Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chester and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,692 a month against $2,405 in Chester, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Chester
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Chester Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Chester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,405

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,405 per month in Chester vs $1,692 in Medellin, rent included.

Chester $2,405
Medellin $1,692

A couple spends around $3,486 per month in Chester vs $2,471 in Medellin, rent included.

Chester $3,486
Medellin $2,471

A family of three spends $4,568 per month in Chester vs $3,249 in Medellin, rent included.

Chester $4,568
Medellin $3,249

Chester costs about 42% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Chester and Medellin sit above the global median – Chester by 78%, Medellin by 25%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.88 £14.80

$8.34 COP 27.0K

138.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.1 £65.6

$46.53 COP 150.9K

89.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.67 £7.94

$9.47 COP 30.7K

12.67%

Cappuccino

$5.24 £3.90

$3.13 COP 10.2K

67.41%

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

$2.55 £1.90

$1.77 COP 5,728

44.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.34

$1.42 COP 4,620

26.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.58 £4.89

$3.15 COP 10.2K

108.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.64 £4.94

$5.70 COP 18.5K

16.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.53 COP 4,971

11.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.75 £1.31

$2.29 COP 7,431

-23.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.30 £1.71

$1.94 COP 6,308

18.56%

Eggs

$4.23 £3.15

$3.07 COP 9,945

37.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.12 £6.79

$9.99 COP 32.4K

-8.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 £6.67

$10.45 COP 33.9K

-14.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.26 £10.61

$13.96 COP 45.3K

2.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 £2.19

$4.05 COP 13.1K

-27.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.28

$1.53 COP 4,957

12.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.13

$2.10 COP 6,825

36.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.98 £2.22

$2.29 COP 7,439

30.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 £1.49

$2.11 COP 6,841

-5.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.71 COP 5,543

-14.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 £0.95

$1.17 COP 3,795

8.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.21

$1.58 COP 5,125

3.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.13 £17.96

$3.91 COP 12.7K

517.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.19 £8.33

$14.04 COP 45.6K

-20.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 £2.26

$1.76 COP 5,714

72.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 £2.42

$2.71 COP 8,796

20.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.13 £3.07

$1.18 COP 3,826

250.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.8 £54.2

$76.3 COP 247.4K

-4.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.73 £3.52

$1.81 COP 5,860

161.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.71 £1.27

$2.13 COP 6,906

-19.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.77 £16.20

$8.13 COP 26.4K

167.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.28 COP 4,136

60.94%

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

$38.4K £28.6K

$34.4K COP 111.7M

11.42%

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

$40.9K £30.4K

$34.1K COP 110.7M

19.70%

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

$322 £239

$178 COP 576.4K

80.94%

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

$21.03 £15.65

$13.89 COP 45.0K

51.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.39 £31.55

$30.74 COP 99.7K

37.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.10 £26.87

$41.94 COP 136.0K

-13.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.31 £11.39

$16.80 COP 54.5K

-8.87%

Cinema Ticket

$13.54 £10.08

$7.47 COP 24.2K

81.26%

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

$1,775 £1,321

$790 COP 2.6M

124.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.2K £18.0K

$12.3K COP 39.9M

96.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.6 £65.9

$86.3 COP 280.0K

2.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.24 £28.47

$59.3 COP 192.2K

-35.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £75.8

$138 COP 448.7K

-26.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.0 £68.5

$98.8 COP 320.5K

-6.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,401 £1,043

$1,341 COP 4.3M

4.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,088 £810

$667 COP 2.2M

63.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,157 £1,605

$1,976 COP 6.4M

9.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,706 £1,270

$1,033 COP 3.3M

65.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 £3,238

$4,098 COP 13.3M

6.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,187 £2,372

$1,940 COP 6.3M

64.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,138 £3,081

$646 COP 2.1M

540.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.15

10.94

-52.93%

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

Last update for Chester: October 31, 2026

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chester

$1.1K 45.2%

Medellin

$667 39.4% 38.7% $421

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chester

$385 16%

Medellin

$222 13.1% 42.2% $163

Eating Out

Chester

$317 13.2%

Medellin

$173 10.2% 45.6% $145

Groceries & Markets

Chester

$305 12.7%

Medellin

$307 18.2% 0.9% $2.7

Clothing & Footwear

Chester

$144 6%

Medellin

$172 10.2% 19.4% $28

Getting Around

Chester

$103 4.3%

Medellin

$93 5.5% 9% $9.2

Sport & Entertainment

Chester

$63 2.6%

Medellin

$57 3.4% 9.9% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,401 in Chester versus $1,341 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Chester are about 6.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88 in Chester versus $47 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $305 in Chester vs $307 in Medellin – so Chester wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Chester

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

11:36 11:36 AM

06:36 6:36 AM

5 h behind Chester

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

119,000

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 = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.75 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.744 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.835 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3,243 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,636 COP (10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chester Medellin 8,300 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chester
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

Chester vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chester costs about 42% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,608 per month in Chester and $2,538 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $1,401 in Chester and $1,341 in Medellin. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88 in Chester and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Public transport costs about 5% less in Chester. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

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

If budget matters most, go with Medellin. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Chester makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.