Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vancouver and Portmore

For one person, living is cheaper in Portmore: $1,256 a month against $2,683 in Vancouver, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Vancouver
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Vancouver Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Portmore
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Portmore Living Index

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Vancouver

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,683

/mo nomad

Portmore

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,256

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Vancouver and in Portmore

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

A single person spends $2,683 per month in Vancouver vs $1,256 in Portmore, rent included.

Vancouver $2,683
Portmore $1,256

A couple spends around $3,963 per month in Vancouver vs $2,080 in Portmore, rent included.

Vancouver $3,963
Portmore $2,080

A family of three spends $5,244 per month in Vancouver vs $2,904 in Portmore, rent included.

Vancouver $5,244
Portmore $2,904

Vancouver costs about 114% more than Portmore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Vancouver sits 98% above the global median, while Portmore is 7% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.10 CA$25.37

$10.43 JMD 1,646

73.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.0 CA$99.5

$62.8 JMD 9,910

13.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.57 CA$14.81

$8.29 JMD 1,308

27.50%

Cappuccino

$3.97 CA$5.56

$5.37 JMD 847

-26.07%

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

$2.07 CA$2.90

$0.92 JMD 145

125.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 CA$2.59

$0.66 JMD 104

180.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.67 CA$7.95

$2.21 JMD 349

156.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.61 CA$9.27

$2.22 JMD 350

197.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 CA$3.02

$3.01 JMD 475

-28.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 CA$3.62

$3.56 JMD 562

-27.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.30 CA$6.02

$1.04 JMD 164

313.46%

Eggs

$4.09 CA$5.74

$3.50 JMD 552

16.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.12 CA$16.98

$11.40 JMD 1,799

6.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.28 CA$18.62

$6.35 JMD 1,002

109.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.11 CA$28.19

$9.37 JMD 1,478

114.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.96 CA$5.56

$6.08 JMD 959

-34.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 CA$2.00

$3.98 JMD 628

-64.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.71 CA$5.20

$2.93 JMD 463

26.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.92 CA$5.50

$3.00 JMD 474

30.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.87 CA$4.02

$3.16 JMD 499

-9.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.98 CA$4.17

$2.62 JMD 414

13.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.61 CA$3.66

$1.60 JMD 252

63.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 CA$2.29

$1.29 JMD 204

26.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.94 CA$22.35

$9.67 JMD 1,525

64.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.25 CA$19.97

$11.19 JMD 1,766

27.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.52 CA$3.54

$2.75 JMD 434

-8.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 CA$4.03

$2.25 JMD 356

27.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.57 CA$3.60

$2.21 JMD 348

16.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.4 CA$118

$50.8 JMD 8,008

66.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.74 CA$3.85

$0.96 JMD 152

185.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 CA$2.28

$3.21 JMD 506

-49.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.90 CA$44.71

$6.40 JMD 1,010

398.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 CA$2.04

$1.27 JMD 200

14.96%

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

$26.7K CA$37.4K

$44.7K JMD 7.0M

-40.21%

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

$21.0K CA$29.5K

$33.2K JMD 5.2M

-36.57%

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

$88.2 CA$124

$157 JMD 24.8K

-43.92%

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

$36.72 CA$51.5

$28.95 JMD 4,568

26.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.81 CA$69.8

$52.5 JMD 8,284

-5.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.34 CA$63.6

$60.5 JMD 9,539

-25.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.13 CA$17.00

Cinema Ticket

$12.55 CA$17.59

$12.98 JMD 2,048

-3.31%

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

$1,055 CA$1,479

$285 JMD 44.9K

270.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.5K CA$39.9K

$3,124 JMD 492.9K

811.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.4 CA$79.1

$23.32 JMD 3,679

141.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.37 CA$48.18

$31.64 JMD 4,992

8.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.8 CA$126

$77.5 JMD 12.2K

15.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.3 CA$132

$95.9 JMD 15.1K

-1.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,738 CA$2,436

$321 JMD 50.6K

441.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,528 CA$2,143

$220 JMD 34.8K

593.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,107 CA$4,355

$666 JMD 105.1K

366.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,547 CA$3,570

$589 JMD 92.9K

332.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,540 CA$12.0K

$7,530 JMD 1.2M

13.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,328 CA$8,870

$5,830 JMD 920.0K

8.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,770 CA$5,284

$1,288 JMD 203.2K

192.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.24

9.45

-55.13%

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

Last update for Vancouver: November 2, 2026

Last update for Portmore: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Vancouver

$1.5K 57%

Portmore

$220 17.6% 85.6% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Vancouver

$398 14.9%

Portmore

$336 26.8% 15.6% $62

Eating Out

Vancouver

$281 10.5%

Portmore

$195 15.5% 30.8% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Vancouver

$175 6.5%

Portmore

$239 19% 36.6% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Vancouver

$124 4.6%

Portmore

$103 8.2% 16.9% $21

Getting Around

Vancouver

$106 3.9%

Portmore

$77 6.1% 27.4% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Vancouver

$70 2.6%

Portmore

$86 6.9% 22.7% $16

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,738 in Vancouver versus $321 in Portmore. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Vancouver are about 2.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71 in Vancouver versus $63 in Portmore. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $398 vs $336 – making Portmore the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Vancouver

🇯🇲 Portmore

🕒 Local time

03:05 3:05 AM

05:05 5:05 AM

2 h ahead of Vancouver

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

631,486

170,000

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.635 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.635 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.64 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

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Between locations

Vancouver Portmore 5,390 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Vancouver
Portmore

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

Vancouver vs Portmore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Vancouver costs about 114% more than Portmore, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,024 per month in Vancouver and $1,884 in Portmore. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Portmore, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $321 there versus $1,738 in Vancouver.

Public transport costs about 40% less in Portmore. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,055 per month in Vancouver and $285 in Portmore. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,683 in Vancouver and $1,256 in Portmore. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Portmore – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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