Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Cayey

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,692 a month against $2,156 in Cayey, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
103

Cost of Living Index in Cayey
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Cayey Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Cayey

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$2,156

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Cayey

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $2,156 in Cayey.

Medellin $1,692
Cayey $2,156

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $3,430 in Cayey.

Medellin $2,471
Cayey $3,430

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $4,704 in Cayey.

Medellin $3,249
Cayey $4,704

Living in Medellin costs roughly 22% less than in Cayey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 25% above, Cayey 59% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$19.05 $19.05

-56.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.1K

$83.6 $83.6

-44.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.5K

$9.04 $9.04

4.76%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$3.52 $3.52

-11.08%

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

$1.77 COP 5,696

$1.83 $1.83

-3.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,594

$1.49 $1.49

-4.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$2.98 $2.98

5.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$5.12 $5.12

11.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,943

$2.19 $2.19

-30.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,389

$3.61 $3.61

-36.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,273

$2.35 $2.35

-17.45%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,889

$7.33 $7.33

-58.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.2K

$12.51 $12.51

-20.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$9.59 $9.59

8.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.0K

$13.27 $13.27

5.20%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$5.09 $5.09

-20.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,929

$2.65 $2.65

-42.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,786

$4.79 $4.79

-56.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,397

$4.88 $4.88

-53.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,803

$3.73 $3.73

-43.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,512

$4.04 $4.04

-57.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,774

$3.37 $3.37

-65.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,096

$1.57 $1.57

0.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$12.22 $12.22

-68.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.3K

$15.40 $15.40

-8.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,682

$3.13 $3.13

-43.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,746

$3.96 $3.96

-31.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,805

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,827

$2.55 $2.55

-29.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,867

$1.52 $1.52

40.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.2K

$41.65 $41.65

-80.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,113

$1.02 $1.02

25.49%

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

$34.4K COP 111.1M

$35.0K $35.0K

-1.54%

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

$34.1K COP 110.1M

$27.6K $27.6K

23.74%

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

$178 COP 573.2K

$318 $318

-44.15%

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

$13.89 COP 44.8K

$70.5 $70.5

-80.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.1K

$69.7 $69.7

-55.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.3K

$40.63 $40.63

3.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.2K

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$10.09 $10.09

-25.97%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$812 $812

-2.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$12.5K $12.5K

-1.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.4K

$57.0 $57.0

51.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.1K

$60.8 $60.8

-2.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.2K

$108 $108

28.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 318.7K

$113 $113

-12.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$1,215 $1,215

10.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$801 $801

-16.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$2,414 $2,414

-18.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$1,784 $1,784

-42.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$3,643 $3,643

-82.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.55

67.02%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cayey: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Cayey

$801 37.2% 20.1% $134

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Cayey

$413 19.2% 34.3% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Cayey

$458 21.3% 106% $236

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Cayey

$260 12.1% 50.7% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Cayey

$153 7.1% 11.4% $20

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Cayey

$10 * 0.5% 89.2% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Cayey

$61 2.8% 6.9% $3.9

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 $1,341 in Medellin and $1,215 in Cayey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cayey pays about 5.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $84 in Cayey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $413 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇷 Cayey

🕒 Local time

19:56 7:56 PM

20:56 8:56 PM

1 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

13,999

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR

1 USD = 0.888 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3,225 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,631 COP (10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.13 USD (1 USD = 0.888 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Cayey 1,670 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Cayey

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 Cayey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,692 in Medellin and $2,156 in Cayey, so Medellin is about 22% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 82% 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: $1,341 in Medellin versus $1,215 in Cayey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $812 in Cayey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $84 in Cayey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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, Cayey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.