Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ibaraki and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibaraki: $1,142 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Ibaraki
Learn more

Ibaraki Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Ibaraki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,142

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,142 in Ibaraki versus $1,692 in Medellin.

Ibaraki $1,142
Medellin $1,692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,768 in Ibaraki versus $2,471 in Medellin.

Ibaraki $1,768
Medellin $2,471

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,395 in Ibaraki versus $3,249 in Medellin.

Ibaraki $2,395
Medellin $3,249

Living in Ibaraki costs roughly 33% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ibaraki is 16% below, Medellin is 25% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.20 ¥983

$8.34 COP 26.8K

-25.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.03 ¥4,915

$46.53 COP 149.7K

-33.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.22 ¥827

$9.47 COP 30.5K

-44.88%

Cappuccino

$3.15 ¥499

$3.13 COP 10.1K

0.64%

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

$1.15 ¥182

$1.77 COP 5,681

-35.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 ¥125

$1.42 COP 4,582

-44.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 ¥419

$3.15 COP 10.1K

-15.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 ¥494

$5.70 COP 18.3K

-45.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.73 ¥432

$1.53 COP 4,930

78.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 ¥248

$2.29 COP 7,370

-31.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.10 ¥650

$1.94 COP 6,257

111.34%

Eggs

$2.03 ¥321

$3.07 COP 9,864

-33.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.34 ¥1,637

$9.99 COP 32.1K

3.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.54 ¥1,037

$10.45 COP 33.6K

-37.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 ¥2,652

$13.96 COP 44.9K

19.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.71 ¥588

$4.05 COP 13.0K

-8.40%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 ¥361

$1.53 COP 4,916

49.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 ¥467

$2.10 COP 6,769

40.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.16 ¥659

$2.29 COP 7,378

81.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 ¥392

$2.11 COP 6,785

17.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 ¥412

$1.71 COP 5,498

52.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 ¥209

$1.17 COP 3,764

12.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 ¥134

$1.58 COP 5,083

-46.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ¥680

$3.91 COP 12.6K

9.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 ¥1,040

$14.04 COP 45.2K

-53.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 ¥295

$1.76 COP 5,667

5.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 ¥329

$2.71 COP 8,724

-23.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 ¥260

$1.18 COP 3,795

38.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$57.8 ¥9,160

$76.3 COP 245.4K

-24.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.75 ¥753

$1.81 COP 5,812

162.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.93 ¥464

$2.13 COP 6,849

37.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.58 ¥4,051

$8.13 COP 26.2K

214.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ¥173

$1.28 COP 4,102

-14.84%

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

$21.7K ¥3.4M

$34.4K COP 110.8M

-36.96%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-54.95%

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

$138 ¥21.8K

$178 COP 571.7K

-22.58%

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

$24.35 ¥3,857

$13.89 COP 44.7K

75.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.52 ¥4,991

$30.74 COP 98.9K

2.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.6 ¥8,017

$41.94 COP 134.9K

20.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$12.49 ¥1,978

$7.47 COP 24.0K

67.20%

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

$626 ¥99.2K

$790 COP 2.5M

-20.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$12.3K COP 39.6M

25.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.34 ¥4,171

$86.3 COP 277.7K

-69.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.99 ¥5,067

$59.3 COP 190.6K

-46.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.6 ¥10.7K

$138 COP 445.0K

-51.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.0 ¥12.8K

$98.8 COP 317.8K

-18.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$403 ¥63.8K

$1,341 COP 4.3M

-69.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$264 ¥41.9K

$667 COP 2.1M

-60.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 ¥162.8K

$1,976 COP 6.4M

-47.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 ¥83.5K

$1,033 COP 3.3M

-48.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,712 ¥746.3K

$4,098 COP 13.2M

14.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,384 ¥377.6K

$1,940 COP 6.2M

22.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,498 ¥395.6K

$646 COP 2.1M

286.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

10.94

-79.80%

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

Last update for Ibaraki: October 31, 2026

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ibaraki

$301 26.4%

Medellin

$307 18.2% 2.1% $6.4

Accommodation & Living

Ibaraki

$264 23.2%

Medellin

$667 39.4% 152% $403

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ibaraki

$193 17%

Medellin

$222 13.1% 14.9% $29

Eating Out

Ibaraki

$130 11.4%

Medellin

$173 10.2% 32.5% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Ibaraki

$93 8.2%

Medellin

$172 10.2% 85% $79

Getting Around

Ibaraki

$84 7.3%

Medellin

$93 5.5% 11.5% $9.6

Sport & Entertainment

Ibaraki

$76 6.6%

Medellin

$57 3.4% 24.7% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $403 in Ibaraki and $1,341 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ibaraki pays about 3.9 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31 in Ibaraki vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $301 vs $307 per month, with Ibaraki cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Ibaraki

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

16:18 4:18 PM

02:18 2:18 AM

14 h behind Ibaraki

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

287,730

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.62 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.11 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.62 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3,217 COP (10,000 COP = 3.11 USD). 1 EUR = 3,611 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ibaraki Medellin 14,400 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Ibaraki
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

Ibaraki vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,142 in Ibaraki and $1,692 in Medellin, so Ibaraki is about 33% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Ibaraki is about 3.9 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: $403 in Ibaraki versus $1,341 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ibaraki runs roughly 24% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,142 per month in Ibaraki versus $1,692 in Medellin – Ibaraki is about 33% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ibaraki 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.