Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guanajuato and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Guanajuato: $1,036 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Guanajuato
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Guanajuato Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Guanajuato

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,036

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,036 in Guanajuato versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Guanajuato $1,036
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,584 in Guanajuato versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Guanajuato $1,584
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,131 in Guanajuato versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Guanajuato $2,131
Medellin $3,186

Living in Guanajuato costs roughly 37% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Guanajuato is 24% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.29 MX$249

$8.09 COP 26.1K

64.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.45 MX$814

$47.05 COP 151.9K

-7.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.12 MX$133

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-25.05%

Cappuccino

$3.61 MX$67.6

$3.01 COP 9,734

19.93%

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

$1.64 MX$30.78

$1.80 COP 5,809

-8.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 MX$17.66

$1.41 COP 4,560

-33.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.63 MX$49.34

$3.18 COP 10.3K

-17.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.98 MX$93.2

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-13.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.25

$1.51 COP 4,875

White Bread (500g)

$2.49 MX$46.70

$2.38 COP 7,677

4.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.60

$1.77 COP 5,719

-16.95%

Eggs

$2.39 MX$44.85

$2.89 COP 9,332

-17.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.76 MX$89.1

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-53.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$175

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-5.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.63 MX$218

$13.99 COP 45.2K

-16.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.77 MX$51.9

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-30.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 MX$29.04

$1.55 COP 5,011

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.95

$2.18 COP 7,047

-14.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.18

$2.18 COP 7,050

-31.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.66

$1.96 COP 6,336

2.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.85 MX$34.70

$1.59 COP 5,131

16.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 MX$28.59

$1.15 COP 3,698

33.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$20.05

$1.24 COP 4,014

-13.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.85 MX$90.9

$3.96 COP 12.8K

22.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.04 MX$188

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-26.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 MX$34.55

$1.66 COP 5,359

10.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 MX$61.0

$2.26 COP 7,290

43.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 MX$11.33

$1.17 COP 3,770

-48.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.83 MX$503

$77.4 COP 249.8K

-65.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.11 MX$39.58

$1.27 COP 4,094

66.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 MX$28.10

$2.05 COP 6,611

-26.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.59 MX$161

$8.55 COP 27.6K

0.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$27.33

$1.35 COP 4,348

8.15%

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

$19.6K MX$367.3K

$34.1K COP 110.0M

-42.46%

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

$23.0K MX$430.1K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-33.80%

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

$48.45 MX$908

$170 COP 547.7K

-71.44%

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

$19.35 MX$363

$13.55 COP 43.7K

42.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.67 MX$518

$28.07 COP 90.6K

-1.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.04 MX$563

$43.70 COP 141.1K

-31.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.18 MX$509

$17.19 COP 55.5K

58.12%

Cinema Ticket

$5.98 MX$112

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-13.46%

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

$203 MX$3,804

$797 COP 2.6M

-74.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,520 MX$103.4K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-39.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 MX$1,054

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-33.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.12 MX$677

$58.0 COP 187.1K

-37.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.8 MX$1,439

$135 COP 435.7K

-43.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.5 MX$1,058

$97.9 COP 316.0K

-42.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$511 MX$9,580

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-57.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$300 MX$5,628

$642 COP 2.1M

-53.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$766 MX$14.3K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-62.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$383 MX$7,178

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-62.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,317 MX$24.7K

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-68.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,091 MX$20.4K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-42.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$704 MX$13.2K

$657 COP 2.1M

7.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

10.94

3.29%

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

Last update for Guanajuato: 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

Guanajuato

$300 29%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 114% $341

Groceries & Markets

Guanajuato

$254 24.5%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 17% $43

Eating Out

Guanajuato

$204 19.7%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 17% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Guanajuato

$102 9.8%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 66.5% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guanajuato

$95 9.2%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 121% $116

Sport & Entertainment

Guanajuato

$42 4.1%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 36.9% $16

Getting Around

Guanajuato

$39 3.8%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 141% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $511 in Guanajuato and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Guanajuato pays 7% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Guanajuato vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $254 vs $297 per month, with Guanajuato cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Guanajuato

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

15:53 3:53 PM

16:53 4:53 PM

1 h ahead of Guanajuato

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

70,068

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 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 = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,619 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Guanajuato Medellin 3,210 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Guanajuato
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

Guanajuato vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Guanajuato wins on cost – living expenses run 37% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Guanajuato the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 7% higher in Guanajuato, 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: $511 in Guanajuato versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Guanajuato – a meal for two runs $43 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Guanajuato is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Guanajuato gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.