Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston and Seattle, WA

For one person, living is cheaper in Kingston: $1,668 a month against $3,744 in Seattle, WA, rent and utilities included – about $24,900 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
184

Cost of Living Index in Seattle, WA
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Seattle, WA Living Index

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Kingston

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,668

/mo nomad

Seattle, WA

🇺🇸 United States

$3,744

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kingston and in Seattle, WA

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,668 in Kingston versus $3,744 in Seattle, WA.

Kingston $1,668
Seattle, WA $3,744

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,779 in Kingston versus $5,703 in Seattle, WA.

Kingston $2,779
Seattle, WA $5,703

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,890 in Kingston versus $7,661 in Seattle, WA.

Kingston $3,890
Seattle, WA $7,661

Living in Kingston costs roughly 55% less than in Seattle, WA, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kingston 24% above, Seattle, WA 179% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.57 JMD 2,150

$24.56 $24.56

-44.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.2 JMD 11.8K

$99.5 $99.5

-25.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.95 JMD 1,261

$15.30 $15.30

-48.04%

Cappuccino

$5.47 JMD 866

$6.62 $6.62

-17.37%

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

$1.14 JMD 180

$3.25 $3.25

-64.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 JMD 118

$3.11 $3.11

-75.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 JMD 358

$7.77 $7.77

-70.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 JMD 496

$7.93 $7.93

-60.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.12 JMD 654

$1.21 $1.21

240.50%

White Bread (500g)

$3.79 JMD 600

$4.94 $4.94

-23.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 JMD 251

$6.17 $6.17

-74.23%

Eggs

$3.56 JMD 564

$4.96 $4.96

-28.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.22 JMD 1,778

$19.00 $19.00

-40.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.48 JMD 1,026

$18.69 $18.69

-65.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.22 JMD 1,620

$23.14 $23.14

-55.83%

Apples (1kg)

$5.89 JMD 933

$5.93 $5.93

-0.67%

Banana (1kg)

$3.90 JMD 619

$1.94 $1.94

101.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.34 JMD 1,163

$5.19 $5.19

41.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.06 JMD 485

$6.55 $6.55

-53.28%

Potato (1kg)

$3.23 JMD 511

$3.62 $3.62

-10.77%

Onion (1kg)

$2.67 JMD 423

$3.16 $3.16

-15.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.05 JMD 483

$2.91 $2.91

4.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 JMD 240

$2.38 $2.38

-36.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.51 JMD 1,507

$12.36 $12.36

-23.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.32 JMD 1,793

$15.02 $15.02

-24.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 JMD 447

$4.30 $4.30

-34.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 JMD 649

$5.69 $5.69

-27.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 JMD 123

$3.05 $3.05

-74.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.32 JMD 5,914

$109 $109

-65.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 JMD 196

$2.64 $2.64

-53.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.18 JMD 504

$1.74 $1.74

82.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.46 JMD 1,023

$30.02 $30.02

-78.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 JMD 225

$1.46 $1.46

-2.74%

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

$44.7K JMD 7.1M

$36.7K $36.7K

21.56%

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

$32.9K JMD 5.2M

$25.7K $25.7K

27.98%

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

$169 JMD 26.7K

$299 $299

-43.67%

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

$29.11 JMD 4,613

$69.7 $69.7

-58.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.9 JMD 8,390

$90.1 $90.1

-41.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.5 JMD 9,904

$80.0 $80.0

-21.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.63 JMD 2,793

$35.62 $35.62

-50.51%

Cinema Ticket

$13.28 JMD 2,104

$17.33 $17.33

-23.37%

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

$357 JMD 56.6K

$2,986 $2,986

-88.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,163 JMD 1.3M

$31.3K $31.3K

-73.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.85 JMD 3,780

$77.7 $77.7

-69.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.37 JMD 4,971

$54.9 $54.9

-42.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.0 JMD 12.4K

$126 $126

-38.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 JMD 16.1K

$165 $165

-38.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$957 JMD 151.6K

$2,407 $2,407

-60.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$576 JMD 91.3K

$1,963 $1,963

-70.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,139 JMD 338.9K

$4,788 $4,788

-55.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 JMD 220.5K

$3,561 $3,561

-60.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,892 JMD 458.2K

$7,430 $7,430

-61.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,080 JMD 329.6K

$5,010 $5,010

-58.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$733 JMD 116.1K

$6,280 $6,280

-88.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

6.85

37.96%

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

Last update for Kingston: October 4, 2026

Last update for Seattle, WA: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kingston

$576 34.2%

Seattle, WA

$2K 51.6% 241% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Kingston

$384 22.8%

Seattle, WA

$541 14.2% 40.8% $157

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston

$251 14.9%

Seattle, WA

$459 12.1% 83.2% $209

Eating Out

Kingston

$223 13.2%

Seattle, WA

$402 10.6% 80.2% $179

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston

$106 6.3%

Seattle, WA

$191 5% 80.4% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston

$89 5.3%

Seattle, WA

$115 3% 28.7% $26

Getting Around

Kingston

$58 3.4%

Seattle, WA

$132 3.5% 130% $75

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $957 in Kingston and $2,407 in Seattle, WA. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Seattle, WA pays 757% 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 $99.0 in Seattle, WA for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $541 per month, with Kingston cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Kingston

🇺🇸 Seattle, WA

🕒 Local time

02:44 2:44 AM

00:44 12:44 AM

2 h behind Kingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

660,000 Capital

737,015

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.31 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.31 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

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Between locations

Kingston Seattle, WA 5,270 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Kingston
Seattle, WA

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 Seattle, WA: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kingston wins on cost – living expenses run 124% lower than in Seattle, WA. 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 757% lower in Seattle, WA. 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: $957 in Kingston versus $2,407 in Seattle, WA. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $357 in Kingston versus $2,986 in Seattle, WA. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Seattle, WA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,668 in Kingston versus $3,744 in Seattle, WA, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kingston but tight or insufficient in Seattle, WA. The gap between the two cities makes Kingston the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kingston delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,668 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kingston hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Kingston gentler on the wallet – expenses run 124% less than in Seattle, WA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.