Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fajardo and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Fajardo: $1,251 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Medellin outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

61

Cost of Living Index in Fajardo
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Fajardo Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Fajardo

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,251

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,251 in Fajardo versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Fajardo $1,251
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,962 in Fajardo versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Fajardo $1,962
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,674 in Fajardo versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Fajardo $2,674
Medellin $3,190

Living in Fajardo costs roughly 23% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Fajardo is 7% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.97 $9.97

$7.93 COP 25.2K

25.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.7 $80.7

$46.13 COP 146.3K

74.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.09 $9.09

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-4.32%

Cappuccino

$3.69 $3.69

$3.11 COP 9,866

18.65%

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

$1.84 $1.84

$1.83 COP 5,800

0.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.38 COP 4,360

5.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.02 $3.02

$3.05 COP 9,672

-0.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.13 $5.13

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-6.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.14 $2.14

$1.45 COP 4,600

47.59%

White Bread (500g)

$3.72 $3.72

$2.36 COP 7,496

57.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.34 $2.34

$1.68 COP 5,328

39.29%

Eggs

$7.62 $7.62

$2.86 COP 9,077

166.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.30 $12.30

$10.19 COP 32.3K

20.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.37 $9.37

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-1.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.16 $13.16

$14.04 COP 44.5K

-6.27%

Apples (1kg)

$4.97 $4.97

$4.07 COP 12.9K

22.11%

Banana (1kg)

$2.67 $2.67

$1.50 COP 4,742

78.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.97 $4.97

$2.17 COP 6,891

129.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.91 $4.91

$2.31 COP 7,310

112.55%

Potato (1kg)

$3.72 $3.72

$1.93 COP 6,113

92.75%

Onion (1kg)

$3.87 $3.87

$1.64 COP 5,196

135.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.36 $3.36

$1.13 COP 3,571

197.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 $1.66

$1.25 COP 3,954

32.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.26 $11.26

$3.99 COP 12.6K

182.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.57 $15.57

$13.35 COP 42.3K

16.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.02 $3.02

$1.70 COP 5,384

77.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.06 $4.06

$2.37 COP 7,525

71.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.43 $2.43

$1.32 COP 4,179

84.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.46 $1.46

$2.14 COP 6,774

-31.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.97 $41.97

$8.47 COP 26.8K

395.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 $1.23

$1.30 COP 4,114

-5.38%

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

$40.3K $40.3K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

44.01%

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

$27.5K $27.5K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-22.39%

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

$325 $325

$172 COP 545.6K

88.63%

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

$70.1 $70.1

$13.37 COP 42.4K

424.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.4 $69.4

$28.73 COP 91.1K

141.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$10.38 $10.38

$6.28 COP 19.9K

65.29%

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

$809 $809

$770 COP 2.4M

5.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K $12.4K

$9,011 COP 28.6M

38.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.0 $56.0

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-35.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.1 $61.1

$57.1 COP 181.1K

6.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 $109

$137 COP 432.9K

-20.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 $114

$97.9 COP 310.4K

16.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$982 $982

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-6.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

10.94

-40.13%

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

Last update for Fajardo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fajardo

$464 37.1%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 53.8% $250

Groceries & Markets

Fajardo

$414 33.1%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 28.8% $119

Eating Out

Fajardo

$190 15.2%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 11.3% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Fajardo

$153 12.2%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 11.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Fajardo

$21 * 1.7%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 179% $37

Getting Around

Fajardo

$9.7 * 0.8%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 862% $84

Accommodation & Living

Fajardo

- * 0%

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $982 in Fajardo and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $81.0 in Fajardo vs $46.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $414 vs $295 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Fajardo

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

15:27 3:27 PM

14:27 2:27 PM

1 h behind Fajardo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,647

2,486,723

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

COP to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Fajardo Medellin 1,720 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Fajardo
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

Fajardo vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fajardo wins on cost – living expenses run 29% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Fajardo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,876 in Fajardo and $2,421 in Medellin to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $982 in Fajardo versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Medellin pay roughly 40% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,251 per month in Fajardo versus $1,614 in Medellin – a 29% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,251 in Fajardo versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Fajardo but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Fajardo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Fajardo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,251 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Fajardo hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Fajardo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.