Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cayey and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,692 a month against $2,156 in Cayey, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Cayey
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Cayey Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Cayey

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$2,156

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,156 in Cayey versus $1,692 in Medellin.

Cayey $2,156
Medellin $1,692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,430 in Cayey versus $2,471 in Medellin.

Cayey $3,430
Medellin $2,471

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,704 in Cayey versus $3,249 in Medellin.

Cayey $4,704
Medellin $3,249

Living in Cayey is roughly 27% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cayey 59% above, Medellin 25% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.05 $19.05

$8.34 COP 26.9K

128.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.6 $83.6

$46.53 COP 150.1K

79.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.04 $9.04

$9.47 COP 30.5K

-4.54%

Cappuccino

$3.52 $3.52

$3.13 COP 10.1K

12.46%

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

$1.83 $1.83

$1.77 COP 5,696

3.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 $1.49

$1.42 COP 4,594

4.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 $2.98

$3.15 COP 10.2K

-5.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.12 $5.12

$5.70 COP 18.4K

-10.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.19 $2.19

$1.53 COP 4,943

43.14%

White Bread (500g)

$3.61 $3.61

$2.29 COP 7,389

57.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 $2.35

$1.94 COP 6,273

21.13%

Eggs

$7.33 $7.33

$3.07 COP 9,889

138.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.51 $12.51

$9.99 COP 32.2K

25.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.59 $9.59

$10.45 COP 33.7K

-8.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.27 $13.27

$13.96 COP 45.0K

-4.94%

Apples (1kg)

$5.09 $5.09

$4.05 COP 13.1K

25.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.65 $2.65

$1.53 COP 4,929

73.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.79 $4.79

$2.10 COP 6,786

128.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.88 $4.88

$2.29 COP 7,397

113.10%

Potato (1kg)

$3.73 $3.73

$2.11 COP 6,803

76.78%

Onion (1kg)

$4.04 $4.04

$1.71 COP 5,512

136.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.37 $3.37

$1.17 COP 3,774

188.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 $1.57

$1.58 COP 5,096

-0.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.22 $12.22

$3.91 COP 12.6K

212.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.40 $15.40

$14.04 COP 45.3K

9.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 $3.13

$1.76 COP 5,682

77.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 $3.96

$2.71 COP 8,746

46.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,805

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.55 $2.55

$1.81 COP 5,827

40.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 $1.52

$2.13 COP 6,867

-28.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.65 $41.65

$8.13 COP 26.2K

412.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.28 COP 4,113

-20.31%

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

$35.0K $35.0K

$34.4K COP 111.1M

1.57%

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

$27.6K $27.6K

$34.1K COP 110.1M

-19.19%

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

$318 $318

$178 COP 573.2K

79.05%

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

$70.5 $70.5

$13.89 COP 44.8K

407.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.7 $69.7

$30.74 COP 99.1K

126.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.63 $40.63

$41.94 COP 135.3K

-3.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.2K

Cinema Ticket

$10.09 $10.09

$7.47 COP 24.1K

35.07%

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

$812 $812

$790 COP 2.5M

2.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K $12.5K

$12.3K COP 39.7M

1.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.0 $57.0

$86.3 COP 278.4K

-33.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.8 $60.8

$59.3 COP 191.1K

2.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 $108

$138 COP 446.2K

-22.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 $113

$98.8 COP 318.7K

14.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,215 $1,215

$1,341 COP 4.3M

-9.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$801 $801

$667 COP 2.2M

20.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,414 $2,414

$1,976 COP 6.4M

22.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,784 $1,784

$1,033 COP 3.3M

72.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,643 $3,643

$646 COP 2.1M

463.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

10.94

-40.13%

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

Last update for Cayey: November 1, 2026

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cayey

$801 37.2%

Medellin

$667 39.4% 16.7% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cayey

$458 21.3%

Medellin

$222 13.1% 51.5% $236

Groceries & Markets

Cayey

$413 19.2%

Medellin

$307 18.2% 25.6% $105

Eating Out

Cayey

$260 12.1%

Medellin

$173 10.2% 33.7% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Cayey

$153 7.1%

Medellin

$172 10.2% 12.9% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Cayey

$61 2.8%

Medellin

$57 3.4% 6.5% $3.9

Getting Around

Cayey

$10 * 0.5%

Medellin

$93 5.5% 822% $83

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,215 in Cayey and $1,341 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cayey pays about 5.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $84 in Cayey vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $413 vs $307 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Cayey

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

20:42 8:42 PM

19:42 7:42 PM

1 h behind Cayey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,999

2,486,723

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.888 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.13 USD (1 USD = 0.888 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3,225 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,631 COP (10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR).

COP to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Cayey Medellin 1,670 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cayey
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

Cayey vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,156 in Cayey and $1,692 in Medellin, so Medellin is about 22% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Cayey is about 5.6 times higher, 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: $1,215 in Cayey versus $1,341 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $812 in Cayey versus $790 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $84 in Cayey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Medellin gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Medellin wins on affordability, Cayey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.