Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz, Jamaica and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Cruz: $1,285 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz
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Santa Cruz Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Santa Cruz

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,285

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Cruz and in Montevideo

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

A single person spends $1,285 per month in Santa Cruz vs $1,771 in Montevideo, rent included.

Santa Cruz $1,285
Montevideo $1,771

A couple spends around $1,988 per month in Santa Cruz vs $2,784 in Montevideo, rent included.

Santa Cruz $1,988
Montevideo $2,784

A family of three spends $2,690 per month in Santa Cruz vs $3,797 in Montevideo, rent included.

Santa Cruz $2,690
Montevideo $3,797

Santa Cruz is about 27% cheaper than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Santa Cruz sits 6% below the global median, while Montevideo is 30% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.37 JMD 1,163

$15.63 UYU 629

-52.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.6 JMD 10.0K

$69.9 UYU 2,812

-9.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.45 JMD 1,016

$14.51 UYU 584

-55.55%

Cappuccino

$5.34 JMD 842

$4.43 UYU 178

20.54%

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

$1.16 JMD 182

$2.49 UYU 100

-53.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 JMD 119

$1.95 UYU 78.5

-61.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 JMD 357

$4.78 UYU 192

-52.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 JMD 485

$3.67 UYU 148

-16.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.04 JMD 638

$1.26 UYU 50.6

220.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 JMD 406

$2.98 UYU 120

-13.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 JMD 248

$1.74 UYU 70.1

-9.77%

Eggs

$3.47 JMD 548

$4.80 UYU 193

-27.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 JMD 1,787

$14.06 UYU 565

-19.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.40 JMD 1,010

$11.35 UYU 457

-43.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.41 JMD 1,641

$12.16 UYU 489

-14.39%

Apples (1kg)

$5.97 JMD 941

$2.74 UYU 110

117.88%

Banana (1kg)

$3.83 JMD 604

$2.83 UYU 114

35.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.43 JMD 1,171

$1.63 UYU 65.4

355.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.01 JMD 474

$3.18 UYU 128

-5.35%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 JMD 523

$2.02 UYU 81.1

64.36%

Onion (1kg)

$2.64 JMD 416

$2.13 UYU 85.5

23.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.01 JMD 475

$1.39 UYU 56.0

116.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 JMD 229

$1.94 UYU 78.2

-25.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.47 JMD 1,494

$5.34 UYU 215

77.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.53 JMD 1,818

$8.31 UYU 334

38.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 JMD 456

$2.35 UYU 94.3

22.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.01 JMD 632

$2.80 UYU 113

43.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 UYU 62.4

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.9 UYU 3,013

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 JMD 201

$1.91 UYU 76.9

-33.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.12 JMD 492

$0.41 UYU 16.55

660.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.12 JMD 966

$10.38 UYU 417

-41.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 JMD 220

$2.23 UYU 89.5

-37.67%

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

$44.8K JMD 7.1M

$26.5K UYU 1.1M

69.02%

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

$32.6K JMD 5.1M

$35.9K UYU 1.4M

-9.19%

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

$166 JMD 26.2K

$184 UYU 7,392

-9.61%

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

$29.57 JMD 4,664

$20.15 UYU 810

46.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.8 JMD 8,165

$43.24 UYU 1,739

19.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.40 JMD 6,055

$48.47 UYU 1,949

-20.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.71 UYU 792

Cinema Ticket

$13.44 JMD 2,119

$12.11 UYU 487

10.98%

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

$359 JMD 56.6K

$636 UYU 25.6K

-43.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,104 JMD 1.3M

$11.0K UYU 442.1K

-26.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.66 JMD 3,731

$101 UYU 4,050

-76.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.85 JMD 5,022

$56.9 UYU 2,289

-44.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 JMD 12.3K

$123 UYU 4,937

-36.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 JMD 15.9K

$130 UYU 5,241

-22.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$747 UYU 30.0K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$311 JMD 49.0K

$581 UYU 23.3K

-46.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,284 UYU 51.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$499 JMD 78.8K

$1,125 UYU 45.2K

-55.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,653 UYU 146.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,029 UYU 81.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$408 JMD 64.3K

$1,284 UYU 51.6K

-68.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

5.65

67.26%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz: October 27, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz

$371 28.9%

Montevideo

$330 18.6% 11.1% $41

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz

$311 24.2%

Montevideo

$581 32.8% 86.8% $270

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz

$248 19.3%

Montevideo

$247 14% 0.1% $0.3

Eating Out

Santa Cruz

$168 13%

Montevideo

$271 15.3% 61.7% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz

$106 8.2%

Montevideo

$185 10.4% 75.1% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz

$65 5.1%

Montevideo

$73 4.1% 11.4% $7.4

Getting Around

Santa Cruz

$17 * 1.3%

Montevideo

$85 4.8% 404% $68

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries in Montevideo are about 3.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $64 in Santa Cruz versus $70 in Montevideo. Groceries tell a different story – $371 in Santa Cruz vs $330 in Montevideo – so Montevideo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Santa Cruz

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

12:38 12:38 PM

14:38 2:38 PM

2 h ahead of Santa Cruz

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,217

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.23 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 40.21 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 44.77 UYU (100 UYU = 2.23 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Santa Cruz Montevideo 6,310 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Cruz
Montevideo

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

Santa Cruz vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 38%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,928 per month in Santa Cruz and $2,657 in Montevideo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $64 in Santa Cruz and $70 in Montevideo. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 11% cheaper in Montevideo – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Santa Cruz, where all-in costs run around $1,285, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In Santa Cruz it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Montevideo has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,285 in Santa Cruz to $1,771 in Montevideo. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Santa Cruz. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Montevideo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.