Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Changsha and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Changsha: $783 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Changsha
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Changsha Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Changsha

🇨🇳 China

$783

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $783 in Changsha versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Changsha $783
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,282 in Changsha versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Changsha $1,282
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,780 in Changsha versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Changsha $1,780
Medellin $3,186

Living in Changsha costs roughly 52% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Changsha is 42% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.96 ¥19.69

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-63.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.41 ¥149

$47.05 COP 151.7K

-52.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.90 ¥32.59

$9.50 COP 30.6K

-48.42%

Cappuccino

$3.34 ¥22.23

$3.01 COP 9,722

10.96%

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

$0.51 ¥3.38

$1.80 COP 5,801

-71.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.82

$1.41 COP 4,554

-80.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.24 ¥8.24

$3.18 COP 10.2K

-61.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 ¥12.61

$5.75 COP 18.5K

-66.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 ¥13.09

$1.51 COP 4,869

30.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 ¥15.77

$2.38 COP 7,667

-0.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.28

$1.77 COP 5,712

-46.89%

Eggs

$1.72 ¥11.45

$2.89 COP 9,320

-40.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.99 ¥86.4

$10.19 COP 32.9K

27.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.10 ¥27.31

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-58.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.65 ¥77.5

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-16.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 ¥18.91

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-28.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ¥9.27

$1.55 COP 5,005

-10.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 ¥12.83

$2.18 COP 7,039

-11.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.02 ¥13.46

$2.18 COP 7,041

-7.34%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 ¥6.39

$1.96 COP 6,328

-51.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.04

$1.59 COP 5,125

4.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 ¥4.33

$1.15 COP 3,694

-43.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ¥3.27

$1.24 COP 4,009

-60.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.92 ¥19.41

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-26.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.72 ¥84.7

$13.68 COP 44.1K

-7.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 ¥6.86

$1.66 COP 5,352

-37.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 ¥10.27

$2.26 COP 7,281

-31.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 ¥2.34

$1.17 COP 3,766

-70.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.75 ¥98.2

$77.4 COP 249.5K

-80.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.48 ¥9.83

$1.27 COP 4,089

16.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 ¥2.10

$2.05 COP 6,603

-84.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.56 ¥30.31

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-46.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 ¥8.40

$1.35 COP 4,343

-6.67%

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

$19.9K ¥132.1K

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-41.71%

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

$17.8K ¥118.6K

$34.7K COP 111.8M

-48.60%

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

$56.1 ¥373

$170 COP 547.0K

-66.93%

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

$9.08 ¥60.4

$13.55 COP 43.7K

-32.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.61 ¥90.6

$28.07 COP 90.5K

-51.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.8 ¥365

$43.70 COP 140.9K

25.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.80 ¥165

$17.19 COP 55.4K

44.27%

Cinema Ticket

$6.54 ¥43.54

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-5.35%

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

$326 ¥2,172

$797 COP 2.6M

-59.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.2K ¥114.3K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

88.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.4 ¥562

$84.7 COP 273.2K

-0.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.62 ¥230

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-40.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.0 ¥599

$135 COP 435.2K

-33.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.2 ¥407

$97.9 COP 315.6K

-37.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$266 ¥1,772

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-77.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$167 ¥1,111

$642 COP 2.1M

-73.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$559 ¥3,721

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-72.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 ¥2,536

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-62.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,482 ¥16.5K

$4,170 COP 13.4M

-40.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,414 ¥9,412

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-25.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,104 ¥7,347

$657 COP 2.1M

68.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

10.94

-68.37%

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

Last update for Changsha: October 24, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Changsha

$237 30.3%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 25.2% $60

Accommodation & Living

Changsha

$167 21.3%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 284% $475

Clothing & Footwear

Changsha

$122 15.5%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 39% $47

Eating Out

Changsha

$92 11.7%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 85.2% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Changsha

$79 10.1%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 168% $132

Sport & Entertainment

Changsha

$68 8.7%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 15.3% $10

Getting Around

Changsha

$19 2.5%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 387% $74

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $266 in Changsha and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Changsha pays 68% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $22 in Changsha vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $297 per month, with Changsha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Changsha

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

23:10 11:10 PM

10:10 10:10 AM

13 h behind Changsha

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,289,000

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.43 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Changsha Medellin 16,070 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Changsha
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

Changsha vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $783 in Changsha and $1,639 in Medellin, so Changsha is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 68% higher in Changsha, 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: $266 in Changsha versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Changsha – a meal for two runs $22 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $783 per month in Changsha versus $1,639 in Medellin – Changsha is about 52% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $783 in Changsha versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Changsha but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Changsha the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Changsha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.