Cost of Living in the Cayman Islands in 2026: A Budget for One Person and for a Family, From Published Figures Only

The cost of living in the Cayman Islands in 2026 is set by four lines: rent, which the Economics and Statistics Office measures at a median of CI$1,000 a month for a one-bedroom actually let and agents quote at CI$1,400 to 2,400 for a vacant one in George Town; health insurance at about CI$167 a month per person for the statutory minimum; electricity, where the average household used 1,158 kWh a month and saw its bill rise about CI$50 from 1 June 2026; and food, up 3.8% in the year to December 2025 with no published basket price to anchor it. Inflation was 1.3% for 2025 and 2.8% in the first quarter of 2026, with the Government projecting 5.3% for the year. This guide assembles a monthly budget for a single person and for a family of four from published sources only, labels every estimate as one, and says plainly where a figure does not exist. It is a spoke of the Moving to the Cayman Islands guide.

The frame: no income tax, a pegged dollar, imported everything

Three structural facts shape every line below. There is no income tax, so the gross salary is the net salary (Cayman Islands Government; PwC, 29 May 2026). The dollar is pegged at CI$1 to US$1.20, so a CI$ figure is a US$ figure plus 20%. And nearly everything is imported and carries import duty, which is why goods cost more than in the United States and why the Government's revenue comes from duty, stamp duty and fees rather than from wages. Median monthly earnings in Fall 2025 were CI$3,599.50 for all employed and CI$2,799.50 for non-Caymanians (ESO), with just over half of the workforce earning under CI$4,000 a month; the budgets below are built for households above those medians, because that is who the "moving to Cayman" question is usually asked by, and the ratios are stated so that a reader on a different income can rescale them.

Inflation, and what is rising

The ESO's Consumer Price Index rose 1.3% on average in 2025 and stood 1.3% higher in the fourth quarter of 2025 than a year earlier. Inside that headline, the actual-rentals series rose 8.9% year on year, food and non-alcoholic beverages 3.8%, electricity fell 2.0% and water 4.4%. The first quarter of 2026 came in at 2.8% year on year, with the communication division up 17.0% and, per Cayman News Service's summary of the report, housing and utilities up 3.6% and restaurants and hotels up 5.1%. In May 2026 the Finance Minister told the Cayman Compass that the ESO's projection for 2026 had been raised from 2.6% to 5.3% on fuel costs linked to conflict in the Middle East. The CPI basket, for the reader who wants to weight their own budget the way the ESO does, gives housing and utilities 334.5 of 1,000 (actual rentals 85.7, imputed owner rentals 170.3, electricity 54.7, water 18.7), transport 162.0, miscellaneous goods and services 98.2, restaurants and hotels 83.5, food 66.1, recreation 59.2, furnishings 42.7, communication 39.1, education 38.2, clothing 33.3, alcohol and tobacco 22.3 and health 20.9.

Housing

Rent is covered in full in the rent-by-district guide. For the budgets: a one-bedroom in George Town is asked at CI$1,400 to 2,400 and a two-bedroom at CI$2,500 to 3,500 (Cayman Resident, 17 February 2026); a three-bedroom in Prospect or Savannah from CI$3,000; the ESO medians actually paid are CI$1,000 for a one-bedroom and CI$3,000 for a three-bedroom. The deposit is one month's rent. An owner household's median mortgage payment was CI$2,200 (ESO).

Electricity and water

Caribbean Utilities Company supplies Grand Cayman. The average residential customer used 1,158 kWh a month in 2025, and Radio Cayman's account of the rate changes effective 1 June 2026 gives that customer an increase of CI$3.27 in energy and facility charges, CI$1.06 in licence and regulatory fees and CI$63.46 in fuel cost, offset by a CI$17.43 Government fuel relief credit that caps the fuel charge at CI$0.18 per kWh from June to September 2026: about CI$50 a month net. CUC's own tariff page could not be read at the time of research; Daily.ky's compilation of the June 2026 components gives an energy charge of CI$0.1387 per kWh, the capped fuel charge of CI$0.18, fuel duty of CI$0.0132, a renewables surcharge of CI$0.0066, a regulatory fee of CI$0.0076 and a facility charge of CI$6.96 a month, which totals about CI$0.346 per kWh. At that rate the average 1,158 kWh household pays roughly CI$400 a month during the relief period and more after it; the same Daily.ky page quotes a much lower monthly figure that does not reconcile with its own components and is not used here. Cayman Resident notes that air conditioning is 50% to 75% of consumption in most homes, so a one-bedroom apartment with one unit and a four-bedroom house with central air are different bills.

Water from the Water Authority (most of Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac) is CI$4.47 per cubic metre for the first 12 cubic metres a month and CI$5.74 above, from 1 July 2026 (Cayman Compass, 4 July 2026, secondary), plus a statutory fee, an energy adjustment and a meter charge of CI$5 to 58 a month; a household using 15 cubic metres pays about CI$71 before the adjustments. Cayman Water serves Seven Mile Beach and West Bay at its own tariff, quoted per thousand US gallons, and lowered its rates in July 2026 (Cayman Compass); its current sheet is on its website.

Health insurance

The Standard Health Insurance Contract is the statutory minimum, at approximately CI$167 per person per month (Health Insurance Commission). The employer pays the premium and may recover half from the employee, so the employee's line is about CI$84 for the statutory contract; the employer is not obliged to contribute to dependants' premiums, so a family of four on the minimum contract carries about CI$500 a month of dependant premiums unless the employer's plan covers them. CG BritCay, which insures about 12,200 people on the standard contract, sought a 25% increase from 1 July 2026 (weekly premium from CI$19.24 to CI$24.05 for each of employer and employee); whether it was approved had not been confirmed when this page was written. Plans above the minimum cost more; no tariff is published.

Pension

Ten percent of earnings up to CI$87,000 a year, split at least 5% employer and up to 5% employee, from the tenth month of employment for non-Caymanians (Department of Labour and Pensions). On a CI$6,000 monthly salary the employee's contribution is CI$300 a month. Unlike tax, it is the employee's money.

Food

No published grocery-basket survey for the Cayman Islands exists for 2025 or 2026; the search behind this page found none from the ESO, the Cayman Compass or the supermarkets. What exists is the ESO's food index: up 3.8% in the year to December 2025 and 4.5% in the year to September 2025, with meat up 4.2% in the final quarter alone and soft drinks and juices up 12.4% on the year. Crowd-sourced indices exist and are not used here because they cannot be checked. The budgets below therefore carry food as the reader's own estimate, with the ESO weight (66 of 1,000 of household spending, plus 83.5 for restaurants and hotels) as the only published anchor.

Getting around

Regular petrol was CI$6.20 to 6.30 an imperial gallon at Esso in George Town and CI$6.25 to 6.49 at Rubis in the week of 20 to 26 May 2026, diesel CI$6.67 to 7.09 (OfReg weekly report). A car covering 800 miles a month at 30 miles per gallon uses about 27 gallons, or roughly CI$170. Importing a car carries duty of 29.5% to 42% on landed value for conventional vehicles per Cayman Resident's summary (secondary; the tariff bands have not been read from the schedule on this site) and lower rates for hybrids and electric vehicles under the September 2025 Order; the import duty calculator applies them. Vehicle licensing, insurance and the CI$250 environmental impact fee at import are on top. There is a public bus network but most households run a car; Grand Cayman had 50,343 licensed vehicles for 90,577 people in mid-2025.

Phone and internet

Digicel's postpaid mobile plans are CI$90 (30 GB), CI$115 (50 GB), CI$140 (100 GB) and CI$200 (unlimited) a month, all with unlimited local calls; Flow's unlimited plans start at CI$140 (Cayman Resident, May 2026). Home fibre from C3 is CI$69 for 250 Mbps, CI$79 for 400 Mbps, CI$99 for 520 Mbps and CI$139 for gigabit, including an auto-pay discount, plus CI$12.95 router rental, a CI$3.99 infrastructure fee and 6% government tax; Digicel's fibre and television bundles run CI$97.75 to 145, and Logic's fibre from CI$89 (Cayman Resident). A household with two phones and fibre spends CI$260 to 400 a month.

Schools

Government schools charge non-Caymanian pupils CI$750 a year at primary, CI$900 at middle and CI$1,200 at high school where a place is available after Caymanian and Government-employee children (Cayman Parent, November 2025). Private tuition for 2026 to 2027 runs from CI$15,885 a year at Cayman Prep (kindergarten to Year 6) to CI$30,700 at Cayman International School (grades 11 and 12), which is CI$1,324 to 2,558 a month per child before fees, uniforms and after-school care. For a family with two children in private school this line is often larger than rent.

Two budgets

The tables use the published figures above where they exist and label the rest as the reader's estimate. They are illustrations of how the published lines add up, not a statement of what any household spends.

One person, one-bedroom in George Town

Line	CI$ a month	Basis
Rent	1,400 to 2,400	Cayman Resident asking range, 17 Feb 2026 (ESO median paid: 1,000)
Electricity	150 to 250	Reader's estimate for a one-bedroom; average household 1,158 kWh is about 400 at the June 2026 components
Water	30 to 60	Water Authority tariff from 1 July 2026 plus adjustments
Health insurance (employee half of SHIC)	84	Health Insurance Commission, approx. CI$167 premium split 50/50
Pension (employee 5%)	5% of salary	Department of Labour and Pensions
Phone and internet	180 to 255	Digicel CI$90 plan; C3 CI$69 to 139 fibre plus router, infrastructure fee and 6% tax
Fuel	170	OfReg May 2026 prices at 800 miles and 30 mpg (reader's mileage)
Food and eating out	Reader's estimate	No published basket; ESO food index +3.8% y/y

Published lines alone, excluding food, pension and car ownership, come to roughly CI$2,000 to 3,200 a month for this household.

Family of four, three-bedroom in Prospect or Savannah, two children in private school

Line	CI$ a month	Basis
Rent	3,000 and up	Cayman Resident asking range (ESO median three-bedroom paid: 3,000)
Electricity	400 to 550	Average household 1,158 kWh at June 2026 components; more with central air
Water	70 to 130	Water Authority tariff, 15 to 25 cubic metres
Health insurance (employee half plus three dependants on SHIC)	585	84 plus three at approx. 167; employer not obliged to fund dependants
Pension (employee 5%)	5% of salary	Up to CI$87,000 pensionable earnings
School fees, two children	2,650 to 5,100	Cayman Prep CI$15,885 to CIS CI$30,700 a year each, 2026 to 2027
Phone and internet	260 to 400	Two Digicel plans plus fibre
Fuel	340	Two cars at the single-person assumption
Food and eating out	Reader's estimate	No published basket

Published lines alone, excluding food, pension and car ownership, come to roughly CI$7,300 to 10,100 a month for this household, of which school fees are the largest and most variable line. Against the ESO's all-employed median of CI$3,599.50, this is a two-professional-income household; against the non-Caymanian median of CI$2,799.50 it is out of reach, which is the arithmetic behind the CI$5,000-plus-CI$1,000 dependant threshold the Government set on 1 May 2026.

What is not on the list

Income tax, because there is none. Property tax, because there is none; a buyer pays stamp duty once, at 7.5% or 10%, and the property tax guide covers the rest. Sales tax or VAT, because there is none; the equivalent is the import duty already inside every shelf price. Flights home, because no primary fare source exists and aggregator snapshots change daily. Furniture, appliances and a car at arrival, which are one-off and carry duty; the customs checklist covers clearing a container.

How long can I stay?

The budget runs for as long as the permit does. A work-permit holder reaches the eight-year threshold for a permanent-residence application and the nine-year term limit a year later, both counted from the day the permit started and neither changed on 1 May 2026. The roll-over calculator gives both dates; the term-limit guide explains the year between them; and the PR cost calculator prices the application that ends the clock, at CI$1,500 to 5,000 depending on the permit's fee band.

Sources

ESO, CPI Report Q4 2025 and Q3 2025; ESO news, 3 July 2026 (Q1 2026 inflation 2.8%); ESO, Labour Force Survey Fall 2025; Cayman Compass, 5 May 2026 (5.3% projection, headline only); Radio Cayman, 3 July 2026; Daily.ky, CUC rates, July 2026 (secondary); Cayman Resident, Electricity and Water (January 2026); Cayman Compass, 4 July 2026 (Water Authority rates, secondary); Health Insurance Commission; Cayman News Service and Cayman Islands Government, June 2026 (BritCay SHIC application); Department of Labour and Pensions; OfReg retail fuel report, 26 May 2026; Digicel and C3 price pages, viewed 2 September 2026; Cayman International School and Cayman Prep tuition 2026 to 2027; Cayman Parent, November 2025 (government school fees, secondary); PwC, 29 May 2026. Nothing on this page is financial advice; the two budgets are arithmetic on published figures with the reader's own estimates marked, and a Cayman Islands attorney or a licensed immigration attorney answers the permit and residence questions behind them.