Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston, Jamaica and Kyoto

For one person, living is cheaper in Kyoto: $1,290 a month against $1,677 in Kingston, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Kingston
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Kingston Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Kyoto
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Kyoto Living Index

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Kingston

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,677

/mo nomad

Kyoto

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,290

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kingston and in Kyoto

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,677 in Kingston versus $1,290 in Kyoto.

Kingston $1,677
Kyoto $1,290

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,829 in Kingston versus $1,932 in Kyoto.

Kingston $2,829
Kyoto $1,932

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,980 in Kingston versus $2,574 in Kyoto.

Kingston $3,980
Kyoto $2,574

Living in Kingston is roughly 30% more expensive than in Kyoto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kingston is 23% above, Kyoto is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 JMD 2,175

$9.77 ¥1,542

41.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.1 JMD 11.8K

$32.34 ¥5,106

132.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.31 JMD 1,310

$5.11 ¥807

62.62%

Cappuccino

$5.36 JMD 846

$3.22 ¥508

66.46%

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

$1.19 JMD 188

$0.89 ¥141

33.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 JMD 116

$0.71 ¥112

4.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 JMD 357

$3.22 ¥509

-29.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 JMD 510

$5.85 ¥924

-44.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.23 JMD 667

$1.55 ¥245

172.90%

White Bread (500g)

$3.86 JMD 609

$1.61 ¥254

139.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 JMD 258

$5.84 ¥923

-71.92%

Eggs

$3.59 JMD 565

$2.11 ¥333

70.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.55 JMD 1,821

$8.84 ¥1,395

30.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.23 JMD 983

$7.92 ¥1,251

-21.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.22 JMD 1,612

$10.70 ¥1,690

-4.49%

Apples (1kg)

$6.07 JMD 957

$5.19 ¥819

16.96%

Banana (1kg)

$3.87 JMD 610

$2.37 ¥374

63.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.25 JMD 1,144

$5.15 ¥813

40.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.10 JMD 488

$3.69 ¥582

-15.99%

Potato (1kg)

$3.18 JMD 501

$1.87 ¥295

70.05%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 JMD 422

$1.66 ¥262

61.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.10 JMD 488

$1.14 ¥180

171.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 JMD 226

$0.94 ¥148

52.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.33 JMD 1,471

$4.04 ¥639

130.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.26 JMD 1,775

$7.73 ¥1,221

45.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.77 JMD 438

$1.61 ¥255

72.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 JMD 637

$3.37 ¥531

19.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 JMD 96.3

$1.42 ¥225

-57.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.10 JMD 6,008

$62.1 ¥9,804

-38.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 JMD 202

$3.30 ¥520

-61.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.22 JMD 508

$3.88 ¥612

-17.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 JMD 1,004

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 JMD 223

$1.10 ¥174

29.09%

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

$44.0K JMD 6.9M

$22.7K ¥3.6M

93.48%

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

$32.8K JMD 5.2M

$15.5K ¥2.4M

111.52%

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

$170 JMD 26.7K

$101 ¥16.0K

67.61%

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

$29.16 JMD 4,599

$23.51 ¥3,712

24.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.8 JMD 8,480

$30.41 ¥4,801

76.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.7 JMD 9,723

$51.6 ¥8,145

19.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.76 JMD 2,801

$18.87 ¥2,980

-5.88%

Cinema Ticket

$13.46 JMD 2,123

$13.72 ¥2,166

-1.90%

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

$363 JMD 57.3K

$718 ¥113.4K

-49.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,388 JMD 1.3M

$6,490 ¥1.0M

29.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.39 JMD 3,688

$56.7 ¥8,956

-58.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.37 JMD 4,946

$45.07 ¥7,116

-30.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.3 JMD 12.2K

$70.3 ¥11.1K

10.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 JMD 16.1K

$102 ¥16.1K

-0.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$958 JMD 151.0K

$638 ¥100.7K

50.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$562 JMD 88.6K

$379 ¥59.9K

48.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,100 JMD 331.2K

$1,176 ¥185.6K

78.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,422 JMD 224.3K

$577 ¥91.1K

146.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,849 JMD 449.3K

$4,226 ¥667.2K

-32.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,072 JMD 326.8K

$2,921 ¥461.2K

-29.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$750 JMD 118.3K

$1,873 ¥295.6K

-59.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

2.23

323.77%

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

Last update for Kingston: October 26, 2026

Last update for Kyoto: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kingston

$562 33.5%

Kyoto

$379 29.4% 32.5% $183

Groceries & Markets

Kingston

$385 23%

Kyoto

$296 22.9% 23.2% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston

$252 15.1%

Kyoto

$155 12% 38.6% $97

Eating Out

Kingston

$225 13.4%

Kyoto

$166 12.9% 26.1% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston

$105 6.3%

Kyoto

$123 9.6% 17.3% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston

$89 5.3%

Kyoto

$79 6.1% 10.8% $9.6

Getting Around

Kingston

$58 3.5%

Kyoto

$90 7% 56.1% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $958 in Kingston and $638 in Kyoto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kyoto pays about 2.5 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $75 in Kingston vs $32 in Kyoto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $296 per month, with Kyoto cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Kingston

🇯🇵 Kyoto

🕒 Local time

17:59 5:59 PM

07:59 7:59 AM

14 h ahead of Kingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

660,000 Capital

1,475,183

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

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Between locations

Kingston Kyoto 13,190 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Kingston
Kyoto

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

Kingston vs Kyoto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kyoto wins on cost – living expenses run 23% lower than in Kingston. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Kyoto the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 60% lower in Kingston. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $958 in Kingston versus $638 in Kyoto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $363 in Kingston versus $718 in Kyoto. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Kingston. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Kyoto gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.