Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Castle Rock, CO

For one person, living is cheaper in Castle Rock, CO: $1,240 a month against $1,589 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Medellin outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

77

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Castle Rock, CO
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Castle Rock, CO Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,589

/mo nomad

Castle Rock, CO

🇺🇸 United States

$1,240

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Castle Rock, CO

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 Castle Rock, CO actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,589 in Medellin versus $1,240 in Castle Rock, CO.

Medellin $1,589
Castle Rock, CO $1,240

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,364 in Medellin versus $1,973 in Castle Rock, CO.

Medellin $2,364
Castle Rock, CO $1,973

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,139 in Medellin versus $2,707 in Castle Rock, CO.

Medellin $3,139
Castle Rock, CO $2,707

Living in Medellin is roughly 28% more expensive than in Castle Rock, CO, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 19% above, Castle Rock, CO is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.01 COP 25.5K

$22.17 $22.17

-63.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 COP 148.3K

$65.2 $65.2

-28.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.43 COP 30.1K

$9.12 $9.12

3.40%

Cappuccino

$2.91 COP 9,277

$5.46 $5.46

-46.70%

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

$1.75 COP 5,585

$2.46 $2.46

-28.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 COP 4,218

$1.89 $1.89

-30.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 COP 9,969

$7.11 $7.11

-55.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.55 COP 17.7K

$6.07 $6.07

-8.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 COP 4,495

$1.04 $1.04

35.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.44 COP 7,777

$2.99 $2.99

-18.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,191

$2.70 $2.70

-39.63%

Eggs

$2.82 COP 8,990

$4.33 $4.33

-34.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.69 COP 30.9K

$10.91 $10.91

-11.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 COP 29.7K

$9.40 $9.40

-0.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.46 COP 42.9K

$19.09 $19.09

-29.49%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 COP 12.8K

$4.80 $4.80

-16.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 COP 4,719

$1.42 $1.42

4.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 COP 6,768

$3.71 $3.71

-42.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.25 COP 7,178

$5.29 $5.29

-57.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 COP 6,092

$2.89 $2.89

-33.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 COP 5,160

$3.21 $3.21

-49.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,658

$1.28 $1.28

-10.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 COP 4,021

$1.73 $1.73

-27.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.82 COP 12.2K

$9.84 $9.84

-61.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.11 COP 41.8K

$12.04 $12.04

8.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 COP 5,083

$2.58 $2.58

-37.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,188

$2.72 $2.72

-16.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,731

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.0 COP 239.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,056

$2.45 $2.45

-48.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,531

$1.81 $1.81

13.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.20 COP 26.1K

$24.56 $24.56

-66.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 COP 4,046

$0.79 $0.79

60.76%

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

$26.8K COP 85.3M

$35.5K $35.5K

-24.58%

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

$34.4K COP 109.6M

$25.3K $25.3K

36.25%

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

$162 COP 516.9K

$212 $212

-23.53%

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

$13.12 COP 41.8K

$40.29 $40.29

-67.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.09 COP 89.5K

$70.7 $70.7

-60.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.33 COP 141.2K

$59.8 $59.8

-25.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 COP 52.0K

Cinema Ticket

$6.09 COP 19.4K

$11.94 $11.94

-48.99%

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

$764 COP 2.4M

$1,295 $1,295

-40.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,904 COP 28.4M

$17.7K $17.7K

-49.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.0 COP 270.8K

$55.3 $55.3

53.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 COP 183.2K

$49.00 $49.00

17.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$132 COP 419.8K

$79.2 $79.2

66.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.8 COP 305.1K

$116 $116

-17.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$604 COP 1.9M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,802 COP 5.7M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$993 COP 3.2M

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

$5,920 $5,920

-89.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.77

61.60%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 6, 2026

Last update for Castle Rock, CO: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$604 38.3%

Castle Rock, CO

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$288 18.3%

Castle Rock, CO

$363 29% 25.7% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$203 12.9%

Castle Rock, CO

$323 25.8% 58.8% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Castle Rock, CO

$135 10.8% 19% $32

Eating Out

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Castle Rock, CO

$335 26.8% 102% $169

Getting Around

Medellin

$91 5.8%

Castle Rock, CO

$11 * 0.9% 87.4% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.6%

Castle Rock, CO

$84 6.7% 48% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

Castle Rock, CO pays 845% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47.00 in Medellin vs $65.0 in Castle Rock, CO for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $363 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇺🇸 Castle Rock, CO

🕒 Local time

15:05 3:05 PM

14:05 2:05 PM

1 h behind Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

73,158

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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 = 3,571 COP (10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medellin Castle Rock, CO 4,700 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Castle Rock, CO

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 Castle Rock, CO: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Castle Rock, CO differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($1,589 vs $1,240 including rent). Castle Rock, CO is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 845% lower in Castle Rock, CO. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Shoppers in Medellin pay roughly 26% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,589 per month in Medellin versus $1,240 in Castle Rock, CO – a 28% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,240 in Castle Rock, CO versus $1,589 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Castle Rock, CO but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Castle Rock, CO 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.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Castle Rock, CO are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Castle Rock, CO gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.