Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Askim

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,938 in Askim, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
141

Cost of Living Index in Askim
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Askim Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Askim

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Askim

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 Askim actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $2,938 in Askim.

Medellin $1,639
Askim $2,938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $4,407 in Askim.

Medellin $2,413
Askim $4,407

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $5,876 in Askim.

Medellin $3,186
Askim $5,876

Living in Medellin costs roughly 44% less than in Askim, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Askim 116% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$21.58 NOK 200

-62.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$127 NOK 1,178

-62.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$16.17 NOK 150

-41.25%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$6.13 NOK 56.9

-50.90%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$4.39 NOK 40.81

-59.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$3.50 NOK 32.50

-59.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$11.75 NOK 109

-72.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$13.12 NOK 122

-56.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$2.51 NOK 23.29

-39.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$4.21 NOK 39.14

-43.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$4.76 NOK 44.19

-62.82%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$6.00 NOK 55.8

-51.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$15.38 NOK 143

-33.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$15.88 NOK 148

-37.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$31.79 NOK 295

-55.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$3.32 NOK 30.81

19.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$2.65 NOK 24.58

-41.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$3.64 NOK 33.82

-40.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$6.05 NOK 56.2

-63.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$2.69 NOK 24.98

-27.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$2.89 NOK 26.85

-44.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$3.26 NOK 30.32

-64.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$2.50 NOK 23.20

-50.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$19.42 NOK 180

-79.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$17.19 NOK 160

-20.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$3.55 NOK 32.99

-53.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$4.42 NOK 41.07

-48.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$4.86 NOK 45.12

-75.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$87.0 NOK 808

-11.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$12.03 NOK 112

-89.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$1.91 NOK 17.79

7.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$72.2 NOK 671

-88.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$2.40 NOK 22.28

-43.75%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$49.0K NOK 455.2K

-30.47%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$39.1K NOK 363.7K

-11.44%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$437 NOK 4,056

-61.14%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$33.80 NOK 314

-59.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$54.8 NOK 509

-48.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$50.2 NOK 466

-12.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$37.37 NOK 347

-54.00%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$16.12 NOK 150

-57.13%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$245 NOK 2,275

225.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$15.7K NOK 146.1K

-42.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$104 NOK 962

-18.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$60.5 NOK 562

-4.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$138 NOK 1,278

-1.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$160 NOK 1,489

-38.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$1,265 NOK 11.8K

-4.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$1,057 NOK 9,820

-39.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$2,100 NOK 19.5K

-3.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$1,728 NOK 16.1K

-41.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$6,481 NOK 60.2K

-35.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$4,234 NOK 39.3K

-54.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$4,219 NOK 39.2K

-84.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.94

121.46%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Askim: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Askim

$1.1K 36% 64.8% $415

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Askim

$526 17.9% 77.2% $229

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Askim

$525 17.9% 149% $314

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Askim

$411 14% 143% $242

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Askim

$208 7.1% 23% $39

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Askim

$128 4.4% 36.8% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Askim

$82 2.8% 43.2% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $1,265 in Askim. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Askim pays about 6.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $127 in Askim for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $526 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇳🇴 Askim

🕒 Local time

10:44 10:44 AM

16:44 4:44 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

15,368

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

100 NOK = 10.76 USD

100 NOK = 9.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,501 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.29 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.34 NOK (100 NOK = 9.67 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medellin Askim 9,220 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Askim

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 Askim: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Askim differ by about 79% in total monthly costs ($1,639 vs $2,938 including rent). Medellin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 84% lower in Medellin. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $1,265 in Askim. 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 $127 in Askim. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $2,938 in Askim – a 79% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,639 in Medellin versus $2,938 in Askim, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Askim. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Askim. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.