMD 180

78.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 ARS 2,612

$0.71 JMD 111

139.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.06 ARS 6,243

$2.25 JMD 355

80.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.75 ARS 7,301

$3.21 JMD 507

47.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ARS 2,249

$4.15 JMD 655

-64.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.54 ARS 3,904

$3.73 JMD 588

-31.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 ARS 2,434

$1.58 JMD 249

Eggs

$2.68 ARS 4,123

$3.58 JMD 565

-25.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.14 ARS 17.1K

$11.50 JMD 1,813

-3.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.08 ARS 15.5K

$6.21 JMD 979

62.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 ARS 20.3K

$10.34 JMD 1,631

27.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.76 ARS 4,250

$6.01 JMD 947

-54.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,384

$3.97 JMD 625

-44.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,148

$7.54 JMD 1,190

-81.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,055

$3.02 JMD 476

-34.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,845

$3.32 JMD 523

-63.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ARS 1,774

$2.61 JMD 411

-55.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 ARS 2,500

$3.01 JMD 475

-45.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 ARS 2,769

$1.43 JMD 226

25.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 ARS 6,478

$9.48 JMD 1,494

-55.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.51 ARS 8,480

$11.25 JMD 1,775

-51.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 ARS 3,177

$2.78 JMD 439

-25.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,254

$3.96 JMD 625

-30.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 ARS 1,143

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.83 ARS 45.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.61 ARS 2,481

$1.27 JMD 200

26.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,497

$3.20 JMD 505

-69.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.15 ARS 12.5K

$6.23 JMD 983

30.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 ARS 2,160

$1.45 JMD 228

-3.45%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$23.2K ARS 35.7M

$44.1K JMD 7.0M

-47.37%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$32.8K ARS 50.5M

$32.2K JMD 5.1M

2.15%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$196 ARS 301.9K

$171 JMD 27.0K

14.57%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$23.91 ARS 36.8K

$29.64 JMD 4,674

-19.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.50 ARS 48.5K

$51.8 JMD 8,166

-39.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.01 ARS 73.8K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.62 ARS 25.6K

Cinema Ticket

$10.57 ARS 16.3K

$13.41 JMD 2,115

-21.18%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$501 ARS 770.1K

$355 JMD 56.0K

40.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,870 ARS 13.6M

$8,307 JMD 1.3M

6.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$121 ARS 186.8K

$23.91 JMD 3,771

407.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.6 ARS 147.0K

$31.38 JMD 4,949

204.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ARS 178.5K

$78.7 JMD 12.4K

47.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 213.2K

$103 JMD 16.3K

34.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 ARS 1.1M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$503 ARS 773.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,477 ARS 2.3M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,119 ARS 1.7M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,703 ARS 4.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 ARS 3.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$921 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

9.45

505.82%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 26, 2026

Last update for Duncans: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$503 30.8%

Duncans

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.4%

Duncans

$384 38% 35.2% $100

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$274 16.8%

Duncans

$224 22.1% 18.5% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.4%

Duncans

$253 25% 0.4% $1

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$212 13%

Duncans

$107 10.6% 49.7% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$69 4.2%

Duncans

$27 * 2.7% 61.2% $42

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$39 2.4%

Duncans

$17 * 1.7% 56% $22

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $66 in Buenos Aires vs $76 in Duncans for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $384 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇯🇲 Duncans

🕒 Local time

10:54 10:54 AM

08:54 8:54 AM

2 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

5,153

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,538 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD). 1 EUR = 1,712 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Duncans 6,240 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Duncans

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Buenos Aires vs Duncans: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Duncans differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($1,633 vs $1,011 including rent). Duncans is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,450 in Buenos Aires and $1,517 in Duncans to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $501 in Buenos Aires versus $355 in Duncans. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Buenos Aires – a meal for two runs $66 versus $76 in Duncans. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,011 in Duncans versus $1,633 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Duncans but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Duncans the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.