Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Cauayan City

For one person, living is cheaper in Cauayan City: $708 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Cauayan City
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Cauayan City Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Cauayan City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$708

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Cauayan City

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

A single person spends $1,692 per month in Medellin vs $708 in Cauayan City, rent included.

Medellin $1,692
Cauayan City $708

A couple spends around $2,471 per month in Medellin vs $1,074 in Cauayan City, rent included.

Medellin $2,471
Cauayan City $1,074

A family of three spends $3,249 per month in Medellin vs $1,440 in Cauayan City, rent included.

Medellin $3,249
Cauayan City $1,440

Medellin costs about 139% more than Cauayan City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 25% above the global median, while Cauayan City is 48% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 27.0K

$3.97 ₱252

110.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.9K

$16.34 ₱1,039

184.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.7K

$2.77 ₱176

241.88%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.2K

$1.82 ₱116

71.98%

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

$1.77 COP 5,727

$0.55 ₱35.05

221.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,619

$0.33 ₱21.13

330.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$1.00 ₱63.8

215.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.5K

$1.55 ₱98.4

267.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,969

$1.63 ₱104

-6.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,429

$1.15 ₱73.1

99.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,306

$0.93 ₱59.4

108.60%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,942

$2.04 ₱130

50.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.4K

$4.67 ₱297

113.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.9K

$3.34 ₱212

212.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.3K

$7.90 ₱502

76.71%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$2.26 ₱143

79.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,956

$1.55 ₱98.8

-1.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,823

$2.38 ₱151

-11.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,437

$1.05 ₱66.8

118.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,839

$1.65 ₱105

27.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,542

$1.69 ₱107

1.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,794

$0.87 ₱55.5

34.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,123

$0.52 ₱33.35

203.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.7K

$2.98 ₱189

31.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.5K

$8.57 ₱545

63.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,712

$0.90 ₱57.4

95.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,793

$1.95 ₱124

38.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,825

$0.24 ₱15.34

391.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 247.4K

$12.29 ₱781

520.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,859

$0.76 ₱48.62

138.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,904

$0.22 ₱13.94

868.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.4K

$1.94 ₱123

319.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,135

$0.91 ₱58.0

40.66%

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

$34.4K COP 111.7M

$21.2K ₱1.3M

62.51%

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

$34.1K COP 110.7M

$18.6K ₱1.2M

83.48%

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

$178 COP 576.3K

$136 ₱8,669

30.35%

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

$13.89 COP 45.0K

$10.33 ₱657

34.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.7K

$22.72 ₱1,444

35.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 136.0K

$30.67 ₱1,950

36.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.5K

$5.33 ₱339

215.20%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.2K

$4.97 ₱316

50.30%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$131 ₱8,297

505.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.9M

$10.6K ₱671.7K

16.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 279.9K

$28.11 ₱1,787

207.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 192.2K

$19.23 ₱1,223

208.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 448.6K

$53.9 ₱3,427

156.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 320.4K

$55.8 ₱3,547

77.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$247 ₱15.7K

443.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$166 ₱10.5K

302.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$479 ₱30.5K

312.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$353 ₱22.4K

193.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.3M

$2,605 ₱165.6K

57.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$1,114 ₱70.8K

74.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.75

62.07%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cauayan City: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Cauayan City

$166 23.4% 75.2% $501

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Cauayan City

$173 24.5% 43.7% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Cauayan City

$169 23.9% 23.8% $53

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Cauayan City

$74 10.4% 57.3% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Cauayan City

$71 10% 59% $102

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Cauayan City

$15 2.1% 83.8% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Cauayan City

$41 5.7% 28.6% $16

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,341 in Medellin versus $247 in Cauayan City. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $16 in Cauayan City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $173 – making Cauayan City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇭 Cauayan City

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

05:00 5:00 AM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

2,616

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.74 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3,242 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,650 COP (10,000 COP = 2.74 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 63.58 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.57 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Cauayan City 16,800 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Cauayan City

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 Cauayan City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,692 in Medellin, $708 in Cauayan City – Cauayan City comes out roughly 58% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,538 per month in Medellin and $1,062 in Cauayan City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cauayan City, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $247 there versus $1,341 in Medellin.

Kindergarten costs $790 per month in Medellin and $131 in Cauayan City. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 78% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Cauayan City, where all-in costs run around $708, than in Medellin at $1,692. In Cauayan City it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cauayan City – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Cauayan City is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 58% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.