Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cajamarca and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Cajamarca: $711 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Cajamarca
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Cajamarca Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Cajamarca

🇵🇪 Peru

$711

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $711 in Cajamarca versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Cajamarca $711
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,189 in Cajamarca versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Cajamarca $1,189
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,666 in Cajamarca versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Cajamarca $1,666
Medellin $3,190

Living in Cajamarca costs roughly 56% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cajamarca is 47% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.11 PEN 10.70

$7.93 COP 25.2K

-60.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.79 PEN 98.9

$46.13 COP 146.3K

-37.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 PEN 20.20

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-38.11%

Cappuccino

$2.88 PEN 9.89

$3.11 COP 9,866

-7.40%

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

$0.77 PEN 2.63

$1.83 COP 5,800

-57.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 PEN 1.94

$1.38 COP 4,360

-59.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 PEN 8.75

$3.05 COP 9,672

-16.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 PEN 11.99

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-36.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 PEN 4.63

$1.45 COP 4,600

-6.90%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 PEN 10.69

$2.36 COP 7,496

31.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.27 PEN 4.35

$1.68 COP 5,328

-24.40%

Eggs

$2.39 PEN 8.19

$2.86 COP 9,077

-16.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.25 PEN 24.91

$10.19 COP 32.3K

-28.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.63 PEN 26.20

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-19.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.10 PEN 55.3

$14.04 COP 44.5K

14.67%

Apples (1kg)

$0.84 PEN 2.88

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-79.36%

Banana (1kg)

$0.91 PEN 3.12

$1.50 COP 4,742

-39.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.14 PEN 3.92

$2.17 COP 6,891

-47.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.84 PEN 2.87

$2.31 COP 7,310

-63.64%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.93 COP 6,113

-54.40%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 PEN 2.63

$1.64 COP 5,196

-53.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.04

$1.13 COP 3,571

-21.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 PEN 2.57

$1.25 COP 3,954

-40.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.09 PEN 24.34

$3.99 COP 12.6K

77.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.58 PEN 39.76

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-13.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 PEN 9.18

$1.70 COP 5,384

57.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 PEN 8.86

$2.37 COP 7,525

8.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.59 PEN 2.03

$1.21 COP 3,827

-51.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.67 PEN 29.76

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-88.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.64 PEN 9.05

$1.32 COP 4,179

100.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.69 PEN 5.80

$2.14 COP 6,774

-21.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.79 PEN 19.90

$8.47 COP 26.8K

-31.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 PEN 4.81

$1.30 COP 4,114

7.69%

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

$23.6K PEN 81.2K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

-15.55%

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

$28.5K PEN 98.0K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-19.38%

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

$58.0 PEN 199

$172 COP 545.6K

-66.29%

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

$9.31 PEN 31.96

$13.37 COP 42.4K

-30.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.16 PEN 69.2

$28.73 COP 91.1K

-29.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.98 PEN 113

$45.24 COP 143.5K

-27.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.47 PEN 60.0

$17.04 COP 54.0K

2.52%

Cinema Ticket

$3.73 PEN 12.82

$6.28 COP 19.9K

-40.61%

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

$147 PEN 505

$770 COP 2.4M

-80.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,322 PEN 14.8K

$9,011 COP 28.6M

-52.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.77 PEN 147

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-50.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.77 PEN 98.8

$57.1 COP 181.1K

-49.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.0 PEN 254

$137 COP 432.9K

-45.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.5 PEN 249

$97.9 COP 310.4K

-25.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$199 PEN 683

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-81.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$117 PEN 401

$616 COP 2.0M

-81.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$514 PEN 1,766

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-72.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$313 PEN 1,076

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-69.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$557 PEN 1,913

$652 COP 2.1M

-14.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

0.55%

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

Last update for Cajamarca: October 12, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Cajamarca

$244 34.3%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 20.7% $50

Accommodation & Living

Cajamarca

$117 16.4%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 427% $499

Eating Out

Cajamarca

$102 14.4%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 64.8% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Cajamarca

$98 13.8%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 73.3% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cajamarca

$87 12.3%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 145% $127

Sport & Entertainment

Cajamarca

$40 5.7%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 42.9% $17

Getting Around

Cajamarca

$22 3.1%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 322% $71

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $199 in Cajamarca and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 17% 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: $29.00 in Cajamarca vs $46.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $244 vs $295 per month, with Cajamarca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Cajamarca

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

11:17 11:17 AM

Same time as Cajamarca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

218,741

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 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 PEN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cajamarca Medellin 1,530 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cajamarca
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

Cajamarca vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cajamarca is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 127% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 17% lower in Medellin. 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: $199 in Cajamarca versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cajamarca runs roughly 782% less than in Medellin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $147 in Cajamarca versus $770 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $711 in Cajamarca versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cajamarca but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Cajamarca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cajamarca 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, Cajamarca 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 Cajamarca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 127% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.