Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Baguio and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Baguio: $737 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Baguio
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Baguio Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Baguio

🇵🇭 Philippines

$737

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Baguio 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 Baguio and in Medellin actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $737 in Baguio versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Baguio $737
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,148 in Baguio versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Baguio $1,148
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,558 in Baguio versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Baguio $1,558
Medellin $3,186

Living in Baguio costs roughly 55% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Baguio is 46% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.92 ₱250

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-51.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.66 ₱1,062

$47.05 COP 151.7K

-64.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.73 ₱174

$9.50 COP 30.6K

-71.26%

Cappuccino

$1.80 ₱115

$3.01 COP 9,722

-40.20%

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

$0.55 ₱35.11

$1.80 COP 5,801

-69.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ₱21.22

$1.41 COP 4,554

-76.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.99 ₱63.4

$3.18 COP 10.2K

-68.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 ₱97.9

$5.75 COP 18.5K

-73.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 ₱101

$1.51 COP 4,869

5.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.14 ₱72.9

$2.38 COP 7,667

-52.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.97 ₱61.5

$1.77 COP 5,712

-45.20%

Eggs

$1.99 ₱127

$2.89 COP 9,320

-31.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.11 ₱326

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-49.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.27 ₱209

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-66.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.63 ₱486

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-45.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.19 ₱140

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-44.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 ₱99.1

$1.55 COP 5,005

Oranges (1kg)

$2.26 ₱144

$2.18 COP 7,039

3.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.02 ₱64.9

$2.18 COP 7,041

-53.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 ₱110

$1.96 COP 6,328

-11.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.69 ₱108

$1.59 COP 5,125

6.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 ₱41.13

$1.15 COP 3,694

-43.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ₱32.66

$1.24 COP 4,009

-58.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 ₱187

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-25.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.50 ₱542

$13.68 COP 44.1K

-37.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 ₱60.3

$1.66 COP 5,352

-42.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 ₱131

$2.26 COP 7,281

-9.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.22 ₱14.02

$1.17 COP 3,766

-81.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.90 ₱822

$77.4 COP 249.5K

-83.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 ₱51.7

$1.27 COP 4,089

-36.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.24 ₱15.35

$2.05 COP 6,603

-88.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.90 ₱121

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-77.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 ₱76.0

$1.35 COP 4,343

-11.85%

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

$21.3K ₱1.4M

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-37.60%

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

$18.8K ₱1.2M

$34.7K COP 111.8M

-45.82%

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

$136 ₱8,660

$170 COP 547.0K

-19.89%

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

$17.08 ₱1,088

$13.55 COP 43.7K

26.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.01 ₱1,466

$28.07 COP 90.5K

-18.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.76 ₱1,323

$43.70 COP 140.9K

-52.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.23 ₱333

$17.19 COP 55.4K

-69.58%

Cinema Ticket

$5.03 ₱321

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-27.21%

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

$132 ₱8,442

$797 COP 2.6M

-83.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K ₱672.3K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

15.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.91 ₱1,842

$84.7 COP 273.2K

-65.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.53 ₱1,244

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-66.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.5 ₱4,556

$135 COP 435.2K

-47.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.9 ₱3,497

$97.9 COP 315.6K

-43.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$393 ₱25.1K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-67.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ₱12.2K

$642 COP 2.1M

-70.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$819 ₱52.2K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-59.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$463 ₱29.5K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-54.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,156 ₱201.1K

$4,170 COP 13.4M

-24.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,526 ₱97.2K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-20.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$179 ₱11.4K

$657 COP 2.1M

-72.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

10.94

-38.30%

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

Last update for Baguio: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Baguio

$192 26.1%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 234% $449

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Baguio

$176 23.9%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 20% $35

Groceries & Markets

Baguio

$171 23.2%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 73.5% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Baguio

$79 10.7%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 115% $90

Eating Out

Baguio

$73 9.9%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 133% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Baguio

$31 4.2%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 86.6% $27

Getting Around

Baguio

$16 2.1%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 492% $78

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $393 in Baguio and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 3.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $17 in Baguio vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $171 vs $297 per month, with Baguio cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Baguio

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

17:09 5:09 PM

04:09 4:09 AM

13 h behind Baguio

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

366,358

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 63.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.15 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Baguio Medellin 16,930 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Baguio
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

Baguio vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Baguio wins on cost – living expenses run 55% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Baguio the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 73% lower in Baguio. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $393 in Baguio versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $737 per month in Baguio versus $1,639 in Medellin – Baguio is about 55% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Baguio runs roughly 83% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Baguio gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.