Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucaramanga and San Juan de Pasto

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucaramanga: $1,221 a month against $1,463 in San Juan de Pasto, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Bucaramanga
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Bucaramanga Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in San Juan de Pasto
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San Juan de Pasto Living Index

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Bucaramanga

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,221

/mo nomad

San Juan de Pasto

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,463

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucaramanga and in San Juan de Pasto

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

A single person spends $1,221 per month in Bucaramanga vs $1,463 in San Juan de Pasto, rent included.

Bucaramanga $1,221
San Juan de Pasto $1,463

A couple spends around $1,834 per month in Bucaramanga vs $2,144 in San Juan de Pasto, rent included.

Bucaramanga $1,834
San Juan de Pasto $2,144

A family of three spends $2,446 per month in Bucaramanga vs $2,825 in San Juan de Pasto, rent included.

Bucaramanga $2,446
San Juan de Pasto $2,825

Bucaramanga is about 17% cheaper than San Juan de Pasto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Bucaramanga sits 10% below the global median, while San Juan de Pasto is 8% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.34 COP 17.3K

$8.83 COP 28.6K

-39.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.23 COP 101.2K

$47.05 COP 152.4K

-33.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.21 COP 29.8K

$10.50 COP 34.0K

-12.29%

Cappuccino

$2.11 COP 6,826

$2.89 COP 9,377

-26.99%

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

$1.40 COP 4,529

$1.42 COP 4,610

-1.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 COP 3,509

$1.21 COP 3,911

-10.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.68 COP 5,457

$3.44 COP 11.1K

-51.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 COP 7,959

$3.64 COP 11.8K

-32.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 COP 4,648

$1.61 COP 5,218

-11.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 COP 4,642

$2.39 COP 7,737

-40.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.07 COP 9,934

$2.06 COP 6,675

49.03%

Eggs

$3.10 COP 10.0K

$3.46 COP 11.2K

-10.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.75 COP 25.1K

$7.16 COP 23.2K

8.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.84 COP 44.8K

$10.11 COP 32.8K

36.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.12 COP 55.4K

$11.84 COP 38.4K

44.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.51 COP 11.4K

$3.75 COP 12.1K

-6.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 COP 4,392

$1.37 COP 4,438

-0.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,846

$1.71 COP 5,551

23.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 COP 8,783

$1.86 COP 6,029

45.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 COP 4,553

$1.79 COP 5,812

-21.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.69 COP 5,489

$1.72 COP 5,584

-1.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 COP 2,948

$1.03 COP 3,331

-11.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 COP 2,983

$1.32 COP 4,267

-30.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.72 COP 15.3K

Wine (Bottle)

$12.42 COP 40.2K

$12.60 COP 40.8K

-1.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 COP 4,224

$1.27 COP 4,126

2.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 COP 6,048

$2.61 COP 8,448

-28.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 COP 3,150

$1.11 COP 3,597

-12.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.4 COP 215.0K

$66.9 COP 216.7K

-0.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.69 COP 5,465

$1.63 COP 5,284

3.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 COP 1,564

$2.09 COP 6,773

-77.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.67 COP 24.8K

$7.85 COP 25.4K

-2.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 COP 4,179

$1.29 COP 4,172

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

$33.9K COP 109.9M

$39.0K COP 126.5M

-13.15%

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

$34.5K COP 111.8M

$33.3K COP 107.9M

3.62%

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

$170 COP 551.4K

$129 COP 416.9K

32.25%

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

$10.56 COP 34.2K

$13.90 COP 45.0K

-24.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.93 COP 84.0K

$30.01 COP 97.2K

-13.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.62 COP 121.9K

$33.00 COP 106.9K

14.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.84 COP 103.1K

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 COP 28.8K

$7.84 COP 25.4K

13.39%

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

$581 COP 1.9M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.7K COP 41.0M

$13.9K COP 44.9M

-8.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.5 COP 166.8K

$93.9 COP 304.2K

-45.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.6 COP 183.5K

$49.34 COP 159.8K

14.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 COP 391.5K

$122 COP 395.6K

-1.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.1 COP 308.2K

$94.9 COP 307.4K

0.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$414 COP 1.3M

$780 COP 2.5M

-46.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$317 COP 1.0M

$546 COP 1.8M

-41.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$966 COP 3.1M

$1,459 COP 4.7M

-33.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$519 COP 1.7M

$796 COP 2.6M

-34.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,189 COP 7.1M

$2,112 COP 6.8M

3.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,752 COP 5.7M

$1,582 COP 5.1M

10.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$574 COP 1.9M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.4

3.33%

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

Last update for Bucaramanga: November 1, 2026

Last update for San Juan de Pasto: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucaramanga

$317 26%

San Juan de Pasto

$546 37.3% 71.9% $228

Groceries & Markets

Bucaramanga

$302 24.8%

San Juan de Pasto

$278 19% 7.9% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucaramanga

$207 16.9%

San Juan de Pasto

$173 11.8% 16.5% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Bucaramanga

$146 12%

San Juan de Pasto

$162 11.1% 11.1% $16

Eating Out

Bucaramanga

$119 9.7%

San Juan de Pasto

$172 11.8% 44.6% $53

Getting Around

Bucaramanga

$74 6.1%

San Juan de Pasto

$83 5.7% 12.2% $9

Sport & Entertainment

Bucaramanga

$55 4.5%

San Juan de Pasto

$49 3.3% 12.1% $6.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $414 in Bucaramanga versus $780 in San Juan de Pasto. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $31 in Bucaramanga versus $47 in San Juan de Pasto. Groceries tell a different story – $302 in Bucaramanga vs $278 in San Juan de Pasto – so San Juan de Pasto wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Bucaramanga

🇨🇴 San Juan de Pasto

🕒 Local time

20:06 8:06 PM

Same time as Bucaramanga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

581,130

392,930

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.09 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.09 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bucaramanga San Juan de Pasto 800 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucaramanga
San Juan de Pasto

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

Bucaramanga vs San Juan de Pasto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Juan de Pasto costs about 20% more than Bucaramanga, 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 $1,831 per month in Bucaramanga and $2,194 in San Juan de Pasto. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bucaramanga, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $414 there versus $780 in San Juan de Pasto.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,221 in Bucaramanga and $1,463 in San Juan de Pasto. That makes Bucaramanga about 17% cheaper.

Interestingly, groceries are about 8% cheaper in San Juan de Pasto – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,221 in Bucaramanga and $1,463 in San Juan de Pasto. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Bucaramanga has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,221 in Bucaramanga to $1,463 in San Juan de Pasto. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.