Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New York, NY and Montego Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in Montego Bay: $1,169 a month against $4,950 in New York, NY, rent and utilities included – about $45,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

239

Cost of Living Index in New York, NY
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New York, NY Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Montego Bay
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Montego Bay Living Index

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New York, NY

🇺🇸 United States

$4,950

/mo nomad

Montego Bay

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,169

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in New York, NY and in Montego Bay

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

A single person spends $4,950 per month in New York, NY vs $1,169 in Montego Bay, rent included.

New York, NY $4,950
Montego Bay $1,169

A couple spends around $7,265 per month in New York, NY vs $2,141 in Montego Bay, rent included.

New York, NY $7,265
Montego Bay $2,141

A family of three spends $9,581 per month in New York, NY vs $3,113 in Montego Bay, rent included.

New York, NY $9,581
Montego Bay $3,113

New York, NY costs about 323% more than Montego Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

New York, NY sits 267% above the global median, while Montego Bay is 13% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.65 $24.65

$11.14 JMD 1,760

121.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$122 $122

$74.1 JMD 11.7K

64.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.91 $13.91

$8.35 JMD 1,319

66.59%

Cappuccino

$6.59 $6.59

$5.22 JMD 825

26.25%

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

$3.84 $3.84

$0.94 JMD 149

308.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 $2.87

$0.70 JMD 110

310.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.79 $7.79

$2.17 JMD 343

258.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.85 $9.85

$3.06 JMD 484

221.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 $1.38

$3.30 JMD 522

-58.18%

White Bread (500g)

$4.68 $4.68

$2.61 JMD 413

79.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$7.54 $7.54

$1.38 JMD 217

446.38%

Eggs

$5.93 $5.93

$3.48 JMD 550

70.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.83 $18.83

$11.24 JMD 1,775

67.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.36 $17.36

$6.13 JMD 968

183.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.51 $18.51

$9.05 JMD 1,430

104.53%

Apples (1kg)

$6.74 $6.74

$4.03 JMD 637

67.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 $2.09

$2.53 JMD 400

-17.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.07 $6.07

$7.28 JMD 1,151

-16.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.74 $6.74

$2.45 JMD 388

175.10%

Potato (1kg)

$4.05 $4.05

$2.44 JMD 386

65.98%

Onion (1kg)

$4.37 $4.37

$2.66 JMD 420

64.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.89 $2.89

$2.55 JMD 403

13.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.60 $2.60

$0.77 JMD 121

237.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.72 $18.72

$9.16 JMD 1,447

104.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.06 $20.06

$11.14 JMD 1,760

80.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.25 $3.25

$2.80 JMD 442

16.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.73 $3.73

$4.05 JMD 640

-7.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.06 $3.06

$0.96 JMD 152

218.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$140 $140

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.04 $3.04

$0.93 JMD 147

226.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 $2.15

$3.17 JMD 501

-32.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.82 $41.82

$6.25 JMD 988

569.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 $1.12

$1.35 JMD 214

-17.04%

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

$35.5K $35.5K

$44.2K JMD 7.0M

-19.73%

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

$26.0K $26.0K

$32.6K JMD 5.2M

-20.22%

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

$219 $219

$170 JMD 26.8K

29.21%

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

$73.2 $73.2

$22.58 JMD 3,567

224.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$72.0 $72.0

$47.32 JMD 7,477

52.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$123 $123

$44.55 JMD 7,038

175.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$67.7 $67.7

Cinema Ticket

$22.85 $22.85

$8.65 JMD 1,367

164.16%

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

$3,333 $3,333

$355 JMD 56.0K

840.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$60.0K $60.0K

$8,218 JMD 1.3M

629.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.2 $75.2

$23.50 JMD 3,713

219.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.4 $52.4

$30.80 JMD 4,866

70.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 $122

$67.9 JMD 10.7K

79.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 $133

$102 JMD 16.1K

30.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,389 $4,389

$318 JMD 50.2K

1280.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,130 $3,130

$222 JMD 35.1K

1307.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$8,918 $8,918

$934 JMD 147.6K

854.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$5,354 $5,354

$934 JMD 147.6K

472.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.4K $19.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,806 $6,806

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,343 $5,343

$595 JMD 94.0K

798.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.82

9.45

-27.83%

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

Last update for New York, NY: October 13, 2026

Last update for Montego Bay: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New York, NY

$3.1K 63.2%

Montego Bay

$222 19% 92.9% $2.9K

Groceries & Markets

New York, NY

$545 11%

Montego Bay

$323 27.7% 40.7% $222

Eating Out

New York, NY

$404 8.2%

Montego Bay

$200 17.1% 50.4% $203

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New York, NY

$364 7.4%

Montego Bay

$239 20.5% 34.3% $125

Clothing & Footwear

New York, NY

$172 3.5%

Montego Bay

$101 8.6% 41.4% $71

Sport & Entertainment

New York, NY

$168 3.4%

Montego Bay

$62 5.3% 63.3% $107

Getting Around

New York, NY

$167 3.4%

Montego Bay

$21 * 1.8% 87.6% $146

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $4,389 in New York, NY versus $318 in Montego Bay. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 798% higher in New York, NY, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $122 in New York, NY versus $74.0 in Montego Bay. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $545 vs $323 – making Montego Bay the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 New York, NY

🇯🇲 Montego Bay

🕒 Local time

04:48 4:48 AM

03:48 3:48 AM

1 h behind New York, NY

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,804,190

110,115

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

JMD to USD in detail →

On the map

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New York, NY Montego Bay 2,490 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

New York, NY
Montego Bay

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

New York, NY vs Montego Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

New York, NY costs about 323% more than Montego Bay, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $7,424 per month in New York, NY and $1,753 in Montego Bay. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Montego Bay, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $122 in New York, NY and $74.0 in Montego Bay. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 69% more in New York, NY, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Montego Bay, where all-in costs run around $1,169, than in New York, NY at $4,950. In Montego Bay it covers expenses comfortably, while in New York, NY it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Montego Bay costs $1,169 versus $4,950 in New York, NY. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Montego Bay. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, New York, NY makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.