Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chelmsford and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,567 in Chelmsford, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Chelmsford
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Chelmsford Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Chelmsford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,567

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,567 in Chelmsford versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Chelmsford $2,567
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,761 in Chelmsford versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Chelmsford $3,761
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,954 in Chelmsford versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Chelmsford $4,954
Medellin $3,186

Living in Chelmsford is roughly 57% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Chelmsford 89% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.63 £14.66

$8.09 COP 26.1K

142.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.0 £54.5

$47.05 COP 151.7K

55.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.17 £6.85

$9.50 COP 30.6K

-3.47%

Cappuccino

$5.09 £3.80

$3.01 COP 9,722

69.10%

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

$2.82 £2.11

$1.80 COP 5,801

56.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 £1.06

$1.41 COP 4,554

0.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.40 £5.53

$3.18 COP 10.2K

132.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.33 £5.47

$5.75 COP 18.5K

27.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 £1.19

$1.51 COP 4,869

5.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 £1.08

$2.38 COP 7,667

-39.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.64 £1.97

$1.77 COP 5,712

49.15%

Eggs

$3.46 £2.59

$2.89 COP 9,320

19.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.16 £7.59

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-0.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.46 £6.32

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-14.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.51 £10.09

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-3.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.33 £1.74

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-41.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.55 COP 5,005

-20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 £2.22

$2.18 COP 7,039

36.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 £1.58

$2.18 COP 7,041

-2.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 £1.32

$1.96 COP 6,328

-9.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.59 COP 5,125

-5.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 £0.85

$1.15 COP 3,694

-0.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 £1.07

$1.24 COP 4,009

16.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.69 £17.69

$3.96 COP 12.8K

498.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.92 £8.90

$13.68 COP 44.1K

-12.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 £1.70

$1.66 COP 5,352

36.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 £2.02

$2.26 COP 7,281

19.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.04 £3.02

$1.17 COP 3,766

245.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$104 £77.7

$77.4 COP 249.5K

34.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.88 £3.65

$1.27 COP 4,089

284.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.76 £1.32

$2.05 COP 6,603

-14.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.23 £19.59

$8.55 COP 27.6K

206.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.35 COP 4,343

48.15%

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

$38.7K £28.9K

$34.1K COP 109.8M

13.64%

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

$40.7K £30.4K

$34.7K COP 111.8M

17.41%

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

$265 £198

$170 COP 547.0K

55.93%

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

$14.70 £10.98

$13.55 COP 43.7K

8.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.12 £29.96

$28.07 COP 90.5K

42.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 £38.35

$43.70 COP 140.9K

17.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

Cinema Ticket

$12.11 £9.05

$6.91 COP 22.3K

75.25%

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

$2,034 £1,519

$797 COP 2.6M

155.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K £9,873

$9,112 COP 29.4M

45.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.9 £74.6

$84.7 COP 273.2K

17.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.75 £32.68

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-24.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.8 £71.6

$135 COP 435.2K

-28.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.7 £64.8

$97.9 COP 315.6K

-11.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,583 £1,182

$1,208 COP 3.9M

31.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,297 £968

$642 COP 2.1M

102.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,521 £1,883

$2,028 COP 6.5M

24.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,227 £1,663

$1,012 COP 3.3M

120.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,442 £5,558

$4,170 COP 13.4M

78.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,096 £3,806

$1,910 COP 6.2M

166.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,919 £2,180

$657 COP 2.1M

344.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.06

10.94

-53.75%

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

Last update for Chelmsford: October 27, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chelmsford

$1.3K 50.5%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 50.5% $655

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chelmsford

$319 12.4%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 33.8% $108

Eating Out

Chelmsford

$314 12.2%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 46% $145

Groceries & Markets

Chelmsford

$280 10.9%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 5.9% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Chelmsford

$147 5.7%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 15.1% $22

Getting Around

Chelmsford

$134 5.2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 30.1% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Chelmsford

$76 2.9%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 23.9% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,583 in Chelmsford and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chelmsford pays about 4.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $73 in Chelmsford vs $47 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $280 vs $297, with Chelmsford cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Chelmsford

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

01:10 1:10 AM

20:10 8:10 PM

5 h behind Chelmsford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

176,194

2,486,723

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chelmsford Medellin 8,500 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chelmsford
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

Chelmsford vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,567 in Chelmsford and $1,639 in Medellin, so Medellin is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Chelmsford is about 4.4 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: $1,583 in Chelmsford versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,034 in Chelmsford versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Chelmsford pay roughly 6% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,639 in Medellin versus $2,567 in Chelmsford, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Chelmsford. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin 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.

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