Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Leon, Spain and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Leon: $1,489 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

72

Cost of Living Index in Leon
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Leon Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Leon

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,489

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,489 in Leon versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Leon $1,489
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,087 in Leon versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Leon $2,087
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,686 in Leon versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Leon $2,686
Medellin $3,186

Living in Leon costs roughly 9% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Leon 9% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.90 €15.15

$8.09 COP 26.1K

108.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.23 €36.95

$47.05 COP 151.9K

-12.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.67 €7.77

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-8.74%

Cappuccino

$2.87 €2.57

$3.01 COP 9,735

-4.65%

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

$2.52 €2.25

$1.80 COP 5,809

40.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.23

$1.41 COP 4,561

-2.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.86 €2.57

$3.18 COP 10.3K

-10.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 €2.97

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-42.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 €0.92

$1.51 COP 4,876

-32.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 €1.19

$2.38 COP 7,678

-44.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 €1.20

$1.77 COP 5,720

-24.29%

Eggs

$3.34 €2.99

$2.89 COP 9,333

15.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.24 €9.18

$10.19 COP 32.9K

0.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.29 €5.63

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-36.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.51 €13.90

$13.99 COP 45.2K

10.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.38 €2.13

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-40.05%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.55 COP 5,012

41.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.35 €2.11

$2.18 COP 7,048

7.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.37 €2.12

$2.18 COP 7,051

8.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.96 COP 6,337

-10.20%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 €1.82

$1.59 COP 5,132

27.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.15 COP 3,699

-4.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$1.24 COP 4,014

-38.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.58 €5.00

$3.96 COP 12.8K

40.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.93 €4.41

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-63.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.46

$1.66 COP 5,359

-1.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 €1.69

$2.26 COP 7,291

-16.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.31 €1.18

$1.17 COP 3,771

11.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.33 €29.87

$77.4 COP 249.8K

-56.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.25 €2.02

$1.27 COP 4,094

77.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.20 €1.08

$2.05 COP 6,612

-41.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.58 €31.88

$8.55 COP 27.6K

316.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.64 €1.47

$1.35 COP 4,349

21.48%

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

$37.3K €33.4K

$34.1K COP 110.0M

9.54%

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

$31.4K €28.1K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-9.40%

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

$170 €152

$170 COP 547.8K

0.11%

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

$16.29 €14.59

$13.55 COP 43.8K

20.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 €26.29

$28.07 COP 90.6K

4.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.87 €30.35

$43.70 COP 141.1K

-22.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.09 €5.46

$17.19 COP 55.5K

-64.57%

Cinema Ticket

$8.75 €7.84

$6.91 COP 22.3K

26.63%

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

$210 €188

$797 COP 2.6M

-73.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.0 €86.0

$84.7 COP 273.5K

13.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.67 €14.04

$58.0 COP 187.2K

-72.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.1 €73.6

$135 COP 435.8K

-39.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.8 €50.9

$97.9 COP 316.0K

-41.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 €757

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-30.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$588 €527

$642 COP 2.1M

-8.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$924 €828

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-54.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 €662

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-26.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,007 €1,798

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-51.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,573 €1,410

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-17.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,764 €1,581

$657 COP 2.1M

168.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.6

10.94

-67.09%

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

Last update for Leon: 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

Leon

$588 39.5%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 9% $53

Groceries & Markets

Leon

$242 16.3%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 22.7% $55

Eating Out

Leon

$232 15.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 27% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Leon

$215 14.5%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 1.9% $4.2

Clothing & Footwear

Leon

$113 7.6%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 49.8% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Leon

$51 3.5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 12% $6.2

Getting Around

Leon

$47 3.2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 99.7% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $845 in Leon and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Leon pays about 2.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $41 in Leon vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $242 vs $297 per month, with Leon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Leon

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

12:09 12:09 PM

06:09 6:09 AM

6 h behind Leon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,281

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Leon Medellin 7,910 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Leon
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

Leon vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,489 in Leon and $1,639 in Medellin, so Leon is about 9% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Leon is about 2.7 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: $845 in Leon versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Leon – a meal for two runs $41 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,489 per month in Leon versus $1,639 in Medellin – Leon is about 9% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Leon gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Leon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.