Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston, Jamaica and Portmore

For one person, living is cheaper in Portmore: $1,250 a month against $1,677 in Kingston, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 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
60

Cost of Living Index in Portmore
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Portmore Living Index

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Kingston

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,677

/mo nomad

Portmore

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,250

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kingston and in Portmore

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,677 in Kingston versus $1,250 in Portmore.

Kingston $1,677
Portmore $1,250

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,829 in Kingston versus $2,081 in Portmore.

Kingston $2,829
Portmore $2,081

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,980 in Kingston versus $2,912 in Portmore.

Kingston $3,980
Portmore $2,912

Living in Kingston is roughly 34% more expensive than in Portmore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kingston is 23% above, Portmore is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 JMD 2,180

$10.11 JMD 1,598

36.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.1 JMD 11.9K

$63.1 JMD 9,975

18.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.31 JMD 1,312

$7.99 JMD 1,262

4.01%

Cappuccino

$5.36 JMD 847

$5.27 JMD 833

1.71%

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

$1.19 JMD 188

$0.93 JMD 147

27.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 JMD 117

$0.61 JMD 96.6

21.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 JMD 358

$2.18 JMD 345

3.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 JMD 511

$2.18 JMD 345

48.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.23 JMD 668

$3.18 JMD 502

33.02%

White Bread (500g)

$3.86 JMD 610

$3.64 JMD 575

6.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 JMD 259

$1.03 JMD 163

59.22%

Eggs

$3.59 JMD 567

$3.44 JMD 544

4.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.55 JMD 1,824

$11.29 JMD 1,784

2.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.23 JMD 985

$6.22 JMD 982

0.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.22 JMD 1,615

$9.49 JMD 1,499

7.69%

Apples (1kg)

$6.07 JMD 958

$5.88 JMD 929

3.23%

Banana (1kg)

$3.87 JMD 612

$3.94 JMD 622

-1.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.25 JMD 1,146

$3.01 JMD 476

140.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.10 JMD 489

$3.02 JMD 477

2.65%

Potato (1kg)

$3.18 JMD 502

$3.22 JMD 509

-1.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 JMD 423

$2.57 JMD 406

4.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.10 JMD 489

$1.55 JMD 245

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 JMD 227

$1.25 JMD 197

14.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.33 JMD 1,474

$9.49 JMD 1,499

-1.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.26 JMD 1,779

$11.46 JMD 1,811

-1.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.77 JMD 438

$2.87 JMD 454

-3.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 JMD 639

$2.16 JMD 342

87.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 JMD 96.5

$2.25 JMD 355

-72.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.10 JMD 6,019

$50.1 JMD 7,917

-23.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 JMD 203

$0.92 JMD 145

39.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.22 JMD 509

$3.13 JMD 494

2.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 JMD 1,006

$6.44 JMD 1,017

-1.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 JMD 224

$1.26 JMD 200

12.70%

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

$44.0K JMD 6.9M

$44.3K JMD 7.0M

-0.86%

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

$32.8K JMD 5.2M

$32.7K JMD 5.2M

0.31%

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

$170 JMD 26.8K

$160 JMD 25.2K

6.16%

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

$29.16 JMD 4,608

$28.89 JMD 4,564

0.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.8 JMD 8,496

$52.8 JMD 8,346

1.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.7 JMD 9,742

$58.7 JMD 9,273

5.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.76 JMD 2,806

Cinema Ticket

$13.46 JMD 2,127

$13.47 JMD 2,129

-0.07%

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

$363 JMD 57.4K

$281 JMD 44.4K

29.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,388 JMD 1.3M

$3,157 JMD 498.8K

165.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.39 JMD 3,695

$23.28 JMD 3,677

0.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.37 JMD 4,956

$31.19 JMD 4,928

0.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.3 JMD 12.2K

$77.0 JMD 12.2K

0.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 JMD 16.1K

$95.9 JMD 15.2K

6.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$958 JMD 151.3K

$315 JMD 49.7K

204.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$562 JMD 88.8K

$218 JMD 34.4K

157.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,100 JMD 331.9K

$667 JMD 105.3K

215.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,422 JMD 224.7K

$605 JMD 95.5K

135.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,849 JMD 450.1K

$7,655 JMD 1.2M

-62.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,072 JMD 327.4K

$5,857 JMD 925.3K

-64.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$750 JMD 118.5K

$1,280 JMD 202.3K

-41.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

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

Last update for Kingston: October 26, 2026

Last update for Portmore: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kingston

$562 33.5%

Portmore

$218 17.4% 61.2% $344

Groceries & Markets

Kingston

$385 23%

Portmore

$337 27% 12.5% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston

$252 15.1%

Portmore

$241 19.3% 4.4% $11

Eating Out

Kingston

$225 13.4%

Portmore

$190 15.2% 15.8% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston

$105 6.3%

Portmore

$102 8.2% 2.8% $2.9

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston

$89 5.3%

Portmore

$86 6.9% 3.3% $3

Getting Around

Kingston

$58 3.5%

Portmore

$76 6.1% 30.6% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $958 in Kingston and $315 in Portmore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portmore pays 71% 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 $63 in Portmore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $337 per month, with Portmore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Kingston

🇯🇲 Portmore

🕒 Local time

06:11 6:11 AM

Same time as Kingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

660,000 Capital

170,000

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.67 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Kingston Portmore 9 km

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Kingston
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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 Portmore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Portmore wins on cost – living expenses run 25% lower than in Kingston. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Portmore the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 41% 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 $315 in Portmore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $363 in Kingston versus $281 in Portmore. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Kingston. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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

For families, Portmore is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Kingston, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.