Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mandeville and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Mandeville: $810 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Mandeville, Jamaica
Medellin, Colombia
Mandeville
🇯🇲 Jamaica
$810
/mo nomad
Medellin
🇨🇴 Colombia
$1,639
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $810 in Mandeville versus $1,639 in Medellin.

  • Mandeville $810
  • Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,395 in Mandeville versus $2,413 in Medellin.

  • Mandeville $1,395
  • Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,980 in Mandeville versus $3,186 in Medellin.

  • Mandeville $1,980
  • Medellin $3,186

Living in Mandeville costs roughly 51% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mandeville is 40% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Mandeville
Medellin
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$6.47 JMD 1,021
$8.09 COP 25.4K
-20.02%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$73.4 JMD 11.6K
$47.05 COP 148.0K
56.09%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.04 JMD 1,268
$9.50 COP 29.9K
-15.37%
Cappuccino
$2.24 JMD 353
$3.01 COP 9,485
-25.58%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.12 JMD 176
$1.80 COP 5,660
-37.78%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.68 JMD 108
$1.41 COP 4,443
-51.77%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.18 JMD 344
$3.18 COP 9,990
-31.45%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.85 JMD 450
$5.75 COP 18.1K
-50.43%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Mandeville
Medellin
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$4.25 JMD 670
$1.51 COP 4,751
181.46%
White Bread (500g)
$1.77 JMD 279
$2.38 COP 7,480
-25.63%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.56 JMD 246
$1.77 COP 5,573
-11.86%
Eggs
$3.63 JMD 572
$2.89 COP 9,093
25.61%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$11.61 JMD 1,830
$10.19 COP 32.1K
13.94%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.23 JMD 983
$9.87 COP 31.1K
-36.88%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.22 JMD 1,612
$13.99 COP 44.0K
-26.95%
Apples (1kg)
$5.99 JMD 944
$3.97 COP 12.5K
50.88%
Banana (1kg)
$3.84 JMD 605
$1.55 COP 4,883
147.74%
Oranges (1kg)
$7.15 JMD 1,127
$2.18 COP 6,867
227.98%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.07 JMD 484
$2.18 COP 6,870
40.83%
Potato (1kg)
$3.27 JMD 515
$1.96 COP 6,174
66.84%
Onion (1kg)
$2.62 JMD 413
$1.59 COP 5,000
64.78%
Lettuce (1 head)
$3.15 JMD 497
$1.15 COP 3,604
173.91%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.49 JMD 235
$1.24 COP 3,911
20.16%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$9.64 JMD 1,520
$3.96 COP 12.5K
143.43%
Wine (Bottle)
$11.36 JMD 1,791
$13.68 COP 43.0K
-16.96%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.94 JMD 463
$1.66 COP 5,221
77.11%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.10 JMD 647
$2.26 COP 7,103
81.42%
🚌 Getting Around
Mandeville
Medellin
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
-
$1.17 COP 3,674
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$77.4 COP 243.4K
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.24 JMD 196
$1.27 COP 3,989
-2.36%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.19 JMD 504
$2.05 COP 6,442
55.61%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$6.43 JMD 1,013
$8.55 COP 26.9K
-24.80%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.47 JMD 232
$1.35 COP 4,237
8.89%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$43.7K JMD 6.9M
$34.1K COP 107.2M
28.16%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$33.1K JMD 5.2M
$34.7K COP 109.1M
-4.40%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mandeville
Medellin
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$95.0 JMD 15.0K
$170 COP 533.7K
-43.98%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.22 JMD 3,505
$13.55 COP 42.6K
63.99%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$50.9 JMD 8,033
$28.07 COP 88.3K
81.47%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Mandeville
Medellin
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
-
$43.70 COP 137.5K
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$17.19 COP 54.1K
-
Cinema Ticket
$13.28 JMD 2,095
$6.91 COP 21.7K
92.19%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Mandeville
Medellin
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$365 JMD 57.6K
$797 COP 2.5M
-54.14%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$8,207 JMD 1.3M
$9,112 COP 28.7M
-9.92%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Mandeville
Medellin
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$23.80 JMD 3,753
$84.7 COP 266.5K
-71.91%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$31.27 JMD 4,932
$58.0 COP 182.3K
-46.05%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$77.3 JMD 12.2K
$135 COP 424.6K
-42.75%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$103 JMD 16.3K
$97.9 COP 307.9K
5.58%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Mandeville
Medellin
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$467 JMD 73.6K
$1,208 COP 3.8M
-61.37%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$642 COP 2.0M
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$2,028 COP 6.4M
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,012 COP 3.2M
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$4,170 COP 13.1M
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$1,910 COP 6.0M
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Mandeville
Medellin
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$657 COP 2.1M
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
9.45
10.94
-13.62%

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

Last update for Mandeville: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Mandeville
$366
Medellin
$297 18.8% $69
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mandeville
$168
Medellin
$211 25.6% $43
Eating Out
Mandeville
$127
Medellin
$170 34% $43
Clothing & Footwear
Mandeville
$106
Medellin
$169 59.3% $63
Sport & Entertainment
Mandeville
$27 *
Medellin
$58 117% $31
Getting Around
Mandeville
$17 *
Medellin
$94 444% $76
Accommodation & Living
Mandeville
- *
Medellin
$642

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 $467 in Mandeville and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $73 in Mandeville vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $366 vs $297 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇯🇲 Mandeville
🇨🇴 Medellin
🕒 Local time
15:28 3:28 PM
15:28 3:28 PM
Same time as Mandeville
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
47,115
2,486,723
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Mandeville Medellin 1,330 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Mandeville
  • 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
Mandeville vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mandeville cheaper than Medellin?
Mandeville is about 51% cheaper overall, especially in transport, clothing, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You’d need roughly $1,215 in Mandeville and $2,459 in Medellin to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.
What is the rent difference between Mandeville and Medellin?
Rent for a central apartment: $467 in Mandeville versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $365 in Mandeville versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Is eating out cheaper in Mandeville or in Medellin?
Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $73 in Mandeville. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $1,000 a realistic budget for living in Mandeville or in Medellin?
At $810 in Mandeville versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mandeville but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Mandeville the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is it better to live in Mandeville or in Medellin?
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.

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