Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Johnson City, TN and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,138 in Johnson City, TN, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Johnson City, TN
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Johnson City, TN Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Johnson City, TN

🇺🇸 United States

$2,138

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,138 per month in Johnson City, TN vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Johnson City, TN $2,138
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $3,133 per month in Johnson City, TN vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Johnson City, TN $3,133
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $4,129 per month in Johnson City, TN vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Johnson City, TN $4,129
Medellin $3,186

Johnson City, TN costs about 30% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Johnson City, TN and Medellin sit above the global median – Johnson City, TN by 57%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.78 $13.78

$8.09 COP 25.4K

70.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.9 $53.9

$47.05 COP 148.0K

14.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.88 $9.88

$9.50 COP 29.9K

4.00%

Cappuccino

$5.14 $5.14

$3.01 COP 9,485

70.76%

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

$2.88 $2.88

$1.80 COP 5,660

60.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 $2.03

$1.41 COP 4,443

43.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.93 $4.93

$3.18 COP 9,990

55.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.04 $6.04

$5.75 COP 18.1K

5.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.51 COP 4,751

-35.10%

White Bread (500g)

$3.75 $3.75

$2.38 COP 7,480

57.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.97 $3.97

$1.77 COP 5,573

124.29%

Eggs

$3.11 $3.11

$2.89 COP 9,093

7.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.53 $7.53

$10.19 COP 32.1K

-26.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.67 $13.67

$9.87 COP 31.1K

38.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.09 $13.09

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-6.43%

Apples (1kg)

$7.59 $7.59

$3.97 COP 12.5K

91.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 $1.73

$1.55 COP 4,883

11.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.10 $4.10

$2.18 COP 6,867

88.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.65 $3.65

$2.18 COP 6,870

67.43%

Potato (1kg)

$3.40 $3.40

$1.96 COP 6,174

73.47%

Onion (1kg)

$4.34 $4.34

$1.59 COP 5,000

172.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.20 $2.20

$1.15 COP 3,604

91.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 $2.36

$1.24 COP 3,911

90.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.01 $9.01

$3.96 COP 12.5K

127.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.14 $13.14

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-3.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 $1.61

$1.66 COP 5,221

-3.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 $4.42

$2.26 COP 7,103

95.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 $0.97

$1.17 COP 3,674

-17.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.13 $25.13

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-67.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 $5.58

$1.27 COP 3,989

339.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 $1.44

$2.05 COP 6,442

-29.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.19 $15.19

$8.55 COP 26.9K

77.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 $0.83

$1.35 COP 4,237

-38.52%

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

$30.0K $30.0K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-11.93%

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

$24.7K $24.7K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-28.73%

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

$172 $172

$170 COP 533.7K

1.49%

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

$51.9 $51.9

$13.55 COP 42.6K

282.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.5 $62.5

$28.07 COP 88.3K

122.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.20 $47.20

$43.70 COP 137.5K

8.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.14 $20.14

$17.19 COP 54.1K

17.16%

Cinema Ticket

$11.88 $11.88

$6.91 COP 21.7K

71.92%

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

$1,185 $1,185

$797 COP 2.5M

48.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K $14.6K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

60.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.41 $37.41

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-55.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.80 $30.80

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-46.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.4 $87.4

$135 COP 424.6K

-35.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.4 $94.4

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-3.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,178 $1,178

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-2.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$980 $980

$642 COP 2.0M

52.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,992 $1,992

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-1.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,616 $1,616

$1,012 COP 3.2M

59.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,444 $2,444

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-41.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,033 $2,033

$1,910 COP 6.0M

6.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 $3,584

$657 COP 2.1M

445.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.49

10.94

-40.68%

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

Last update for Johnson City, TN: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Johnson City, TN

$980 45.9%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 34.6% $339

Groceries & Markets

Johnson City, TN

$388 18.1%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 23.4% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Johnson City, TN

$287 13.4%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 26.3% $75

Eating Out

Johnson City, TN

$258 12.1%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 34.3% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Johnson City, TN

$113 5.3%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 50.2% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Johnson City, TN

$71 3.3%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 18.9% $13

Getting Around

Johnson City, TN

$42 2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 124% $52

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,178 in Johnson City, TN versus $1,208 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Johnson City, TN are about 5.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $54 in Johnson City, TN versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $388 vs $297 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Johnson City, TN

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

17:07 5:07 PM

16:07 4:07 PM

1 h behind Johnson City, TN

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

66,027

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

Johnson City, TN Medellin 3,410 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Johnson City, TN
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

Johnson City, TN vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Johnson City, TN is pricier by about 30%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,207 per month in Johnson City, TN and $2,459 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $1,178 in Johnson City, TN and $1,208 in Medellin. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $54 in Johnson City, TN and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,138 in Johnson City, TN and $1,639 in Medellin. That makes Medellin about 23% cheaper.

$2,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $2,138 in Johnson City, TN and $1,639 in Medellin, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,639 in Medellin to $2,138 in Johnson City, TN. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Medellin. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Johnson City, TN makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.