Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Arima

For one person, living is cheaper in Arima: $1,300 a month against $1,589 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Arima
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Arima Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,589

/mo nomad

Arima

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$1,300

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Arima

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Medellin and in Arima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,589 per month in Medellin vs $1,300 in Arima, rent included.

Medellin $1,589
Arima $1,300

A couple spends around $2,364 per month in Medellin vs $2,187 in Arima, rent included.

Medellin $2,364
Arima $2,187

A family of three spends $3,139 per month in Medellin vs $3,075 in Arima, rent included.

Medellin $3,139
Arima $3,075

Medellin costs about 22% more than Arima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Medellin sits 19% above the global median, while Arima is 3% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.01 COP 25.5K

$10.39 TTD 70.1

-22.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 COP 148.3K

$74.9 TTD 506

-37.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.43 COP 30.1K

$9.08 TTD 61.3

3.85%

Cappuccino

$2.91 COP 9,277

$3.75 TTD 25.33

-22.40%

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

$1.75 COP 5,585

$1.04 TTD 7.01

68.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 COP 4,218

$0.71 TTD 4.82

85.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 COP 9,969

$1.89 TTD 12.74

65.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.55 COP 17.7K

$2.98 TTD 20.12

86.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 COP 4,495

$2.46 TTD 16.62

-42.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.44 COP 7,777

$2.38 TTD 16.08

2.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,191

$2.92 TTD 19.71

-44.18%

Eggs

$2.82 COP 8,990

$4.41 TTD 29.79

-36.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.69 COP 30.9K

$6.60 TTD 44.54

46.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 COP 29.7K

$6.60 TTD 44.58

41.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.46 COP 42.9K

$9.03 TTD 60.9

49.06%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 COP 12.8K

$5.57 TTD 37.59

-28.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 COP 4,719

$2.26 TTD 15.23

-34.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 COP 6,768

$3.68 TTD 24.82

-42.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.25 COP 7,178

$4.83 TTD 32.61

-53.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 COP 6,092

$1.32 TTD 8.90

44.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 COP 5,160

$0.96 TTD 6.45

68.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,658

$1.40 TTD 9.46

-17.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 COP 4,021

$0.94 TTD 6.38

34.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.82 COP 12.2K

$4.62 TTD 31.20

-17.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.11 COP 41.8K

$19.38 TTD 131

-32.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 COP 5,083

$1.91 TTD 12.89

-16.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,188

$3.01 TTD 20.30

-24.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,731

$1.06 TTD 7.16

10.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.0 COP 239.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,056

$0.71 TTD 4.76

78.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,531

$0.70 TTD 4.76

192.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.20 COP 26.1K

$14.52 TTD 98.0

-43.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 COP 4,046

$1.15 TTD 7.78

10.43%

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

$26.8K COP 85.3M

$27.2K TTD 183.9K

-1.69%

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

$34.4K COP 109.6M

$36.4K TTD 245.7K

-5.46%

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

$162 COP 516.9K

$89.6 TTD 605

81.00%

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

$13.12 COP 41.8K

$44.50 TTD 300

-70.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.09 COP 89.5K

$56.0 TTD 378

-49.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.33 COP 141.2K

$52.5 TTD 354

-15.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 COP 52.0K

Cinema Ticket

$6.09 COP 19.4K

$8.63 TTD 58.2

-29.43%

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

$764 COP 2.4M

$177 TTD 1,198

330.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,904 COP 28.4M

$11.0K TTD 74.5K

-19.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.0 COP 270.8K

$63.3 TTD 428

34.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 COP 183.2K

$44.48 TTD 300

29.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$132 COP 419.8K

$148 TTD 997

-10.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.8 COP 305.1K

$73.3 TTD 495

30.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$522 TTD 3,521

97.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$604 COP 1.9M

$364 TTD 2,456

66.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,802 COP 5.7M

$1,043 TTD 7,044

72.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$993 COP 3.2M

$887 TTD 5,989

11.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,921 COP 12.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,639 COP 5.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$626 COP 2.0M

$1,209 TTD 8,159

-48.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.75

90.26%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 6, 2026

Last update for Arima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$604 38.3%

Arima

$364 28.6% 39.8% $241

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$288 18.3%

Arima

$315 24.8% 9.2% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$203 12.9%

Arima

$190 14.9% 6.5% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Arima

$148 11.6% 11.1% $19

Eating Out

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Arima

$178 14% 6.9% $11

Getting Around

Medellin

$91 5.8%

Arima

$8.5 * 0.7% 90.7% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.6%

Arima

$70 5.5% 23.4% $13

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Medellin versus $522 in Arima. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 93% higher in Arima, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Medellin versus $75.0 in Arima. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $315 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇹 Arima

🕒 Local time

01:42 1:42 AM

02:42 2:42 AM

1 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

35,000

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR

1 TTD = 0.148 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,187 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,574 COP (10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.75 TTD (1 TTD = 0.148 USD). 1 EUR = 7.57 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Arima 1,650 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Arima

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

Medellin vs Arima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin costs about 22% more than Arima, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,384 per month in Medellin and $1,949 in Arima. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Arima, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,589 in Medellin and $1,300 in Arima. That's a gap of about 22%.

Kindergarten costs $764 per month in Medellin and $177 in Arima. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Arima, where all-in costs run around $1,300, than in Medellin at $1,589. In Arima it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Arima costs $1,300 versus $1,589 in Medellin. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Arima. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.