Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lazaro Cardenas and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Lazaro Cardenas: $1,141 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Lazaro Cardenas
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Lazaro Cardenas Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Lazaro Cardenas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,141

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,141 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $1,625 in Medellin.

Lazaro Cardenas $1,141
Medellin $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,839 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $2,412 in Medellin.

Lazaro Cardenas $1,839
Medellin $2,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,537 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $3,199 in Medellin.

Lazaro Cardenas $2,537
Medellin $3,199

Living in Lazaro Cardenas costs roughly 30% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lazaro Cardenas is 16% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 MX$203

$8.30 COP 26.1K

30.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.66 MX$817

$46.91 COP 147.5K

-6.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 MX$163

$9.24 COP 29.1K

-5.84%

Cappuccino

$3.61 MX$67.6

$3.05 COP 9,596

18.36%

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

$1.42 MX$26.59

$1.80 COP 5,659

-21.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.24

$1.38 COP 4,345

-25.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.51 MX$46.92

$3.24 COP 10.2K

-22.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.99 MX$74.7

$5.56 COP 17.5K

-28.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 MX$31.06

$1.50 COP 4,720

10.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 MX$47.41

$2.37 COP 7,445

6.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 MX$31.19

$1.70 COP 5,332

-1.76%

Eggs

$2.43 MX$45.51

$2.96 COP 9,301

-17.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 MX$153

$10.22 COP 32.1K

-19.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.49 MX$159

$9.74 COP 30.6K

-12.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.33 MX$212

$13.90 COP 43.7K

-18.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 MX$49.98

$4.13 COP 13.0K

-35.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 MX$29.74

$1.53 COP 4,799

3.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.65

$2.22 COP 6,993

-14.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 MX$34.27

$2.27 COP 7,135

-19.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.05

$1.99 COP 6,258

-3.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.61

$1.67 COP 5,241

7.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.75

$1.18 COP 3,711

25.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$20.23

$1.24 COP 3,886

-12.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 MX$80.8

$3.87 COP 12.2K

11.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.32 MX$193

$13.78 COP 43.3K

-25.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 MX$32.88

$1.66 COP 5,212

6.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 MX$59.8

$2.40 COP 7,552

33.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MX$12.92

$1.24 COP 3,911

-44.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 245.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 MX$47.26

$1.28 COP 4,011

97.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 MX$35.92

$2.15 COP 6,747

-10.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.01 MX$206

$8.37 COP 26.3K

31.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.62

$1.35 COP 4,252

9.63%

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

$21.1K MX$395.7K

$34.8K COP 109.3M

-39.18%

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

$23.8K MX$445.7K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-31.35%

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

$58.7 MX$1,099

$167 COP 524.0K

-64.76%

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

$22.31 MX$417

$13.62 COP 42.8K

63.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.94 MX$560

$29.12 COP 91.6K

2.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.30 MX$642

$45.09 COP 141.8K

-23.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.49 MX$384

$17.18 COP 54.0K

19.27%

Cinema Ticket

$5.11 MX$95.7

$6.97 COP 21.9K

-26.69%

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

$221 MX$4,141

$790 COP 2.5M

-72.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,553 MX$85.2K

$9,041 COP 28.4M

-49.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.3 MX$1,035

$87.8 COP 276.1K

-37.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.96 MX$748

$58.2 COP 182.8K

-31.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 MX$1,867

$139 COP 437.0K

-28.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.1 MX$1,687

$98.9 COP 310.9K

-8.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$602 MX$11.3K

$1,028 COP 3.2M

-41.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$393 MX$7,352

$620 COP 1.9M

-36.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 MX$19.8K

$1,881 COP 5.9M

-43.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 MX$14.6K

$1,008 COP 3.2M

-22.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,921 MX$36.0K

$3,988 COP 12.5M

-51.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,169 MX$21.9K

$1,702 COP 5.4M

-31.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$552 MX$10.3K

$663 COP 2.1M

-16.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

10.94

3.29%

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

Last update for Lazaro Cardenas: October 19, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lazaro Cardenas

$393 34.4%

Medellin

$619 38.1% 57.7% $227

Groceries & Markets

Lazaro Cardenas

$263 23.1%

Medellin

$298 18.3% 13.2% $35

Eating Out

Lazaro Cardenas

$186 16.3%

Medellin

$171 10.5% 8.3% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Lazaro Cardenas

$128 11.3%

Medellin

$173 10.6% 34.6% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lazaro Cardenas

$111 9.7%

Medellin

$209 12.9% 88.7% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Lazaro Cardenas

$45 3.9%

Medellin

$59 3.6% 32.6% $15

Getting Around

Lazaro Cardenas

$15 * 1.3%

Medellin

$95 5.9% 540% $80

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 $602 in Lazaro Cardenas and $1,028 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 20% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44 in Lazaro Cardenas vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $263 vs $298 per month, with Lazaro Cardenas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Lazaro Cardenas

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

02:18 2:18 AM

03:18 3:18 AM

1 h ahead of Lazaro Cardenas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

83,637

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.72 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 3,144 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,528 COP (10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lazaro Cardenas Medellin 3,160 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lazaro Cardenas
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

Lazaro Cardenas vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lazaro Cardenas wins on cost – living expenses run 30% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Lazaro Cardenas the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 17% lower in Lazaro Cardenas. 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: $602 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $1,028 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $221 in Lazaro Cardenas versus $790 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Lazaro Cardenas – a meal for two runs $44 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Lazaro Cardenas is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 – Lazaro Cardenas wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.