Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jarabacoa and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Jarabacoa: $695 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Jarabacoa
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Jarabacoa Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Jarabacoa

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$695

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $695 per month in Jarabacoa vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Jarabacoa $695
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $1,144 per month in Jarabacoa vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Jarabacoa $1,144
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $1,593 per month in Jarabacoa vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Jarabacoa $1,593
Medellin $3,186

Jarabacoa is about 58% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Jarabacoa sits 49% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.89 DOP 606

$8.09 COP 25.4K

22.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.23 DOP 2,954

$47.05 COP 148.0K

2.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.36 DOP 451

$9.50 COP 29.9K

-22.53%

Cappuccino

$2.30 DOP 141

$3.01 COP 9,485

-23.59%

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

$1.05 DOP 64.4

$1.80 COP 5,660

-41.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 DOP 35.19

$1.41 COP 4,443

-59.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.46 DOP 151

$3.18 COP 9,990

-22.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 DOP 190

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-46.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 DOP 85.5

$1.51 COP 4,751

-7.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 DOP 94.0

$2.38 COP 7,480

-35.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 DOP 98.2

$1.77 COP 5,573

-9.60%

Eggs

$2.33 DOP 143

$2.89 COP 9,093

-19.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.13 DOP 437

$10.19 COP 32.1K

-30.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.43 DOP 333

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-44.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.47 DOP 396

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-53.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.23 DOP 198

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-18.64%

Banana (1kg)

$0.79 DOP 48.30

$1.55 COP 4,883

-49.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.66 DOP 163

$2.18 COP 6,867

22.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.85 DOP 114

$2.18 COP 6,870

-15.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 DOP 124

$1.96 COP 6,174

3.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.17 DOP 133

$1.59 COP 5,000

36.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.98 DOP 59.9

$1.15 COP 3,604

-14.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 DOP 60.3

$1.24 COP 3,911

-20.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.12 DOP 314

$3.96 COP 12.5K

29.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.08 DOP 617

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-26.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.62 DOP 160

$1.66 COP 5,221

57.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 DOP 176

$2.26 COP 7,103

26.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 DOP 203

$1.27 COP 3,989

161.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.23 DOP 137

$2.05 COP 6,442

8.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.77 DOP 353

$8.55 COP 26.9K

-32.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 DOP 86.4

$1.35 COP 4,237

4.44%

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

$29.3K DOP 1.8M

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-13.89%

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

$33.7K DOP 2.1M

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-2.94%

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

$92.1 DOP 5,642

$170 COP 533.7K

-45.69%

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

$31.44 DOP 1,925

$13.55 COP 42.6K

132.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.29 DOP 2,161

$28.07 COP 88.3K

25.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$7.32 DOP 448

$6.91 COP 21.7K

5.93%

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

$244 DOP 14.9K

$797 COP 2.5M

-69.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,179 DOP 439.7K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

-21.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.63 DOP 2,794

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-46.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.74 DOP 2,862

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-19.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.1 DOP 5,214

$135 COP 424.6K

-36.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 DOP 7,389

$97.9 COP 307.9K

23.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.56

10.94

23.95%

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

Last update for Jarabacoa: October 24, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Jarabacoa

$219 31.5%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 35.7% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jarabacoa

$159 22.9%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 33% $52

Eating Out

Jarabacoa

$154 22.1%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 10.3% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Jarabacoa

$134 19.3%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 25.9% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Jarabacoa

$15 * 2.1%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 293% $43

Getting Around

Jarabacoa

$14 * 2.1%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 546% $79

Accommodation & Living

Jarabacoa

- * 0%

Medellin

$642 39.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Jarabacoa versus $47 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $219 in Jarabacoa vs $297 in Medellin – so Jarabacoa wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Jarabacoa

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

16:34 4:34 PM

15:34 3:34 PM

1 h behind Jarabacoa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

69,855

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.47 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 61.24 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.17 DOP (100 DOP = 1.47 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).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Jarabacoa Medellin 1,530 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Jarabacoa
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

Jarabacoa vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 136%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,042 per month in Jarabacoa and $2,459 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Groceries cost about 36% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

Kindergarten costs $244 per month in Jarabacoa and $797 in Medellin. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Jarabacoa, where all-in costs run around $695, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Jarabacoa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $695 in Jarabacoa to $1,639 in Medellin. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.