Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sapporo and Kingston

For one person, living is cheaper in Sapporo: $1,404 a month against $1,675 in Kingston, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Sapporo
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Sapporo Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Kingston
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Kingston Living Index

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Sapporo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,404

/mo nomad

Kingston

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,675

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sapporo and in Kingston

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,404 in Sapporo versus $1,675 in Kingston.

Sapporo $1,404
Kingston $1,675

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,097 in Sapporo versus $2,816 in Kingston.

Sapporo $2,097
Kingston $2,816

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,791 in Sapporo versus $3,956 in Kingston.

Sapporo $2,791
Kingston $3,956

Living in Sapporo costs roughly 16% less than in Kingston, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sapporo 4% above, Kingston 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.20 ¥980

$13.56 JMD 2,143

-54.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.04 ¥4,430

$75.3 JMD 11.9K

-62.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.30 ¥837

$7.97 JMD 1,260

-33.50%

Cappuccino

$4.85 ¥767

$5.40 JMD 853

-10.19%

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

$1.65 ¥261

$1.19 JMD 188

38.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥139

$0.71 JMD 112

23.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.38 ¥693

$2.26 JMD 357

93.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 ¥889

$3.18 JMD 503

76.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 ¥244

$4.12 JMD 651

-62.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 ¥213

$3.84 JMD 607

-64.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.91 ¥618

$1.63 JMD 258

139.88%

Eggs

$1.76 ¥279

$3.50 JMD 553

-49.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.42 ¥1,489

$11.63 JMD 1,838

-19.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.76 ¥1,068

$6.24 JMD 985

8.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.61 ¥4,046

$10.22 JMD 1,615

150.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.19 ¥504

$6.23 JMD 984

-48.80%

Banana (1kg)

$3.12 ¥494

$3.83 JMD 606

-18.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.20 ¥506

$7.37 JMD 1,165

-56.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.19 ¥663

$3.07 JMD 485

36.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 ¥331

$3.32 JMD 525

-37.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 ¥275

$2.62 JMD 415

-33.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 ¥235

$3.05 JMD 483

-51.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 ¥70.8

$1.51 JMD 238

-70.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.00 ¥633

$9.48 JMD 1,498

-57.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.19 ¥1,293

$11.33 JMD 1,789

-27.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 ¥303

$2.80 JMD 443

-31.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 ¥501

$4.03 JMD 637

-21.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 ¥253

$0.76 JMD 121

110.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.16 ¥7,609

$37.89 JMD 5,986

27.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.02 ¥635

$1.18 JMD 186

240.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ¥257

$3.21 JMD 508

-49.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.05 ¥2,536

$6.23 JMD 984

157.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥175

$1.40 JMD 221

-20.71%

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

$21.8K ¥3.4M

$43.5K JMD 6.9M

-49.97%

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

$14.5K ¥2.3M

$32.5K JMD 5.1M

-55.50%

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

$336 ¥53.0K

$167 JMD 26.4K

101.15%

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

$25.59 ¥4,042

$29.14 JMD 4,604

-12.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.75 ¥7,544

$52.0 JMD 8,221

-8.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.58 ¥7,674

$62.5 JMD 9,874

-22.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.22 ¥509

$18.11 JMD 2,862

-82.22%

Cinema Ticket

$12.12 ¥1,915

$13.20 JMD 2,085

-8.18%

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

$319 ¥50.4K

$358 JMD 56.6K

-11.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,987 ¥1.6M

$8,078 JMD 1.3M

23.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.38 ¥5,905

$23.49 JMD 3,711

59.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.18 ¥3,978

$31.98 JMD 5,052

-21.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$47.33 ¥7,478

$78.7 JMD 12.4K

-39.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 ¥18.0K

$105 JMD 16.5K

9.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$453 ¥71.6K

$957 JMD 151.1K

-52.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$275 ¥43.4K

$564 JMD 89.1K

-51.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$824 ¥130.2K

$2,125 JMD 335.7K

-61.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$641 ¥101.3K

$1,399 JMD 221.0K

-54.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,168 ¥342.5K

$2,909 JMD 459.6K

-25.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,559 ¥246.4K

$2,099 JMD 331.6K

-25.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,233 ¥352.9K

$729 JMD 115.1K

206.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.57

9.45

-72.80%

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

Last update for Sapporo: October 18, 2026

Last update for Kingston: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sapporo

$409 29.2%

Kingston

$248 14.8% 39.4% $161

Groceries & Markets

Sapporo

$312 22.3%

Kingston

$386 23.1% 23.6% $74

Accommodation & Living

Sapporo

$275 19.6%

Kingston

$564 33.7% 105% $289

Eating Out

Sapporo

$167 11.9%

Kingston

$223 13.3% 33.2% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Sapporo

$101 7.2%

Kingston

$107 6.4% 6.6% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Sapporo

$73 5.2%

Kingston

$89 5.3% 22.1% $16

Getting Around

Sapporo

$67 4.8%

Kingston

$58 3.5% 12.8% $8.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $453 in Sapporo and $957 in Kingston. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sapporo pays 207% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $28.00 in Sapporo vs $75.0 in Kingston for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $386 per month, with Sapporo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Sapporo

🇯🇲 Kingston

🕒 Local time

00:16 12:16 AM

10:16 10:16 AM

14 h behind Sapporo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,973,395

660,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sapporo Kingston 12,190 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Sapporo
Kingston

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

Sapporo vs Kingston: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sapporo wins on cost – living expenses run 19% lower than in Kingston. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sapporo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 207% higher in Sapporo, 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: $453 in Sapporo versus $957 in Kingston. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $319 in Sapporo versus $358 in Kingston. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Kingston. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,404 in Sapporo versus $1,675 in Kingston, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sapporo but tight or insufficient in Kingston. The gap between the two cities makes Sapporo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Sapporo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,404 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Sapporo hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Sapporo and Kingston 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 Sapporo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 19% less than in Kingston. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.