Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lhasa and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Lhasa: $738 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Lhasa
Learn more

Lhasa Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Lhasa

🇨🇳 China

$738

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $738 in Lhasa versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Lhasa $738
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,194 in Lhasa versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Lhasa $1,194
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,649 in Lhasa versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Lhasa $1,649
Medellin $3,186

Living in Lhasa costs roughly 55% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lhasa is 46% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.37 ¥29.06

$8.09 COP 25.6K

-45.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.36 ¥202

$47.05 COP 148.9K

-35.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.38 ¥49.11

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-22.32%

Cappuccino

$2.81 ¥18.67

$3.01 COP 9,540

-6.64%

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

$0.43 ¥2.88

$1.80 COP 5,693

-76.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.05

$1.41 COP 4,469

-78.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.48 ¥9.85

$3.18 COP 10.0K

-53.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 ¥13.84

$5.75 COP 18.2K

-63.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 ¥11.96

$1.51 COP 4,778

19.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.65 ¥11.00

$2.38 COP 7,524

-30.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ¥6.73

$1.77 COP 5,606

-42.94%

Eggs

$1.58 ¥10.54

$2.89 COP 9,146

-45.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.00 ¥46.59

$10.19 COP 32.2K

-31.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.04 ¥20.23

$9.87 COP 31.2K

-69.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.15 ¥74.2

$13.99 COP 44.3K

-20.30%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 ¥12.16

$3.97 COP 12.6K

-53.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 ¥8.90

$1.55 COP 4,911

-13.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 ¥10.41

$2.18 COP 6,907

-28.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.33 ¥8.86

$2.18 COP 6,910

-38.99%

Potato (1kg)

$0.70 ¥4.65

$1.96 COP 6,210

-64.29%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 ¥6.34

$1.59 COP 5,029

-40.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 ¥3.93

$1.15 COP 3,625

-48.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.96

$1.24 COP 3,934

-52.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.84 ¥25.58

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-3.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.23 ¥74.7

$13.68 COP 43.3K

-17.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 ¥5.62

$1.66 COP 5,252

-49.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥10.71

$2.26 COP 7,145

-28.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.06

$1.17 COP 3,696

-73.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.27 ¥122

$77.4 COP 244.8K

-76.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.47 ¥9.81

$1.27 COP 4,013

15.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 ¥2.16

$2.05 COP 6,480

-84.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.33 ¥48.81

$8.55 COP 27.1K

-14.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ¥8.71

$1.35 COP 4,262

-2.96%

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

$19.2K ¥127.8K

$34.1K COP 107.8M

-43.64%

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

$17.7K ¥117.7K

$34.7K COP 109.7M

-49.00%

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

$56.5 ¥376

$170 COP 536.8K

-66.69%

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

$8.54 ¥56.8

$13.55 COP 42.9K

-36.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.23 ¥74.7

$28.07 COP 88.8K

-59.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.42 ¥282

$43.70 COP 138.3K

-2.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.12 ¥101

$17.19 COP 54.4K

-12.04%

Cinema Ticket

$6.33 ¥42.15

$6.91 COP 21.9K

-8.39%

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

$434 ¥2,885

$797 COP 2.5M

-45.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.8K ¥118.6K

$9,112 COP 28.8M

95.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.74 ¥284

$84.7 COP 268.1K

-49.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.30 ¥222

$58.0 COP 183.4K

-42.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.4 ¥502

$135 COP 427.1K

-44.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.4 ¥508

$97.9 COP 309.7K

-21.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$287 ¥1,910

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-76.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$189 ¥1,256

$642 COP 2.0M

-70.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$598 ¥3,978

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-70.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 ¥2,482

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-63.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,221 ¥21.4K

$4,170 COP 13.2M

-22.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,933 ¥12.9K

$1,910 COP 6.0M

1.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,079 ¥13.8K

$657 COP 2.1M

216.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

10.94

-69.29%

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

Last update for Lhasa: October 24, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lhasa

$189 25.6%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 240% $453

Groceries & Markets

Lhasa

$188 25.5%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 58% $109

Eating Out

Lhasa

$105 14.3%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 61.1% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Lhasa

$103 13.9%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 64.8% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lhasa

$76 10.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 177% $135

Sport & Entertainment

Lhasa

$55 7.5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 4.4% $2.4

Getting Around

Lhasa

$23 3.1%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 314% $71

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $287 in Lhasa and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lhasa pays about 3.2 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30 in Lhasa vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $188 vs $297 per month, with Lhasa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Lhasa

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

12:25 12:25 PM

23:25 11:25 PM

13 h behind Lhasa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

867,891

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,164 COP (10,000 COP = 3.16 USD). 1 EUR = 3,523 COP (10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lhasa Medellin 15,780 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Lhasa
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

Lhasa vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $738 in Lhasa and $1,639 in Medellin, so Lhasa is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lhasa is about 3.2 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: $287 in Lhasa versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 58% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Lhasa – a meal for two runs $30 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $738 in Lhasa versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Lhasa but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Lhasa 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.

Expats usually find Lhasa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.