Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Carlisle

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $1,964 in Carlisle, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
94

Cost of Living Index in Carlisle
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Carlisle Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Carlisle

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,964

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Carlisle

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,964 in Carlisle.

Medellin $1,639
Carlisle $1,964

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $2,880 in Carlisle.

Medellin $2,413
Carlisle $2,880

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $3,796 in Carlisle.

Medellin $3,186
Carlisle $3,796

Living in Medellin costs roughly 17% less than in Carlisle, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Carlisle 44% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$19.03 £14.22

-57.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$68.7 £51.3

-31.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$10.13 £7.57

-6.22%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$3.43 £2.56

-12.24%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$2.41 £1.80

-25.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$2.03 £1.52

-30.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$4.78 £3.57

-33.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$4.36 £3.26

31.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$1.30 £0.97

16.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$1.41 £1.06

68.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$3.35 £2.50

-47.16%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$3.72 £2.78

-22.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$7.94 £5.93

28.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$7.25 £5.42

36.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$16.21 £12.11

-13.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$3.21 £2.40

23.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$2.93 £2.19

-47.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$2.58 £1.93

-15.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$2.76 £2.06

-21.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$1.76 £1.32

11.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$1.82 £1.36

-12.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$1.15 £0.86

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$1.36 £1.01

-8.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$22.55 £16.85

-82.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$8.08 £6.03

69.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$2.81 £2.10

-40.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$3.62 £2.71

-37.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$3.30 £2.46

-64.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$75.6 £56.5

2.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$4.39 £3.28

-71.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$33.57 £25.08

-74.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$1.99 £1.49

-32.16%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$38.4K £28.7K

-11.34%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$40.7K £30.4K

-14.73%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$357 £267

-52.54%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$17.29 £12.92

-21.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$35.44 £26.47

-20.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$16.07 £12.01

6.97%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$10.67 £7.97

-35.24%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$1,629 £1,217

-51.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$107 £80.2

-21.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$56.3 £42.08

2.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$114 £85.3

18.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$114 £85.5

-14.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$774 £578

56.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$699 £522

-8.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$1,188 £887

70.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$1,153 £861

-12.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$2,562 £1,914

62.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$2,920 £2,182

-34.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$2,877 £2,149

-77.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.64

93.97%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Carlisle: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Carlisle

$699 35.6% 9% $57

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Carlisle

$289 14.7% 2.7% $7.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Carlisle

$410 20.9% 94.2% $199

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Carlisle

$274 14% 61.7% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Carlisle

$176 9% 4.4% $7.5

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Carlisle

$93 * 4.8% 0.4% $0.4

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Carlisle

$21 * 1.1% 62.9% $36

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 $1,208 in Medellin and $774 in Carlisle. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Carlisle pays about 4.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $69 in Carlisle. Groceries flip the comparison at $297 vs $289, with Carlisle cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇬🇧 Carlisle

🕒 Local time

20:05 8:05 PM

01:05 1:05 AM

5 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

72,000

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,605 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medellin Carlisle 8,330 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Carlisle

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 Carlisle: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Carlisle. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Medellin the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 77% 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 $774 in Carlisle. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Carlisle pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $1,964 in Carlisle – Medellin is about 17% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Medellin gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Medellin wins on affordability, Carlisle on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.