Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matamoros and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Matamoros: $1,223 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Matamoros
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Matamoros Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Matamoros

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,223

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,223 in Matamoros versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Matamoros $1,223
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,913 in Matamoros versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Matamoros $1,913
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,604 in Matamoros versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Matamoros $2,604
Medellin $3,186

Living in Matamoros costs roughly 25% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Matamoros is 10% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.16 MX$226

$8.09 COP 25.6K

50.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.10 MX$915

$47.05 COP 148.9K

4.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.21 MX$134

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-24.11%

Cappuccino

$3.04 MX$56.7

$3.01 COP 9,540

1.00%

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

$1.24 MX$23.15

$1.80 COP 5,693

-31.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 MX$16.66

$1.41 COP 4,469

-36.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 MX$42.17

$3.18 COP 10.0K

-28.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.03 MX$75.1

$5.75 COP 18.2K

-29.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 MX$25.42

$1.51 COP 4,778

-9.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.25 MX$41.99

$2.38 COP 7,524

-5.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.66 MX$30.93

$1.77 COP 5,606

-6.21%

Eggs

$2.42 MX$45.16

$2.89 COP 9,146

-16.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.39 MX$138

$10.19 COP 32.2K

-27.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.01 MX$131

$9.87 COP 31.2K

-28.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.98 MX$242

$13.99 COP 44.3K

-7.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.53

$3.97 COP 12.6K

-41.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 MX$26.01

$1.55 COP 4,911

-9.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 MX$38.72

$2.18 COP 6,907

-4.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 MX$28.77

$2.18 COP 6,910

-29.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.94

$1.96 COP 6,210

1.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.69 MX$31.51

$1.59 COP 5,029

6.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 MX$26.52

$1.15 COP 3,625

23.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.32

$1.24 COP 3,934

-3.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.50 MX$83.9

$3.96 COP 12.5K

13.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.37 MX$193

$13.68 COP 43.3K

-24.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 MX$30.34

$1.66 COP 5,252

-1.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 MX$65.1

$2.26 COP 7,145

54.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.67 MX$12.44

$1.17 COP 3,696

-42.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.10 MX$486

$77.4 COP 244.8K

-66.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 MX$48.33

$1.27 COP 4,013

103.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 MX$31.01

$2.05 COP 6,480

-19.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.36 MX$193

$8.55 COP 27.1K

21.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 MX$23.15

$1.35 COP 4,262

-8.15%

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

$26.8K MX$499.4K

$34.1K COP 107.8M

-21.32%

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

$23.8K MX$443.4K

$34.7K COP 109.7M

-31.35%

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

$60.0 MX$1,117

$170 COP 536.8K

-64.66%

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

$23.23 MX$433

$13.55 COP 42.9K

71.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.06 MX$467

$28.07 COP 88.8K

-10.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.46 MX$661

$43.70 COP 138.3K

-18.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.94 MX$371

$17.19 COP 54.4K

16.00%

Cinema Ticket

$4.54 MX$84.6

$6.91 COP 21.9K

-34.30%

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

$212 MX$3,953

$797 COP 2.5M

-73.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,551 MX$84.8K

$9,112 COP 28.8M

-50.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 MX$1,025

$84.7 COP 268.1K

-35.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.19 MX$637

$58.0 COP 183.4K

-41.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.6 MX$1,744

$135 COP 427.1K

-30.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.2 MX$1,643

$97.9 COP 309.7K

-9.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$611 MX$11.4K

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-49.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$475 MX$8,855

$642 COP 2.0M

-25.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,087 MX$20.3K

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-46.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$818 MX$15.2K

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-19.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,171 MX$40.5K

$4,170 COP 13.2M

-47.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,200 MX$22.3K

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-37.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.31

10.94

3.38%

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

Last update for Matamoros: October 27, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Matamoros

$475 38.9%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 35% $166

Groceries & Markets

Matamoros

$250 20.4%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 18.8% $47

Eating Out

Matamoros

$183 15%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 7.5% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Matamoros

$122 10%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 38.6% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matamoros

$108 8.9%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 95.2% $103

Sport & Entertainment

Matamoros

$45 3.6%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 29.2% $13

Getting Around

Matamoros

$40 3.2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 136% $54

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $611 in Matamoros and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49 in Matamoros vs $47 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $250 vs $297, with Matamoros cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Matamoros

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

23:40 11:40 PM

Same time as Matamoros

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

510,739

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 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 MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Matamoros Medellin 3,190 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Matamoros
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

Matamoros vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Matamoros wins on cost – living expenses run 25% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Matamoros the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,835 in Matamoros 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $611 in Matamoros 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 Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $49 in Matamoros. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,223 per month in Matamoros versus $1,639 in Medellin – Matamoros is about 25% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Matamoros is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.