Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kiambu and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Kiambu: $503 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Kiambu
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Kiambu Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Kiambu

🇰🇪 Kenya

$503

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $503 in Kiambu versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Kiambu $503
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $823 in Kiambu versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Kiambu $823
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,143 in Kiambu versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Kiambu $1,143
Medellin $3,186

Living in Kiambu costs roughly 69% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kiambu is 63% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.41 KES 833

$8.09 COP 25.4K

-20.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.12 KES 4,431

$47.05 COP 148.0K

-27.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.52 KES 847

$9.50 COP 29.9K

-31.37%

Cappuccino

$2.60 KES 337

$3.01 COP 9,485

-13.62%

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

$0.64 KES 83.4

$1.80 COP 5,660

-64.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 KES 81.1

$1.41 COP 4,443

-56.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 KES 293

$3.18 COP 9,990

-28.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 KES 340

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-54.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.54 KES 70.8

$1.51 COP 4,751

-64.24%

White Bread (500g)

$0.55 KES 71.5

$2.38 COP 7,480

-76.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 KES 237

$1.77 COP 5,573

3.39%

Eggs

$1.37 KES 179

$2.89 COP 9,093

-52.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 KES 1,391

$10.19 COP 32.1K

5.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.67 KES 866

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-32.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.01 KES 520

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-71.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.50 KES 455

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-11.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 KES 135

$1.55 COP 4,883

-32.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.75 KES 97.0

$2.18 COP 6,867

-65.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.59 KES 77.1

$2.18 COP 6,870

-72.94%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 KES 93.7

$1.96 COP 6,174

-63.27%

Onion (1kg)

$0.71 KES 92.5

$1.59 COP 5,000

-55.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 KES 38.52

$1.15 COP 3,604

-73.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.37 KES 47.84

$1.24 COP 3,911

-70.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.39 KES 440

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-14.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.49 KES 1,493

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-16.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 KES 295

$1.66 COP 5,221

36.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 KES 350

$2.26 COP 7,103

19.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 KES 81.3

$1.17 COP 3,674

-46.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 KES 196

$1.27 COP 3,989

18.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 KES 47.33

$2.05 COP 6,442

-82.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.81 KES 365

$8.55 COP 26.9K

-67.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 KES 208

$1.35 COP 4,237

18.52%

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

$19.2K KES 2.5M

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-43.59%

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

$21.6K KES 2.8M

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-37.68%

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

$56.4 KES 7,320

$170 COP 533.7K

-66.77%

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

$7.86 KES 1,020

$13.55 COP 42.6K

-41.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.13 KES 4,562

$28.07 COP 88.3K

25.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$5.82 KES 755

$6.91 COP 21.7K

-15.77%

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

$280 KES 36.4K

$797 COP 2.5M

-64.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K KES 1.6M

$9,112 COP 28.7M

37.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.56 KES 3,579

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-67.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.19 KES 3,791

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-49.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.1 KES 9,109

$135 COP 424.6K

-48.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.5 KES 7,466

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-41.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$116 KES 15.0K

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-90.42%

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)

$1,175 KES 152.6K

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-71.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$125 KES 16.3K

$657 COP 2.1M

-80.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

10.94

34.46%

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

Last update for Kiambu: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kiambu

$180 35.8%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 65.1% $117

Eating Out

Kiambu

$124 24.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 37.2% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kiambu

$99 19.7%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 113% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Kiambu

$83 16.5%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 104% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Kiambu

$12 * 2.3%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 395% $46

Getting Around

Kiambu

$5.8 * 1.2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 1502% $88

Accommodation & Living

Kiambu

- * 0%

Medellin

$642 39.1%

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 $116 in Kiambu and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 5.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $34 in Kiambu vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $180 vs $297 per month, with Kiambu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Kiambu

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

05:17 5:17 AM

21:17 9:17 PM

8 h behind Kiambu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

147,870

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 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 KES in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kiambu Medellin 12,500 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Kiambu
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

Kiambu vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kiambu is about 69% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 81% lower in Kiambu. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $116 in Kiambu versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $280 in Kiambu versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kiambu – a meal for two runs $34 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $503 in Kiambu versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kiambu but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Kiambu 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.

It comes down to priorities – Kiambu wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.