Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jacareí and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Jacareí: $869 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Jacareí
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Jacareí Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Jacareí

🇧🇷 Brazil

$869

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $869 in Jacareí versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Jacareí $869
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,385 in Jacareí versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Jacareí $1,385
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Jacareí versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Jacareí $1,900
Medellin $3,190

Living in Jacareí costs roughly 46% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Jacareí is 36% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.15 R$35.97

$7.93 COP 25.3K

-9.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.77 R$160

$46.13 COP 147.3K

-31.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.06 R$35.49

$9.50 COP 30.3K

-25.68%

Cappuccino

$2.18 R$10.95

$3.11 COP 9,933

-29.90%

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

$1.57 R$7.88

$1.83 COP 5,839

-14.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 R$4.64

$1.38 COP 4,389

-33.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 R$13.43

$3.05 COP 9,737

-12.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 R$14.95

$5.50 COP 17.5K

-46.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 R$6.33

$1.45 COP 4,631

-13.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 R$9.35

$2.36 COP 7,547

-21.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 R$5.86

$1.68 COP 5,365

-30.36%

Eggs

$2.44 R$12.27

$2.86 COP 9,139

-14.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.25 R$46.51

$10.19 COP 32.5K

-9.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.51 R$22.70

$9.53 COP 30.4K

-52.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.63 R$48.41

$14.04 COP 44.8K

-31.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 R$13.22

$4.07 COP 13.0K

-35.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R$9.46

$1.50 COP 4,774

25.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.23

$2.17 COP 6,938

-15.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.87 R$9.41

$2.31 COP 7,359

-19.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.38 R$6.91

$1.93 COP 6,155

-28.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.31 R$6.61

$1.64 COP 5,231

-20.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 R$4.97

$1.13 COP 3,595

-12.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 R$3.81

$1.25 COP 3,981

-39.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.38 R$11.99

$3.99 COP 12.7K

-40.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 R$40.10

$13.35 COP 42.6K

-40.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 R$8.35

$1.70 COP 5,420

-2.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 R$14.85

$2.37 COP 7,576

24.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 R$5.24

$1.21 COP 3,853

-14.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.52 R$249

$76.5 COP 244.2K

-35.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 R$6.43

$1.32 COP 4,208

-3.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 R$7.21

$2.14 COP 6,820

-33.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$47.47

$8.47 COP 27.0K

11.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 R$6.32

$1.30 COP 4,142

-3.08%

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

$23.7K R$119.0K

$28.0K COP 89.3M

-15.46%

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

$33.3K R$167.3K

$35.4K COP 113.0M

-6.02%

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

$42.87 R$216

$172 COP 549.3K

-75.09%

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

$12.19 R$61.3

$13.37 COP 42.7K

-8.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.01 R$111

$28.73 COP 91.7K

-23.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.26 R$117

$45.24 COP 144.4K

-48.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.25 R$147

$17.04 COP 54.4K

71.65%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 R$39.67

$6.28 COP 20.1K

25.64%

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

$286 R$1,437

$770 COP 2.5M

-62.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,746 R$38.9K

$9,011 COP 28.8M

-14.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.3 R$283

$86.4 COP 275.8K

-34.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.60 R$189

$57.1 COP 182.4K

-34.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.7 R$481

$137 COP 435.8K

-29.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.9 R$301

$97.9 COP 312.5K

-38.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$342 R$1,719

$1,055 COP 3.4M

-67.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$229 R$1,152

$616 COP 2.0M

-62.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 R$3,624

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-61.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$405 R$2,038

$1,023 COP 3.3M

-60.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,873 R$9,416

$4,059 COP 13.0M

-53.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,131 R$5,687

$1,678 COP 5.4M

-32.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.12

10.94

1.65%

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

Last update for Jacareí: October 11, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Jacareí

$229 26.4%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 169% $387

Groceries & Markets

Jacareí

$216 24.8%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 36.5% $79

Eating Out

Jacareí

$134 15.4%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 25.8% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Jacareí

$112 12.9%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 51.5% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jacareí

$77 8.9%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 178% $137

Getting Around

Jacareí

$62 7.2%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 50.2% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Jacareí

$39 4.5%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 48.1% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $342 in Jacareí and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Jacareí vs $46.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $216 vs $295 per month, with Jacareí cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Jacareí

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

10:52 10:52 AM

08:52 8:52 AM

2 h behind Jacareí

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

240,275

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.13 USD

10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 5.03 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3,192 COP (10,000 COP = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 3,575 COP (10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Jacareí Medellin 4,600 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Jacareí
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

Jacareí vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jacareí wins on cost – living expenses run 86% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Jacareí the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,304 in Jacareí 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: $342 in Jacareí versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $286 in Jacareí versus $770 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $869 in Jacareí versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Jacareí but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Jacareí the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Jacareí delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $869 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Jacareí hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Jacareí gentler on the wallet – expenses run 86% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.