Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Baiquan

For one person, living is cheaper in Baiquan: $738 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Baiquan
Learn more

Baiquan Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Baiquan

🇨🇳 China

$738

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Baiquan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $738 in Baiquan.

Medellin $1,692
Baiquan $738

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $1,170 in Baiquan.

Medellin $2,471
Baiquan $1,170

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $1,602 in Baiquan.

Medellin $3,249
Baiquan $1,602

Living in Medellin is roughly 129% more expensive than in Baiquan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, Baiquan is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 27.0K

$3.06 ¥20.40

172.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.9K

$22.11 ¥147

110.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.7K

$4.99 ¥33.25

89.78%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.2K

$2.84 ¥18.92

10.21%

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

$1.77 COP 5,728

$0.47 ¥3.12

276.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,620

$0.31 ¥2.09

358.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$1.12 ¥7.45

181.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.5K

$2.04 ¥13.57

179.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,971

$1.77 ¥11.82

-13.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,431

$1.68 ¥11.17

36.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,308

$1.00 ¥6.64

94.00%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,945

$1.58 ¥10.55

94.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.4K

$13.30 ¥88.6

-24.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.9K

$3.35 ¥22.31

211.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.3K

$11.13 ¥74.1

25.43%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$1.89 ¥12.57

114.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,957

$1.33 ¥8.88

15.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,825

$1.52 ¥10.13

38.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,439

$1.33 ¥8.84

72.18%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,841

$0.71 ¥4.71

197.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,543

$0.89 ¥5.91

92.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,795

$0.59 ¥3.95

98.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,125

$0.59 ¥3.94

167.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.7K

$3.69 ¥24.58

5.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.6K

$11.18 ¥74.4

25.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,714

$0.89 ¥5.90

97.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,796

$1.61 ¥10.70

68.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,826

$0.29 ¥1.92

306.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 247.4K

$18.06 ¥120

322.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,860

$1.52 ¥10.13

19.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,906

$0.35 ¥2.35

508.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.4K

$7.39 ¥49.22

10.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,136

$1.27 ¥8.44

0.79%

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

$34.4K COP 111.7M

$19.8K ¥131.7K

74.15%

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

$34.1K COP 110.7M

$17.4K ¥116.2K

95.63%

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

$178 COP 576.4K

$56.3 ¥375

215.52%

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

$13.89 COP 45.0K

$8.64 ¥57.6

60.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.7K

$11.43 ¥76.1

168.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 136.0K

$41.33 ¥275

1.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.5K

$15.02 ¥100

11.85%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.2K

$6.46 ¥43.05

15.63%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$437 ¥2,910

80.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.9M

$17.7K ¥117.7K

-30.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 280.0K

$43.37 ¥289

99.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 192.2K

$33.10 ¥220

79.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 448.7K

$75.9 ¥505

82.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 320.5K

$74.0 ¥493

33.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$290 ¥1,928

363.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$189 ¥1,256

253.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$607 ¥4,043

225.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$361 ¥2,405

186.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.3M

$3,193 ¥21.3K

28.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$1,984 ¥13.2K

-2.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.36

225.60%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Baiquan: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Baiquan

$189 25.6% 71.7% $479

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Baiquan

$208 28.2% 32.2% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Baiquan

$76 10.4% 65.6% $146

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Baiquan

$86 11.7% 50% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Baiquan

$102 13.8% 40.9% $70

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Baiquan

$23 3.1% 75.9% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Baiquan

$54 7.4% 4.6% $2.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,341 in Medellin and $290 in Baiquan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $22 in Baiquan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $208 per month, with Baiquan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇳 Baiquan

🕒 Local time

19:28 7:28 PM

08:28 8:28 AM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3,243 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,627 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.45 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Medellin Baiquan 15,270 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
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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 Baiquan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Baiquan is about 56% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,538 in Medellin and $1,108 in Baiquan 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: $1,341 in Medellin versus $290 in Baiquan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $437 in Baiquan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 48% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $738 in Baiquan versus $1,692 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Baiquan but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Baiquan 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 Baiquan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.