Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Durham and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,095 in Durham, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Durham
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Durham Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Durham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,095

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,095 in Durham versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Durham $2,095
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,366 in Durham versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Durham $3,366
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,636 in Durham versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Durham $4,636
Medellin $3,186

Living in Durham is roughly 28% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Durham 54% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.85 £14.94

$8.09 COP 25.4K

145.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.7 £69.8

$47.05 COP 148.0K

97.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.49 £8.65

$9.50 COP 29.9K

20.95%

Cappuccino

$4.79 £3.61

$3.01 COP 9,485

59.14%

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

$2.47 £1.86

$1.80 COP 5,660

37.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.41 COP 4,443

48.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.10 £4.59

$3.18 COP 9,990

91.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.42 £4.08

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-5.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.50

$1.51 COP 4,751

31.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 £1.15

$2.38 COP 7,480

-35.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.09 £2.32

$1.77 COP 5,573

74.58%

Eggs

$4.41 £3.32

$2.89 COP 9,093

52.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.11 £7.61

$10.19 COP 32.1K

-0.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.24 £6.95

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-6.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.55 £16.22

$13.99 COP 44.0K

54.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 £2.15

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-27.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.50 £1.88

$1.55 COP 4,883

61.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.13

$2.18 COP 6,867

29.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.27 £3.96

$2.18 COP 6,870

141.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.96 COP 6,174

-19.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.59 COP 5,000

6.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 £0.81

$1.15 COP 3,604

-6.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.24 COP 3,911

50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.80 £17.91

$3.96 COP 12.5K

501.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.70 £8.05

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-21.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.43

$1.66 COP 5,221

94.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.41

$2.26 COP 7,103

42.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.23 £2.43

$1.17 COP 3,674

176.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.4 £66.5

$77.4 COP 243.4K

14.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.42 £4.83

$1.27 COP 3,989

405.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.03 £1.53

$2.05 COP 6,442

-0.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.24 £18.24

$8.55 COP 26.9K

183.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 £1.48

$1.35 COP 4,237

45.19%

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

$38.1K £28.7K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

11.83%

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

$41.0K £30.9K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

18.33%

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

$263 £198

$170 COP 533.7K

54.89%

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

$15.28 £11.50

$13.55 COP 42.6K

12.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.46 £32.71

$28.07 COP 88.3K

54.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.28 £34.83

$43.70 COP 137.5K

5.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$12.89 £9.70

$6.91 COP 21.7K

86.54%

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

$1,334 £1,004

$797 COP 2.5M

67.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.4K £19.1K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

178.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 £79.9

$84.7 COP 266.5K

25.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.3 £52.9

$58.0 COP 182.3K

21.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 £88.0

$135 COP 424.6K

-13.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.4 £73.3

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-0.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,583 £1,191

$1,208 COP 3.8M

31.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$746 £561

$642 COP 2.0M

16.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,676 £2,014

$2,028 COP 6.4M

31.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,615 £1,215

$1,012 COP 3.2M

59.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,064 £3,811

$4,170 COP 13.1M

21.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,794 £2,855

$1,910 COP 6.0M

98.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,086 £1,570

$657 COP 2.1M

217.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.18

10.94

-52.65%

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

Last update for Durham: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Durham

$746 35.6%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 14% $104

Groceries & Markets

Durham

$352 16.8%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 15.6% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Durham

$322 15.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 34.3% $110

Eating Out

Durham

$310 14.8%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 45.4% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Durham

$176 8.4%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 3.9% $6.9

Getting Around

Durham

$118 5.6%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 20.6% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Durham

$72 3.4%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 20.2% $15

Cost Breakdown

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

Durham pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $93 in Durham vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $297 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Durham

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

20:28 8:28 PM

15:28 3:28 PM

5 h behind Durham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

42,100

2,486,723

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

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Between locations

Durham Medellin 8,420 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Durham
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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

Durham vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,095 in Durham and $1,639 in Medellin, so Medellin is about 22% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Durham is about 3.2 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 Durham versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $2,095 per month in Durham versus $1,639 in Medellin – Medellin is about 22% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Medellin runs roughly 12% less than in Durham. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

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.

Expats usually find Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Durham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.