Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cartago and New York, NY

For one person, living is cheaper in Cartago: $1,281 a month against $4,950 in New York, NY, rent and utilities included – about $44,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Cartago
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Cartago Living Index
239

Cost of Living Index in New York, NY
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New York, NY Living Index

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Cartago

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,281

/mo nomad

New York, NY

🇺🇸 United States

$4,950

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cartago and in New York, NY

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

A single person spends $1,281 per month in Cartago vs $4,950 in New York, NY, rent included.

Cartago $1,281
New York, NY $4,950

A couple spends around $1,972 per month in Cartago vs $7,265 in New York, NY, rent included.

Cartago $1,972
New York, NY $7,265

A family of three spends $2,663 per month in Cartago vs $9,581 in New York, NY, rent included.

Cartago $2,663
New York, NY $9,581

Cartago is about 74% cheaper than New York, NY, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cartago sits 5% below the global median, while New York, NY is 267% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.58 COP 24.1K

$24.65 $24.65

-69.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.20 COP 118.3K

$122 $122

-69.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.47 COP 26.9K

$13.91 $13.91

-39.11%

Cappuccino

$1.54 COP 4,884

$6.59 $6.59

-76.63%

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

$1.28 COP 4,063

$3.84 $3.84

-66.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 COP 2,634

$2.87 $2.87

-71.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 COP 9,869

$7.79 $7.79

-60.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 COP 11.7K

$9.85 $9.85

-62.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 COP 5,088

$1.38 $1.38

15.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.88 COP 5,973

$4.68 $4.68

-59.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 COP 4,751

$7.54 $7.54

-80.24%

Eggs

$2.93 COP 9,334

$5.93 $5.93

-50.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.58 COP 20.9K

$18.83 $18.83

-65.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.11 COP 22.6K

$17.36 $17.36

-59.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.93 COP 31.6K

$18.51 $18.51

-46.35%

Apples (1kg)

$3.57 COP 11.4K

$6.74 $6.74

-47.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 COP 4,200

$2.09 $2.09

-36.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.74 COP 5,530

$6.07 $6.07

-71.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,184

$6.74 $6.74

-75.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.42 COP 4,522

$4.05 $4.05

-64.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,758

$4.37 $4.37

-65.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 COP 3,443

$2.89 $2.89

-62.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 COP 3,261

$2.60 $2.60

-60.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.69 COP 11.7K

$18.72 $18.72

-80.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.12 COP 41.7K

$20.06 $20.06

-34.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 COP 4,756

$3.25 $3.25

-53.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 COP 7,794

$3.73 $3.73

-34.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 COP 3,244

$3.06 $3.06

-66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$140 $140

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 COP 2,524

$3.04 $3.04

-74.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.27 COP 7,230

$2.15 $2.15

5.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.40 COP 26.7K

$41.82 $41.82

-79.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 COP 4,211

$1.12 $1.12

17.86%

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

$28.0K COP 89.1M

$35.5K $35.5K

-20.94%

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

$34.6K COP 110.2M

$26.0K $26.0K

33.06%

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

$110 COP 349.3K

$219 $219

-49.85%

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

$13.23 COP 42.1K

$73.2 $73.2

-81.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.26 COP 96.2K

$72.0 $72.0

-57.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.32 COP 134.6K

$123 $123

-65.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$67.7 $67.7

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 COP 26.2K

$22.85 $22.85

-63.94%

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

$701 COP 2.2M

$3,333 $3,333

-78.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,430 COP 20.5M

$60.0K $60.0K

-89.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.8 COP 247.3K

$75.2 $75.2

3.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.1 COP 175.4K

$52.4 $52.4

5.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 COP 403.0K

$122 $122

4.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 COP 351.7K

$133 $133

-16.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$645 COP 2.1M

$4,389 $4,389

-85.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 COP 1.6M

$3,130 $3,130

-83.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 COP 3.3M

$8,918 $8,918

-88.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$970 COP 3.1M

$5,354 $5,354

-81.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,999 COP 6.4M

$19.4K $19.4K

-89.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,803 COP 5.7M

$6,806 $6,806

-73.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,343 $5,343

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.58

6.82

69.79%

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

Last update for Cartago: October 11, 2026

Last update for New York, NY: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cartago

$509 39.7%

New York, NY

$3.1K 63.2% 515% $2.6K

Groceries & Markets

Cartago

$241 18.8%

New York, NY

$545 11% 126% $304

Clothing & Footwear

Cartago

$167 13%

New York, NY

$172 3.5% 3.3% $5.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cartago

$153 12%

New York, NY

$364 7.4% 138% $211

Eating Out

Cartago

$136 10.6%

New York, NY

$404 8.2% 197% $268

Sport & Entertainment

Cartago

$59 4.6%

New York, NY

$168 3.4% 186% $110

Getting Around

Cartago

$16 * 1.3%

New York, NY

$167 3.4% 925% $150

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $645 in Cartago versus $4,389 in New York, NY. 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 $37.00 in Cartago versus $122 in New York, NY. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $241 vs $545 – making Cartago the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Cartago

🇺🇸 New York, NY

🕒 Local time

05:23 5:23 AM

06:23 6:23 AM

1 h ahead of Cartago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

135,365

8,804,190

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1 USD = 0.893 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3,181 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,562 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.893 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cartago New York, NY 3,990 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Cartago
New York, NY

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

Cartago vs New York, NY: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – New York, NY is pricier by about 287%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,921 per month in Cartago and $7,424 in New York, NY. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cartago, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,281 in Cartago and $4,950 in New York, NY. That's a gap of about 287%.

Kindergarten costs $701 per month in Cartago and $3,333 in New York, NY. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cartago, where all-in costs run around $1,281, than in New York, NY at $4,950. In Cartago it covers expenses comfortably, while in New York, NY it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cartago – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Cartago. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, New York, NY makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.