Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Boston and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,625 a month against $2,437 in Boston, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Boston
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Boston Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Boston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,437

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,437 in Boston versus $1,625 in Medellin.

Boston $2,437
Medellin $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,513 in Boston versus $2,412 in Medellin.

Boston $3,513
Medellin $2,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,590 in Boston versus $3,199 in Medellin.

Boston $4,590
Medellin $3,199

Living in Boston is roughly 50% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Boston 80% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.65 £19.99

$8.30 COP 26.3K

221.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.6 £60.5

$46.91 COP 148.7K

71.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.83 £8.12

$9.24 COP 29.3K

17.21%

Cappuccino

$4.98 £3.74

$3.05 COP 9,676

63.28%

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

$2.43 £1.83

$1.80 COP 5,707

35.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.53

$1.38 COP 4,382

47.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 £4.30

$3.24 COP 10.3K

77.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.57 £4.18

$5.56 COP 17.6K

0.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.50 COP 4,760

-1.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.59 £0.44

$2.37 COP 7,508

-75.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 £1.18

$1.70 COP 5,377

-7.06%

Eggs

$4.17 £3.13

$2.96 COP 9,379

40.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.13 £6.85

$10.22 COP 32.4K

-10.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.22 £6.17

$9.74 COP 30.9K

-15.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.62 £12.47

$13.90 COP 44.1K

19.57%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 £2.46

$4.13 COP 13.1K

-20.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.53 COP 4,839

1.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.02 £2.26

$2.22 COP 7,052

36.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.41 £2.56

$2.27 COP 7,194

50.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 £0.87

$1.99 COP 6,311

-42.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$1.67 COP 5,285

6.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 £0.95

$1.18 COP 3,742

6.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.24 COP 3,919

4.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$16.21 £12.16

$3.87 COP 12.3K

318.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.56 £6.42

$13.78 COP 43.7K

-37.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.34 £2.51

$1.66 COP 5,256

101.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 £2.26

$2.40 COP 7,615

25.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.53 £2.65

$1.24 COP 3,944

184.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.5 £73.1

$78.2 COP 248.0K

24.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.14 £3.11

$1.28 COP 4,044

223.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.03 £3.02

$2.15 COP 6,803

87.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.58 £23.69

$8.37 COP 26.5K

277.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.35 COP 4,288

42.96%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$34.8K COP 110.2M

9.70%

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

$39.6K £29.7K

$34.7K COP 110.0M

14.10%

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

$372 £279

$167 COP 528.4K

122.99%

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

$17.79 £13.35

$13.62 COP 43.2K

30.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.84 £33.64

$29.12 COP 92.3K

53.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.71 £34.29

$45.09 COP 143.0K

1.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$10.12 £7.59

$6.97 COP 22.1K

45.19%

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

$1,614 £1,211

$790 COP 2.5M

104.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K £14.7K

$9,041 COP 28.7M

116.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 £40.68

$87.8 COP 278.4K

-38.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.27 £30.22

$58.2 COP 184.4K

-30.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.2 £54.2

$139 COP 440.7K

-48.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.2 £45.16

$98.9 COP 313.5K

-39.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 £917

$1,028 COP 3.3M

18.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 £789

$620 COP 2.0M

69.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,143 £1,607

$1,881 COP 6.0M

13.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,688 £1,266

$1,008 COP 3.2M

67.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,514 £3,386

$3,988 COP 12.6M

13.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,159 £3,121

$1,702 COP 5.4M

144.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,582 £1,187

$663 COP 2.1M

138.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.21

10.94

-52.38%

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

Last update for Boston: October 20, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Boston

$1.1K 43.1%

Medellin

$619 38.1% 41.1% $432

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Boston

$434 17.8%

Medellin

$209 12.9% 51.8% $225

Eating Out

Boston

$363 14.9%

Medellin

$171 10.5% 53% $192

Groceries & Markets

Boston

$285 11.7%

Medellin

$298 18.3% 4.7% $13

Getting Around

Boston

$136 5.6%

Medellin

$95 5.9% 29.9% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Boston

$102 4.2%

Medellin

$173 10.6% 69.2% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Boston

$66 2.7%

Medellin

$59 3.6% 10.5% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,222 in Boston and $1,028 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Boston pays 138% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $81.0 in Boston vs $47.00 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $285 vs $298, with Boston cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Boston

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

15:51 3:51 PM

09:51 9:51 AM

6 h behind Boston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,339

2,486,723

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Boston Medellin 8,490 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Boston
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

Boston vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin wins on cost – living expenses run 50% lower than in Boston. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Medellin the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 138% higher in Boston, 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: $1,222 in Boston versus $1,028 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,437 per month in Boston versus $1,625 in Medellin – a 50% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Medellin runs roughly 25% less than in Boston. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,625 in Medellin versus $2,437 in Boston, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Boston. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Medellin delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,625 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Medellin hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Boston 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 Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Boston. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.