Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Calgary and Montego Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in Montego Bay: $1,172 a month against $2,297 in Calgary, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Calgary
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Calgary Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Montego Bay
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Montego Bay Living Index

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Calgary

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,297

/mo nomad

Montego Bay

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,172

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Calgary and in Montego Bay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,297 in Calgary versus $1,172 in Montego Bay.

Calgary $2,297
Montego Bay $1,172

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,378 in Calgary versus $2,155 in Montego Bay.

Calgary $3,378
Montego Bay $2,155

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,459 in Calgary versus $3,137 in Montego Bay.

Calgary $4,459
Montego Bay $3,137

Living in Calgary is roughly 96% more expensive than in Montego Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Calgary is 70% above, Montego Bay is 13% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 CA$25.23

$11.22 JMD 1,770

59.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.9 CA$96.9

$77.1 JMD 12.2K

-10.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.94 CA$15.38

$8.03 JMD 1,268

36.24%

Cappuccino

$3.70 CA$5.21

$5.47 JMD 862

-32.36%

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

$2.07 CA$2.91

$0.87 JMD 137

137.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 CA$2.87

$0.58 JMD 92.3

251.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 CA$8.08

$2.15 JMD 339

166.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 CA$8.02

$3.09 JMD 488

84.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.98 CA$2.78

$3.34 JMD 527

-40.72%

White Bread (500g)

$2.65 CA$3.72

$2.71 JMD 428

-2.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.84 CA$8.21

$1.43 JMD 225

308.39%

Eggs

$3.81 CA$5.36

$3.47 JMD 548

9.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.81 CA$15.20

$11.24 JMD 1,774

-3.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.02 CA$15.50

$6.13 JMD 967

79.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.87 CA$25.14

$9.08 JMD 1,433

96.81%

Apples (1kg)

$4.88 CA$6.87

$4.05 JMD 639

20.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 CA$2.04

$2.57 JMD 406

-43.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.15 CA$5.84

$7.45 JMD 1,176

-44.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 CA$5.61

$2.47 JMD 390

61.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.93 CA$4.12

$2.50 JMD 394

17.20%

Onion (1kg)

$3.02 CA$4.25

$2.62 JMD 413

15.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.67 CA$3.75

$2.57 JMD 405

3.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 CA$2.21

$0.77 JMD 121

103.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.11 CA$19.84

$9.66 JMD 1,525

46.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.45 CA$21.73

$11.54 JMD 1,821

33.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.50 CA$3.52

$2.84 JMD 448

-11.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 CA$4.47

$3.96 JMD 624

-19.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.85 CA$4.00

$0.97 JMD 152

193.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$90.2 CA$127

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.16 CA$4.45

$0.92 JMD 145

243.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.41 CA$1.98

$3.19 JMD 503

-55.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.46 CA$38.62

$6.12 JMD 966

348.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 CA$1.66

$1.40 JMD 222

-15.71%

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

$27.9K CA$39.2K

$44.4K JMD 7.0M

-37.26%

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

$21.1K CA$29.6K

$32.8K JMD 5.2M

-35.88%

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

$182 CA$256

$169 JMD 26.7K

7.36%

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

$36.01 CA$50.7

$22.38 JMD 3,531

60.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.80 CA$68.6

$48.50 JMD 7,653

0.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.78 CA$68.6

$43.68 JMD 6,892

11.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.15 CA$25.53

Cinema Ticket

$14.52 CA$20.42

$8.75 JMD 1,380

65.94%

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

$542 CA$762

$356 JMD 56.2K

52.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.2K CA$29.8K

$17.7K JMD 2.8M

19.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.1 CA$83.1

$23.83 JMD 3,760

147.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.34 CA$59.5

$31.35 JMD 4,947

35.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.2 CA$132

$70.1 JMD 11.1K

34.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 CA$153

$102 JMD 16.2K

6.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,214 CA$1,707

$312 JMD 49.2K

289.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 CA$1,457

$218 JMD 34.5K

374.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,045 CA$2,876

$956 JMD 150.8K

114.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,655 CA$2,327

$928 JMD 146.5K

78.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,653 CA$5,137

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,183 CA$4,476

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,219 CA$4,526

$598 JMD 94.3K

438.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.43

9.45

-53.12%

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

Last update for Calgary: November 2, 2026

Last update for Montego Bay: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Calgary

$1K 45.1%

Montego Bay

$218 18.6% 78.9% $818

Groceries & Markets

Calgary

$390 17%

Montego Bay

$327 27.9% 16.1% $63

Eating Out

Calgary

$277 12.1%

Montego Bay

$202 17.3% 27.1% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Calgary

$267 11.6%

Montego Bay

$240 20.5% 9.9% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Calgary

$137 6%

Montego Bay

$102 8.7% 25.1% $34

Getting Around

Calgary

$112 4.9%

Montego Bay

$21 * 1.8% 81.5% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Calgary

$78 3.4%

Montego Bay

$61 5.2% 21.4% $17

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,214 in Calgary and $312 in Montego Bay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Calgary pays about 5.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $69 in Calgary vs $77 in Montego Bay. Groceries flip the comparison at $390 vs $327, with Montego Bay cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Calgary

🇯🇲 Montego Bay

🕒 Local time

15:26 3:26 PM

16:26 4:26 PM

1 h ahead of Calgary

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,267,344

110,115

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.711 USD

1 CAD = 0.636 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.711 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.636 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.67 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

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Between locations

Calgary Montego Bay 4,810 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Calgary
Montego Bay

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

Calgary vs Montego Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montego Bay is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in transport, eating out, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Calgary is about 5.4 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,214 in Calgary versus $312 in Montego Bay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $542 in Calgary versus $356 in Montego Bay. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Calgary – a meal for two runs $69 versus $77 in Montego Bay. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Montego Bay is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Montego Bay wins on affordability, Calgary on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.