Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jacksonville, NC and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,554 in Jacksonville, NC, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Jacksonville, NC
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Jacksonville, NC Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Jacksonville, NC

🇺🇸 United States

$2,554

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,554 in Jacksonville, NC versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Jacksonville, NC $2,554
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,595 in Jacksonville, NC versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Jacksonville, NC $3,595
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,637 in Jacksonville, NC versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Jacksonville, NC $4,637
Medellin $3,186

Living in Jacksonville, NC is roughly 56% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Jacksonville, NC 88% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.57 $15.57

$8.09 COP 25.4K

92.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.9 $58.9

$47.05 COP 148.0K

25.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.89 $9.89

$9.50 COP 29.9K

4.11%

Cappuccino

$4.81 $4.81

$3.01 COP 9,485

59.80%

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

$2.56 $2.56

$1.80 COP 5,660

42.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.41 COP 4,443

39.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.94 $4.94

$3.18 COP 9,990

55.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.06 $7.06

$5.75 COP 18.1K

22.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 $1.17

$1.51 COP 4,751

-22.52%

White Bread (500g)

$4.21 $4.21

$2.38 COP 7,480

76.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$11.08 $11.08

$1.77 COP 5,573

525.99%

Eggs

$6.04 $6.04

$2.89 COP 9,093

109.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.50 $19.50

$10.19 COP 32.1K

91.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.09 $17.09

$9.87 COP 31.1K

73.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.53 $24.53

$13.99 COP 44.0K

75.34%

Apples (1kg)

$5.87 $5.87

$3.97 COP 12.5K

47.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 $1.86

$1.55 COP 4,883

20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.23 $8.23

$2.18 COP 6,867

277.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.17 $6.17

$2.18 COP 6,870

183.03%

Potato (1kg)

$6.88 $6.88

$1.96 COP 6,174

251.02%

Onion (1kg)

$4.00 $4.00

$1.59 COP 5,000

151.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.77 $2.77

$1.15 COP 3,604

140.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.24 COP 3,911

64.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.96 $8.96

$3.96 COP 12.5K

126.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.02 $15.02

$13.68 COP 43.0K

9.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 $1.76

$1.66 COP 5,221

6.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 $3.96

$2.26 COP 7,103

75.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 $1.53

$1.17 COP 3,674

30.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$90.4 $90.4

$77.4 COP 243.4K

16.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 $2.54

$1.27 COP 3,989

100.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.91 $0.91

$1.35 COP 4,237

-32.59%

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

$27.4K $27.4K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-19.64%

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

$25.7K $25.7K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-25.87%

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

$174 $174

$170 COP 533.7K

2.55%

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

$76.0 $76.0

$13.55 COP 42.6K

461.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.2 $71.2

$28.07 COP 88.3K

153.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.20 $31.20

$43.70 COP 137.5K

-28.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$1.71 $1.71

$17.19 COP 54.1K

-90.05%

Cinema Ticket

$15.59 $15.59

$6.91 COP 21.7K

125.62%

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

$796 $796

$797 COP 2.5M

-0.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.9 $60.9

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-28.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.56 $39.56

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-31.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 $103

$135 COP 424.6K

-23.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 $138

$97.9 COP 307.9K

41.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,384 $1,384

$1,208 COP 3.8M

14.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,094 $1,094

$642 COP 2.0M

70.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,809 $1,809

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-10.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,451 $1,451

$1,012 COP 3.2M

43.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,049 $2,049

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-50.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,833 $1,833

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-4.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,208 $2,208

$657 COP 2.1M

235.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.37

10.94

-41.77%

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

Last update for Jacksonville, NC: 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

Jacksonville, NC

$1.1K 42.8%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 41.3% $452

Groceries & Markets

Jacksonville, NC

$555 21.7%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 46.5% $258

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jacksonville, NC

$321 12.6%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 34.2% $110

Eating Out

Jacksonville, NC

$269 10.5%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 36.9% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Jacksonville, NC

$154 6%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 9.9% $15

Getting Around

Jacksonville, NC

$99 * 3.9%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 5.6% $5.5

Sport & Entertainment

Jacksonville, NC

$62 2.4%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 7.8% $4.8

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 $1,384 in Jacksonville, NC and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jacksonville, NC pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $59 in Jacksonville, NC vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $555 vs $297 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Jacksonville, NC

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

18:08 6:08 PM

17:08 5:08 PM

1 h behind Jacksonville, NC

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

949,611

2,486,723

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 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 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

COP to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Jacksonville, NC Medellin 3,170 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Jacksonville, NC
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

Jacksonville, NC vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,554 in Jacksonville, NC and $1,639 in Medellin, so Medellin is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Jacksonville, NC is about 3.4 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: $1,384 in Jacksonville, NC versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Medellin runs roughly 14% less than in Jacksonville, NC. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $796 in Jacksonville, NC versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,639 in Medellin versus $2,554 in Jacksonville, NC, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Jacksonville, NC. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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 Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Jacksonville, NC. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.