Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aguascalientes and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Aguascalientes: $1,113 a month against $1,589 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Aguascalientes
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Aguascalientes Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Aguascalientes

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,113

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aguascalientes and in Medellin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,113 in Aguascalientes versus $1,589 in Medellin.

Aguascalientes $1,113
Medellin $1,589

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,744 in Aguascalientes versus $2,364 in Medellin.

Aguascalientes $1,744
Medellin $2,364

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,375 in Aguascalientes versus $3,139 in Medellin.

Aguascalientes $2,375
Medellin $3,139

Living in Aguascalientes costs roughly 30% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Aguascalientes is 17% below, Medellin is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.50 MX$229

$8.01 COP 25.5K

56.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.72 MX$821

$46.55 COP 148.3K

-3.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.00 MX$129

$9.43 COP 30.1K

-25.77%

Cappuccino

$3.86 MX$70.9

$2.91 COP 9,277

32.65%

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

$1.64 MX$30.09

$1.75 COP 5,585

-6.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.21

$1.32 COP 4,218

-8.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.18 MX$40.03

$3.13 COP 9,969

-30.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 MX$59.8

$5.55 COP 17.7K

-41.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$26.98

$1.41 COP 4,495

4.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.72

$2.44 COP 7,777

-9.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 MX$28.69

$1.63 COP 5,191

-4.29%

Eggs

$2.45 MX$45.02

$2.82 COP 8,990

-13.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.03 MX$147

$9.69 COP 30.9K

-17.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.61 MX$158

$9.32 COP 29.7K

-7.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.47 MX$211

$13.46 COP 42.9K

-14.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 MX$42.51

$4.00 COP 12.8K

-42.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 MX$24.38

$1.48 COP 4,719

-10.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 MX$28.29

$2.12 COP 6,768

-27.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.37

$2.25 COP 7,178

-21.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.62 MX$29.66

$1.91 COP 6,092

-15.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 MX$25.03

$1.62 COP 5,160

-16.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 MX$18.21

$1.15 COP 3,658

-13.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.18

$1.26 COP 4,021

-34.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$80.4

$3.82 COP 12.2K

14.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.88 MX$163

$13.11 COP 41.8K

-32.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 MX$33.32

$1.60 COP 5,083

13.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 MX$62.8

$2.26 COP 7,188

51.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.59 MX$10.78

$1.17 COP 3,731

-49.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.33 MX$447

$75.0 COP 239.0K

-67.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 MX$22.36

$1.27 COP 4,056

-3.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.16 MX$21.37

$2.05 COP 6,531

-43.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.96 MX$201

$8.20 COP 26.1K

33.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.21

$1.27 COP 4,046

21.26%

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

$21.7K MX$397.6K

$26.8K COP 85.3M

-19.13%

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

$23.9K MX$438.9K

$34.4K COP 109.6M

-30.52%

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

$55.6 MX$1,021

$162 COP 516.9K

-65.73%

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

$24.71 MX$454

$13.12 COP 41.8K

88.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.50 MX$450

$28.09 COP 89.5K

-12.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.42 MX$577

$44.33 COP 141.2K

-29.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.39 MX$411

$16.33 COP 52.0K

37.11%

Cinema Ticket

$5.16 MX$94.7

$6.09 COP 19.4K

-15.27%

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

$220 MX$4,039

$764 COP 2.4M

-71.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,916 MX$53.5K

$8,904 COP 28.4M

-67.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.6 MX$1,021

$85.0 COP 270.8K

-34.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.98 MX$697

$57.5 COP 183.2K

-33.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 MX$1,916

$132 COP 419.8K

-20.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.9 MX$1,284

$95.8 COP 305.1K

-26.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$516 MX$9,475

$1,028 COP 3.3M

-49.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$361 MX$6,620

$604 COP 1.9M

-40.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$810 MX$14.9K

$1,802 COP 5.7M

-55.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 MX$11.8K

$993 COP 3.2M

-35.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,183 MX$21.7K

$3,921 COP 12.5M

-69.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,176 MX$21.6K

$1,639 COP 5.2M

-28.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$884 MX$16.2K

$626 COP 2.0M

41.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.2

10.94

2.38%

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

Last update for Aguascalientes: October 5, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Aguascalientes

$361 32.7%

Medellin

$604 38.3% 67.6% $244

Groceries & Markets

Aguascalientes

$244 22.2%

Medellin

$288 18.3% 18.1% $44

Eating Out

Aguascalientes

$196 17.8%

Medellin

$166 10.6% 15.2% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Aguascalientes

$121 10.9%

Medellin

$166 10.6% 38.1% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aguascalientes

$105 9.5%

Medellin

$203 12.9% 94.1% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Aguascalientes

$42 3.8%

Medellin

$57 3.6% 35.4% $15

Getting Around

Aguascalientes

$34 3.1%

Medellin

$91 5.8% 171% $58

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $516 in Aguascalientes and $1,028 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aguascalientes pays 41% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $45.00 in Aguascalientes vs $47.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $244 vs $288 per month, with Aguascalientes cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Aguascalientes

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

19:39 7:39 PM

20:39 8:39 PM

1 h ahead of Aguascalientes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

863,893

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,187 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,574 COP (10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Aguascalientes Medellin 3,350 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Aguascalientes
Medellin

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

Aguascalientes vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aguascalientes is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 43% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 41% higher in Aguascalientes, 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: $516 in Aguascalientes versus $1,028 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Aguascalientes runs roughly 208% less than in Medellin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $220 in Aguascalientes versus $764 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,113 in Aguascalientes versus $1,589 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Aguascalientes but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Aguascalientes the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Aguascalientes is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Aguascalientes and Medellin 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 Aguascalientes gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.