Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Livingston and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,109 in Livingston, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Livingston
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Livingston Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Livingston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,109

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,109 in Livingston versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Livingston $2,109
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,288 in Livingston versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Livingston $3,288
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,467 in Livingston versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Livingston $4,467
Medellin $3,186

Living in Livingston is roughly 29% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Livingston 55% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.94 £14.90

$8.09 COP 26.1K

146.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$100 £75.0

$47.05 COP 151.9K

113.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.45 £7.81

$9.50 COP 30.7K

10.00%

Cappuccino

$5.24 £3.91

$3.01 COP 9,735

74.09%

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

$2.72 £2.03

$1.80 COP 5,809

51.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 £1.69

$1.41 COP 4,561

60.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.77 £5.06

$3.18 COP 10.3K

112.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.70 £5.00

$5.75 COP 18.6K

16.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.51 COP 4,876

-5.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 £1.45

$2.38 COP 7,678

-18.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 £1.66

$1.77 COP 5,720

25.42%

Eggs

$3.66 £2.74

$2.89 COP 9,333

26.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 £6.72

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-11.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.86 £6.62

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-10.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.53 £10.86

$13.99 COP 45.2K

3.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 £2.17

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-26.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 £1.36

$1.55 COP 5,012

17.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.14

$2.18 COP 7,048

31.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.41 £2.55

$2.18 COP 7,051

56.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.96 COP 6,337

-12.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.59 COP 5,132

-13.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.15 COP 3,699

5.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.24 COP 4,014

25.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.78 £15.52

$3.96 COP 12.8K

424.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.81 £8.08

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-20.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.06 £2.29

$1.66 COP 5,359

84.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.42

$2.26 COP 7,291

42.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.49 £2.61

$1.17 COP 3,771

198.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.2 £71.1

$77.4 COP 249.8K

23.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.29 £3.95

$1.27 COP 4,094

316.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 £1.21

$2.05 COP 6,612

-21.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.76 £20.74

$8.55 COP 27.6K

224.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.35 COP 4,349

53.33%

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

$38.8K £29.0K

$34.1K COP 110.0M

13.83%

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

$40.0K £29.9K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

15.26%

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

$321 £240

$170 COP 547.8K

89.35%

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

$16.94 £12.66

$13.55 COP 43.8K

25.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.06 £30.68

$28.07 COP 90.6K

46.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.04 £34.40

$43.70 COP 141.1K

5.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$10.51 £7.85

$6.91 COP 22.3K

52.10%

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

$1,245 £930

$797 COP 2.6M

56.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.5K £13.1K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

92.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.2 £68.9

$84.7 COP 273.5K

8.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.80 £35.71

$58.0 COP 187.2K

-17.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 £81.0

$135 COP 435.8K

-19.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.1 £71.8

$97.9 COP 316.0K

-1.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$852 £636

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-29.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$763 £570

$642 COP 2.1M

18.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,930 £1,442

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-4.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,502 £1,122

$1,012 COP 3.3M

48.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,998 £3,734

$4,170 COP 13.5M

19.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,861 £2,884

$1,910 COP 6.2M

102.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,972 £2,967

$657 COP 2.1M

504.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.15

10.94

-52.93%

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

Last update for Livingston: 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

Livingston

$763 36.2%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 15.9% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Livingston

$379 18%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 44.3% $168

Eating Out

Livingston

$321 15.2%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 47.2% $151

Groceries & Markets

Livingston

$301 14.3%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 1.4% $4.1

Clothing & Footwear

Livingston

$155 7.4%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 9% $14

Getting Around

Livingston

$123 5.8%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 23.6% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Livingston

$67 3.2%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 14.2% $9.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $852 in Livingston and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Livingston pays about 6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $100 in Livingston vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $301 vs $297 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Livingston

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

02:08 2:08 AM

21:08 9:08 PM

5 h behind Livingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

56,840

2,486,723

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,605 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Livingston Medellin 8,320 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Livingston
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

Livingston vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin wins on cost – living expenses run 22% lower than in Livingston. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Medellin the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Livingston is about 6 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: $852 in Livingston versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Medellin runs roughly 19% less than in Livingston. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $2,109 per month in Livingston versus $1,639 in Medellin – Medellin is about 22% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Medellin 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.

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