Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cuernavaca and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuernavaca: $1,208 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Cuernavaca
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Cuernavaca Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Cuernavaca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,208

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Cuernavaca versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Cuernavaca $1,208
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,788 in Cuernavaca versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Cuernavaca $1,788
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,368 in Cuernavaca versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Cuernavaca $2,368
Medellin $3,186

Living in Cuernavaca costs roughly 26% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cuernavaca is 11% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.98 MX$149

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-1.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.14 MX$696

$47.05 COP 151.9K

-21.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.83 MX$128

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-28.11%

Cappuccino

$2.48 MX$46.41

$3.01 COP 9,734

-17.61%

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

$1.31 MX$24.52

$1.80 COP 5,809

-27.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 MX$11.45

$1.41 COP 4,560

-56.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 MX$45.65

$3.18 COP 10.3K

-23.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 MX$61.3

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-43.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 MX$30.40

$1.51 COP 4,875

7.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 MX$41.41

$2.38 COP 7,677

-7.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.58

$1.77 COP 5,719

-19.77%

Eggs

$1.89 MX$35.33

$2.89 COP 9,332

-34.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.76 MX$145

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-23.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.82 MX$90.2

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-51.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.55 MX$254

$13.99 COP 45.2K

-3.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.21 MX$41.38

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-44.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 MX$24.80

$1.55 COP 5,011

-14.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.57

$2.18 COP 7,047

1.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 MX$31.04

$2.18 COP 7,050

-23.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 MX$33.03

$1.96 COP 6,336

-10.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 MX$32.03

$1.59 COP 5,131

7.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 MX$27.97

$1.15 COP 3,698

29.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.55

$1.24 COP 4,014

-33.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.23 MX$79.3

$3.96 COP 12.8K

6.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.03 MX$150

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-41.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.69

$1.66 COP 5,359

-27.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 MX$61.8

$2.26 COP 7,290

46.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 MX$13.35

$1.17 COP 3,770

-39.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.93 MX$655

$77.4 COP 249.8K

-54.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 MX$35.72

$1.27 COP 4,094

50.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.49 MX$46.74

$2.05 COP 6,611

21.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.64 MX$199

$8.55 COP 27.6K

24.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 MX$25.01

$1.35 COP 4,348

-1.48%

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

$24.5K MX$458.2K

$34.1K COP 110.0M

-28.22%

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

$23.4K MX$437.8K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-32.62%

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

$56.4 MX$1,057

$170 COP 547.7K

-66.77%

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

$18.52 MX$347

$13.55 COP 43.7K

36.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.73 MX$463

$28.07 COP 90.6K

-11.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.09 MX$545

$43.70 COP 141.1K

-33.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$5.24 MX$98.1

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-24.17%

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

$218 MX$4,083

$797 COP 2.6M

-72.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,055 MX$94.7K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-44.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.44 MX$758

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-52.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.23 MX$604

$58.0 COP 187.1K

-44.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.5 MX$1,733

$135 COP 435.7K

-31.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.7 MX$1,831

$97.9 COP 316.0K

-0.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$619 MX$11.6K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-48.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 MX$9,910

$642 COP 2.1M

-17.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$901 MX$16.9K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-55.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$803 MX$15.1K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-20.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$851 MX$15.9K

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-79.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$594 MX$11.1K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-68.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$638 MX$11.9K

$657 COP 2.1M

-2.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.4

10.94

4.20%

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

Last update for Cuernavaca: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cuernavaca

$529 43.8%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 21.3% $113

Groceries & Markets

Cuernavaca

$229 19%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 29.7% $68

Eating Out

Cuernavaca

$140 11.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 20.8% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Cuernavaca

$118 9.8%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 42.9% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cuernavaca

$100 8.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 112% $112

Getting Around

Cuernavaca

$52 4.3%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 79.4% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Cuernavaca

$40 3.3%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 45.4% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $619 in Cuernavaca and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 3% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $37 in Cuernavaca vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $229 vs $297 per month, with Cuernavaca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Cuernavaca

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

10:45 10:45 AM

11:45 11:45 AM

1 h ahead of Cuernavaca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

341,029

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cuernavaca Medellin 2,920 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cuernavaca
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

Cuernavaca vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cuernavaca is about 26% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 3% lower in Cuernavaca. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $619 in Cuernavaca versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cuernavaca – a meal for two runs $37 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,208 in Cuernavaca versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cuernavaca but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Cuernavaca 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 Cuernavaca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.