Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Los Banos, CA and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,625 a month against $2,394 in Los Banos, CA, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Los Banos, CA
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Los Banos, CA Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Los Banos, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,394

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,394 in Los Banos, CA versus $1,625 in Medellin.

Los Banos, CA $2,394
Medellin $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,580 in Los Banos, CA versus $2,412 in Medellin.

Los Banos, CA $3,580
Medellin $2,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,767 in Los Banos, CA versus $3,199 in Medellin.

Los Banos, CA $4,767
Medellin $3,199

Living in Los Banos, CA is roughly 47% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Los Banos, CA 77% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.86 $14.86

$8.30 COP 26.3K

79.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 $101

$46.91 COP 148.7K

115.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.83 $9.83

$9.24 COP 29.3K

6.39%

Cappuccino

$5.11 $5.11

$3.05 COP 9,676

67.54%

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

$2.53 $2.53

$1.80 COP 5,707

40.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.38 COP 4,382

47.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.94 $7.94

$3.24 COP 10.3K

145.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.24 $8.24

$5.56 COP 17.6K

48.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 $1.03

$1.50 COP 4,760

-31.33%

White Bread (500g)

$3.21 $3.21

$2.37 COP 7,508

35.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.95 $2.95

$1.70 COP 5,377

73.53%

Eggs

$1.58 $1.58

$2.96 COP 9,379

-46.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.69 $8.69

$10.22 COP 32.4K

-14.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.73 $7.73

$9.74 COP 30.9K

-20.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 $12.80

$13.90 COP 44.1K

-7.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.39 $3.39

$4.13 COP 13.1K

-17.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 $1.35

$1.53 COP 4,839

-11.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.79 $2.79

$2.22 COP 7,052

25.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.83 $2.83

$2.27 COP 7,194

24.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.92 $2.92

$1.99 COP 6,311

46.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 $2.44

$1.67 COP 5,285

46.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 $2.30

$1.18 COP 3,742

94.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.49 $2.49

$1.24 COP 3,919

100.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.10 $11.10

$3.87 COP 12.3K

186.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.10 $14.10

$13.78 COP 43.7K

2.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 $1.87

$1.66 COP 5,256

12.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 $1.31

$2.40 COP 7,615

-45.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.24 COP 3,944

64.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.71 $2.71

$1.28 COP 4,044

111.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 $1.56

$2.15 COP 6,803

-27.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.88 $32.88

$8.37 COP 26.5K

292.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.35 COP 4,288

7.41%

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

$30.4K $30.4K

$34.8K COP 110.2M

-12.57%

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

$27.0K $27.0K

$34.7K COP 110.0M

-22.16%

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

$217 $217

$167 COP 528.4K

30.41%

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

$44.68 $44.68

$13.62 COP 43.2K

228.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$88.7 $88.7

$29.12 COP 92.3K

204.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.09 $39.09

$45.09 COP 143.0K

-13.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$14.86 $14.86

$6.97 COP 22.1K

113.20%

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

$2,509 $2,509

$790 COP 2.5M

217.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.5K $29.5K

$9,041 COP 28.7M

225.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.82 $23.82

$87.8 COP 278.4K

-72.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.67 $21.67

$58.2 COP 184.4K

-62.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$52.3 $52.3

$139 COP 440.7K

-62.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.4 $59.4

$98.9 COP 313.5K

-39.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,618 $1,618

$1,028 COP 3.3M

57.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 $1,294

$620 COP 2.0M

108.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,682 $2,682

$1,881 COP 6.0M

42.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,280 $2,280

$1,008 COP 3.2M

126.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 $2,713

$3,988 COP 12.6M

-31.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,408 $2,408

$1,702 COP 5.4M

41.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,598 $6,598

$663 COP 2.1M

894.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.47

10.94

-40.86%

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

Last update for Los Banos, CA: October 18, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Los Banos, CA

$1.3K 54.1%

Medellin

$619 38.1% 52.1% $674

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Los Banos, CA

$351 14.7%

Medellin

$209 12.9% 40.3% $141

Groceries & Markets

Los Banos, CA

$307 12.8%

Medellin

$298 18.3% 2.9% $9

Eating Out

Los Banos, CA

$284 11.9%

Medellin

$171 10.5% 39.9% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Los Banos, CA

$71 3%

Medellin

$173 10.6% 144% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Los Banos, CA

$69 2.9%

Medellin

$59 3.6% 14.2% $9.8

Getting Around

Los Banos, CA

$19 * 0.8%

Medellin

$95 5.9% 410% $77

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 $1,618 in Los Banos, CA and $1,028 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Los Banos, CA pays 895% 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: $101 in Los Banos, CA vs $47.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $298 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Los Banos, CA

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

06:58 6:58 AM

08:58 8:58 AM

2 h ahead of Los Banos, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,972

2,486,723

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

COP to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Los Banos, CA Medellin 5,710 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Los Banos, CA
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

Los Banos, CA vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin wins on cost – living expenses run 47% lower than in Los Banos, CA. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Medellin the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 895% higher in Los Banos, CA, 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: $1,618 in Los Banos, CA versus $1,028 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Los Banos, CA. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,394 per month in Los Banos, CA versus $1,625 in Medellin – a 47% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,625 in Medellin versus $2,394 in Los Banos, CA, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Los Banos, CA. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Medellin delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,625 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Medellin hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 47% less than in Los Banos, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.