Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Isabela and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Isabela: $1,258 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Medellin outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

61

Cost of Living Index in Isabela
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Isabela Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Isabela

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,258

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,258 in Isabela versus $1,692 in Medellin.

Isabela $1,258
Medellin $1,692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,974 in Isabela versus $2,471 in Medellin.

Isabela $1,974
Medellin $2,471

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,690 in Isabela versus $3,249 in Medellin.

Isabela $2,690
Medellin $3,249

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Isabela is 7% below, Medellin is 25% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.01 $19.01

$8.34 COP 27.0K

127.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.5 $81.5

$46.53 COP 150.9K

75.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.95 $8.95

$9.47 COP 30.7K

-5.49%

Cappuccino

$3.62 $3.62

$3.13 COP 10.2K

15.65%

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

$1.91 $1.91

$1.77 COP 5,727

7.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 $1.51

$1.42 COP 4,619

6.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.02 $3.02

$3.15 COP 10.2K

-4.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.09 $5.09

$5.70 COP 18.5K

-10.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.53 COP 4,969

28.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 $2.81

$2.29 COP 7,429

22.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 $1.21

$1.94 COP 6,306

-37.63%

Eggs

$2.95 $2.95

$3.07 COP 9,942

-3.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.82 $10.82

$9.99 COP 32.4K

8.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.46 $6.46

$10.45 COP 33.9K

-38.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.50 $13.50

$13.96 COP 45.3K

-3.30%

Apples (1kg)

$4.37 $4.37

$4.05 COP 13.1K

7.90%

Banana (1kg)

$2.62 $2.62

$1.53 COP 4,956

71.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 $4.89

$2.10 COP 6,823

132.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.71 $4.71

$2.29 COP 7,437

105.68%

Potato (1kg)

$3.85 $3.85

$2.11 COP 6,839

82.46%

Onion (1kg)

$4.07 $4.07

$1.71 COP 5,542

138.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.52 $3.52

$1.17 COP 3,794

200.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 $1.64

$1.58 COP 5,123

3.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.76 $11.76

$3.91 COP 12.7K

200.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.43 $15.43

$14.04 COP 45.5K

9.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.99 $2.99

$1.76 COP 5,712

69.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 $3.96

$2.71 COP 8,793

46.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,825

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 247.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.46 $2.46

$1.81 COP 5,859

35.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 $1.54

$2.13 COP 6,904

-27.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.55 $41.55

$8.13 COP 26.4K

411.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 $0.88

$1.28 COP 4,135

-31.25%

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

$34.8K $34.8K

$34.4K COP 111.7M

0.97%

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

$28.1K $28.1K

$34.1K COP 110.7M

-17.71%

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

$315 $315

$178 COP 576.3K

77.13%

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

$68.8 $68.8

$13.89 COP 45.0K

395.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.2 $70.2

$30.74 COP 99.7K

128.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 136.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$10.38 $10.38

$7.47 COP 24.2K

38.96%

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

$837 $837

$790 COP 2.6M

5.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.7K $12.7K

$12.3K COP 39.9M

3.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.7 $56.7

$86.3 COP 279.9K

-34.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.7 $61.7

$59.3 COP 192.2K

4.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 $110

$138 COP 448.6K

-20.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 $115

$98.8 COP 320.4K

16.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.3M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 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 Isabela: November 3, 2026

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Isabela

$454 36.1%

Medellin

$222 13.1% 51% $232

Groceries & Markets

Isabela

$358 28.4%

Medellin

$307 18.2% 14% $50

Eating Out

Isabela

$261 20.8%

Medellin

$173 10.2% 34% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Isabela

$154 12.3%

Medellin

$172 10.2% 11.7% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Isabela

$21 * 1.7%

Medellin

$57 3.4% 174% $36

Getting Around

Isabela

$10 * 0.8%

Medellin

$93 5.5% 818% $83

Accommodation & Living

Isabela

- * 0%

Medellin

$667 39.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $81 in Isabela vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $358 vs $307 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Isabela

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

17:03 5:03 PM

16:03 4:03 PM

1 h behind Isabela

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,000

2,486,723

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.888 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.74 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 November 4, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.13 USD (1 USD = 0.888 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3,242 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,650 COP (10,000 COP = 2.74 EUR).

COP to USD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Isabela Medellin 1,650 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Isabela
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

Isabela vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Isabela wins on cost – living expenses run 26% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Isabela the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,887 in Isabela and $2,538 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.

Childcare runs $837 in Isabela versus $790 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $81 in Isabela. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Isabela 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.