Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston and San Miguel de Allende

For one person, living costs are similar in Kingston and in San Miguel de Allende: $1,668 and $1,610 a month, rent and utilities included.

81

Cost of Living Index in Kingston
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Kingston Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in San Miguel de Allende
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San Miguel de Allende Living Index

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Kingston

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,668

/mo nomad

San Miguel de Allende

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,610

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kingston and in San Miguel de Allende

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 San Miguel de Allende actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,668 in Kingston versus $1,610 in San Miguel de Allende.

Kingston $1,668
San Miguel de Allende $1,610

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,812 in Kingston versus $2,579 in San Miguel de Allende.

Kingston $2,812
San Miguel de Allende $2,579

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,955 in Kingston versus $3,548 in San Miguel de Allende.

Kingston $3,955
San Miguel de Allende $3,548

Living in Kingston is roughly 4% more expensive than in San Miguel de Allende, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kingston 24% above, San Miguel de Allende 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.29 JMD 2,099

$15.19 MX$281

-12.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.8 JMD 11.7K

$43.08 MX$796

71.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.14 JMD 1,285

$10.21 MX$189

-20.27%

Cappuccino

$5.45 JMD 861

$3.76 MX$69.5

44.95%

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

$1.14 JMD 180

$1.62 MX$29.88

-29.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 JMD 115

$1.00 MX$18.51

-28.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 JMD 341

$3.61 MX$66.7

-40.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 JMD 491

$5.94 MX$110

-47.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.19 JMD 661

$1.48 MX$27.43

183.11%

White Bread (500g)

$3.78 JMD 598

$3.17 MX$58.6

19.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 JMD 254

$1.79 MX$33.12

-10.06%

Eggs

$3.48 JMD 550

$3.06 MX$56.6

13.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 JMD 1,801

$8.55 MX$158

33.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.35 JMD 1,003

$12.38 MX$229

-48.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.40 JMD 1,644

$18.60 MX$344

-44.09%

Apples (1kg)

$6.05 JMD 957

$3.86 MX$71.4

56.74%

Banana (1kg)

$3.82 JMD 604

$1.59 MX$29.38

140.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.25 JMD 1,146

$2.93 MX$54.2

147.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.06 JMD 484

$2.88 MX$53.2

6.25%

Potato (1kg)

$3.21 JMD 506

$2.56 MX$47.34

25.39%

Onion (1kg)

$2.62 JMD 415

$3.07 MX$56.7

-14.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.13 JMD 494

$1.13 MX$20.94

176.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 JMD 228

$1.30 MX$23.94

10.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.48 JMD 1,498

$4.51 MX$83.3

110.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.36 JMD 1,795

$16.34 MX$302

-30.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.86 JMD 453

$2.47 MX$45.71

15.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.88 JMD 613

$3.90 MX$72.1

-0.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 JMD 119

$0.57 MX$10.61

31.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.27 JMD 5,888

$6.72 MX$124

454.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 JMD 192

$4.32 MX$79.8

-71.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.20 JMD 505

$4.39 MX$81.2

-27.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.31 JMD 996

$10.82 MX$200

-41.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 JMD 219

$1.54 MX$28.41

-9.74%

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

$44.3K JMD 7.0M

$21.1K MX$390.3K

109.67%

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

$32.8K JMD 5.2M

$23.9K MX$442.3K

36.94%

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

$167 JMD 26.4K

$41.10 MX$759

305.86%

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

$29.86 JMD 4,717

$15.93 MX$294

87.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.4 JMD 8,443

$41.65 MX$770

28.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.9 JMD 9,787

$37.28 MX$689

66.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.61 JMD 2,782

$41.50 MX$767

-57.57%

Cinema Ticket

$13.15 JMD 2,078

$6.67 MX$123

97.15%

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

$359 JMD 56.7K

$357 MX$6,605

0.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,382 JMD 1.3M

$4,837 MX$89.4K

73.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.75 JMD 3,752

$65.7 MX$1,214

-63.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.13 JMD 4,918

$61.0 MX$1,127

-48.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.9 JMD 12.2K

$114 MX$2,108

-32.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 JMD 15.9K

$145 MX$2,680

-30.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$975 JMD 154.0K

$1,086 MX$20.1K

-10.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$563 JMD 89.0K

$663 MX$12.2K

-15.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,142 JMD 338.5K

$2,365 MX$43.7K

-9.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,421 JMD 224.6K

$1,326 MX$24.5K

7.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,876 JMD 454.4K

$2,673 MX$49.4K

7.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,044 JMD 323.0K

$1,602 MX$29.6K

27.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 JMD 116.1K

$631 MX$11.7K

16.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

12.05

-21.58%

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

Last update for Kingston: October 10, 2026

Last update for San Miguel de Allende: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kingston

$563 33.8%

San Miguel de Allende

$663 41.2% 17.7% $100

Groceries & Markets

Kingston

$384 23%

San Miguel de Allende

$351 21.8% 8.6% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston

$250 15%

San Miguel de Allende

$99 6.1% 60.5% $151

Eating Out

Kingston

$221 13.2%

San Miguel de Allende

$238 14.8% 7.8% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston

$105 6.3%

San Miguel de Allende

$174 10.8% 66.1% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston

$88 5.3%

San Miguel de Allende

$51 3.1% 42.6% $38

Getting Around

Kingston

$57 3.5%

San Miguel de Allende

$35 2.2% 38.6% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $975 in Kingston and $1,086 in San Miguel de Allende. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kingston pays 16% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $74.0 in Kingston vs $43.00 in San Miguel de Allende for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $351 per month, with San Miguel de Allende cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Kingston

🇲🇽 San Miguel de Allende

🕒 Local time

10:00 10:00 AM

09:00 9:00 AM

1 h behind Kingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

660,000 Capital

72,452

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kingston San Miguel de Allende 2,530 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Kingston
San Miguel de Allende

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 San Miguel de Allende: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Miguel de Allende wins on cost – living expenses run 4% lower than in Kingston. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making San Miguel de Allende the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 16% higher in Kingston, 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: $975 in Kingston versus $1,086 in San Miguel de Allende. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $359 in Kingston versus $357 in San Miguel de Allende. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Kingston. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,610 in San Miguel de Allende versus $1,668 in Kingston, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Miguel de Allende but tight or insufficient in Kingston. The gap between the two cities makes San Miguel de Allende the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but San Miguel de Allende delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,610 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes San Miguel de Allende hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Kingston and San Miguel de Allende are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find San Miguel de Allende gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Kingston. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.