Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston, Jamaica and Msida

For one person, living is cheaper in Kingston: $1,677 a month against $1,805 in Msida, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Msida outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

81

Cost of Living Index in Kingston
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Kingston Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Msida
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Msida Living Index

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Kingston

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,677

/mo nomad

Msida

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,805

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kingston and in Msida

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 Msida actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,677 in Kingston versus $1,805 in Msida.

Kingston $1,677
Msida $1,805

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,829 in Kingston versus $2,670 in Msida.

Kingston $2,829
Msida $2,670

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,980 in Kingston versus $3,536 in Msida.

Kingston $3,980
Msida $3,536

Living in Kingston costs roughly 7% less than in Msida, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kingston 23% above, Msida 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 JMD 2,180

$11.29 €10.08

22.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.1 JMD 11.9K

$50.1 €44.69

49.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.31 JMD 1,312

$10.72 €9.57

-22.48%

Cappuccino

$5.36 JMD 847

$2.26 €2.02

137.17%

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

$1.19 JMD 188

$2.26 €2.01

-47.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 JMD 117

$1.10 €0.99

-32.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 JMD 358

$4.60 €4.11

-50.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 JMD 511

$3.45 €3.08

-6.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.23 JMD 668

$1.12 €1.00

277.68%

White Bread (500g)

$3.86 JMD 610

$1.35 €1.21

185.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 JMD 259

$4.46 €3.98

-63.23%

Eggs

$3.59 JMD 567

$2.65 €2.36

35.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.55 JMD 1,824

$8.48 €7.57

36.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.23 JMD 985

$10.44 €9.31

-40.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.22 JMD 1,615

$18.08 €16.13

-43.47%

Apples (1kg)

$6.07 JMD 958

$4.27 €3.81

42.15%

Banana (1kg)

$3.87 JMD 612

$2.84 €2.53

36.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.25 JMD 1,146

$3.69 €3.29

96.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.10 JMD 489

$3.32 €2.96

-6.63%

Potato (1kg)

$3.18 JMD 502

$2.21 €1.97

43.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 JMD 423

$1.90 €1.69

41.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.10 JMD 489

$2.35 €2.10

31.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 JMD 227

$1.29 €1.15

10.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.33 JMD 1,474

$6.58 €5.87

41.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.26 JMD 1,779

$8.08 €7.21

39.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.77 JMD 438

$1.71 €1.53

61.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 JMD 639

$2.40 €2.14

68.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 JMD 96.5

$2.18 €1.95

-72.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.10 JMD 6,019

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 JMD 203

$5.45 €4.86

-76.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.22 JMD 509

$2.17 €1.94

48.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 JMD 1,006

$26.80 €23.91

-76.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 JMD 224

$1.49 €1.33

-4.70%

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

$44.0K JMD 6.9M

$37.1K €33.1K

18.44%

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

$32.8K JMD 5.2M

$39.7K €35.4K

-17.42%

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

$170 JMD 26.8K

$84.8 €75.6

99.98%

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

$29.16 JMD 4,608

$25.53 €22.78

14.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.8 JMD 8,496

$27.62 €24.64

94.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.7 JMD 9,742

$56.3 €50.3

9.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.76 JMD 2,806

Cinema Ticket

$13.46 JMD 2,127

$9.96 €8.89

35.14%

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

$363 JMD 57.4K

$363 €324

0.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,388 JMD 1.3M

$11.0K €9,770

-23.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.39 JMD 3,695

$86.0 €76.7

-72.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.37 JMD 4,956

$39.84 €35.55

-21.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.3 JMD 12.2K

$98.3 €87.7

-21.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 JMD 16.1K

$78.6 €70.1

29.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$958 JMD 151.3K

$1,048 €935

-8.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$562 JMD 88.8K

$917 €818

-38.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,100 JMD 331.9K

$1,823 €1,627

15.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,422 JMD 224.7K

$1,485 €1,325

-4.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,849 JMD 450.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,072 JMD 327.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$750 JMD 118.5K

$2,734 €2,440

-72.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

2.9

225.86%

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

Last update for Kingston: October 26, 2026

Last update for Msida: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kingston

$562 33.5%

Msida

$917 50.8% 63.1% $355

Groceries & Markets

Kingston

$385 23%

Msida

$320 17.7% 17% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston

$252 15.1%

Msida

$138 7.6% 45.4% $115

Eating Out

Kingston

$225 13.4%

Msida

$193 10.7% 14.3% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston

$105 6.3%

Msida

$136 7.6% 29.4% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston

$89 5.3%

Msida

$76 4.2% 13.9% $12

Getting Around

Kingston

$58 3.5%

Msida

$25 * 1.4% 56.8% $33

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 $958 in Kingston and $1,048 in Msida. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Msida pays about 3.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $75 in Kingston vs $50 in Msida for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $320 per month, with Msida cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Kingston

🇲🇹 Msida

🕒 Local time

14:47 2:47 PM

20:47 8:47 PM

6 h ahead of Kingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

660,000 Capital

8,000

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.65 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.65 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kingston Msida 8,960 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Kingston
Msida

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 Msida: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kingston wins on cost – living expenses run 7% lower than in Msida. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Kingston the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 73% 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 $1,048 in Msida. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Msida pay roughly 17% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,677 per month in Kingston versus $1,805 in Msida – Kingston is about 7% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Kingston 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.

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