Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montego Bay and Calgary

For one person, living is cheaper in Montego Bay: $1,172 a month against $2,297 in Calgary, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Montego Bay
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Montego Bay Living Index
110

Cost of Living Index in Calgary
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Calgary Living Index

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Montego Bay

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,172

/mo nomad

Calgary

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,297

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montego Bay and in Calgary

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,172 in Montego Bay versus $2,297 in Calgary.

Montego Bay $1,172
Calgary $2,297

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,155 in Montego Bay versus $3,378 in Calgary.

Montego Bay $2,155
Calgary $3,378

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,137 in Montego Bay versus $4,459 in Calgary.

Montego Bay $3,137
Calgary $4,459

Living in Montego Bay costs roughly 49% less than in Calgary, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montego Bay is 13% below, Calgary is 70% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.22 JMD 1,770

$17.94 CA$25.23

-37.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.1 JMD 12.2K

$68.9 CA$96.9

11.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.03 JMD 1,268

$10.94 CA$15.38

-26.60%

Cappuccino

$5.47 JMD 862

$3.70 CA$5.21

47.84%

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

$0.87 JMD 137

$2.07 CA$2.91

-57.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 JMD 92.3

$2.04 CA$2.87

-71.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.15 JMD 339

$5.74 CA$8.08

-62.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 JMD 488

$5.70 CA$8.02

-45.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.34 JMD 527

$1.98 CA$2.78

68.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.71 JMD 428

$2.65 CA$3.72

2.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 JMD 225

$5.84 CA$8.21

-75.51%

Eggs

$3.47 JMD 548

$3.81 CA$5.36

-8.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.24 JMD 1,774

$10.81 CA$15.20

3.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.13 JMD 967

$11.02 CA$15.50

-44.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.08 JMD 1,433

$17.87 CA$25.14

-49.19%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 JMD 639

$4.88 CA$6.87

-17.01%

Banana (1kg)

$2.57 JMD 406

$1.45 CA$2.04

77.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.45 JMD 1,176

$4.15 CA$5.84

79.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 JMD 390

$3.99 CA$5.61

-38.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.50 JMD 394

$2.93 CA$4.12

-14.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.62 JMD 413

$3.02 CA$4.25

-13.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.57 JMD 405

$2.67 CA$3.75

-3.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 JMD 121

$1.57 CA$2.21

-50.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.66 JMD 1,525

$14.11 CA$19.84

-31.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.54 JMD 1,821

$15.45 CA$21.73

-25.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.84 JMD 448

$2.50 CA$3.52

13.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 JMD 624

$3.18 CA$4.47

24.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 JMD 152

$2.85 CA$4.00

-65.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$90.2 CA$127

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 JMD 145

$3.16 CA$4.45

-70.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.19 JMD 503

$1.41 CA$1.98

126.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.12 JMD 966

$27.46 CA$38.62

-77.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 JMD 222

$1.18 CA$1.66

18.64%

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

$44.4K JMD 7.0M

$27.9K CA$39.2K

59.39%

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

$32.8K JMD 5.2M

$21.1K CA$29.6K

55.95%

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

$169 JMD 26.7K

$182 CA$256

-6.85%

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

$22.38 JMD 3,531

$36.01 CA$50.7

-37.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.50 JMD 7,653

$48.80 CA$68.6

-0.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.68 JMD 6,892

$48.78 CA$68.6

-10.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.15 CA$25.53

Cinema Ticket

$8.75 JMD 1,380

$14.52 CA$20.42

-39.74%

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

$356 JMD 56.2K

$542 CA$762

-34.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.7K JMD 2.8M

$21.2K CA$29.8K

-16.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.83 JMD 3,760

$59.1 CA$83.1

-59.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.35 JMD 4,947

$42.34 CA$59.5

-25.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.1 JMD 11.1K

$94.2 CA$132

-25.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 JMD 16.2K

$109 CA$153

-5.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$312 JMD 49.2K

$1,214 CA$1,707

-74.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$218 JMD 34.5K

$1,036 CA$1,457

-78.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$956 JMD 150.8K

$2,045 CA$2,876

-53.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$928 JMD 146.5K

$1,655 CA$2,327

-43.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,653 CA$5,137

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,183 CA$4,476

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$598 JMD 94.3K

$3,219 CA$4,526

-81.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

4.43

113.32%

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

Last update for Montego Bay: November 1, 2026

Last update for Calgary: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Montego Bay

$327 27.9%

Calgary

$390 17% 19.2% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montego Bay

$240 20.5%

Calgary

$267 11.6% 11% $26

Accommodation & Living

Montego Bay

$218 18.6%

Calgary

$1K 45.1% 374% $818

Eating Out

Montego Bay

$202 17.3%

Calgary

$277 12.1% 37.2% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Montego Bay

$102 8.7%

Calgary

$137 6% 33.6% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Montego Bay

$61 5.2%

Calgary

$78 3.4% 27.2% $17

Getting Around

Montego Bay

$21 * 1.8%

Calgary

$112 4.9% 440% $91

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 $312 in Montego Bay and $1,214 in Calgary. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Calgary pays about 5.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $77 in Montego Bay vs $69 in Calgary. Groceries flip the comparison at $327 vs $390, with Montego Bay cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Montego Bay

🇨🇦 Calgary

🕒 Local time

16:19 4:19 PM

15:19 3:19 PM

1 h behind Montego Bay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,115

1,267,344

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.67 EUR

1 CAD = 0.711 USD

1 CAD = 0.636 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.67 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.711 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.636 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montego Bay Calgary 4,810 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Montego Bay
Calgary

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

Montego Bay vs Calgary: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montego Bay is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in transport, eating out, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 81% lower in Montego Bay. 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: $312 in Montego Bay versus $1,214 in Calgary. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $356 in Montego Bay versus $542 in Calgary. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Calgary – a meal for two runs $69 versus $77 in Montego Bay. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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

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 – Montego Bay wins on affordability, Calgary on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.