Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Chaiyaphum

For one person, living is cheaper in Chaiyaphum: $915 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Chaiyaphum
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Chaiyaphum Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Chaiyaphum

🇹🇭 Thailand

$915

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Chaiyaphum

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,614 in Medellin versus $915 in Chaiyaphum.

Medellin $1,614
Chaiyaphum $915

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,402 in Medellin versus $1,550 in Chaiyaphum.

Medellin $2,402
Chaiyaphum $1,550

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,190 in Medellin versus $2,185 in Chaiyaphum.

Medellin $3,190
Chaiyaphum $2,185

Living in Medellin is roughly 76% more expensive than in Chaiyaphum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Chaiyaphum is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$1.21 ฿40.48

555.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$36.12 ฿1,207

27.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$6.79 ฿227

39.91%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$1.22 ฿40.66

154.92%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$0.50 ฿16.83

266.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$0.36 ฿12.16

283.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$2.63 ฿87.9

15.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$4.58 ฿153

20.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.89 ฿63.3

-23.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$1.44 ฿48.10

63.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$1.41 ฿47.13

19.15%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$1.54 ฿51.6

85.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$17.53 ฿586

-41.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$3.69 ฿123

158.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$13.19 ฿441

6.44%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$3.79 ฿127

7.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$0.60 ฿20.08

150.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$2.82 ฿94.1

-23.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$1.89 ฿63.3

22.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$1.74 ฿58.0

10.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$1.48 ฿49.52

10.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$1.24 ฿41.49

-8.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$0.31 ฿10.52

303.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$4.72 ฿158

-15.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$14.90 ฿498

-10.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$1.83 ฿61.2

-7.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$3.27 ฿109

-27.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$0.93 ฿30.95

30.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$1.06 ฿35.43

24.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$1.22 ฿40.91

75.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$6.07 ฿203

39.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$1.05 ฿35.08

23.81%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$31.7K ฿1.1M

-11.73%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$27.6K ฿922.3K

28.33%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$43.17 ฿1,443

298.63%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$11.22 ฿375

19.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$11.99 ฿401

139.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$47.25 ฿1,579

-4.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

$14.22 ฿475

19.83%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$7.53 ฿252

-16.60%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$572 ฿19.1K

34.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$16.8K ฿561.3K

-46.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$69.4 ฿2,319

24.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$42.28 ฿1,413

35.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$95.2 ฿3,181

43.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$110 ฿3,676

-10.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$437 ฿14.6K

141.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$301 ฿10.1K

104.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$1,382 ฿46.2K

36.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$721 ฿24.1K

41.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$1,921 ฿64.2K

111.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$1,604 ฿53.6K

4.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$445 ฿14.9K

46.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.25

108.38%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chaiyaphum: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Chaiyaphum

$301 32.9% 51.1% $315

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Chaiyaphum

$261 28.6% 11.3% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Chaiyaphum

$66 7.3% 69% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Chaiyaphum

$143 15.6% 16.2% $28

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Chaiyaphum

$70 7.7% 58.2% $98

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Chaiyaphum

$11 * 1.2% 88.3% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Chaiyaphum

$62 6.8% 7.8% $4.5

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 $1,055 in Medellin and $437 in Chaiyaphum. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 47% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $46.00 in Medellin vs $36.00 in Chaiyaphum for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $295 vs $261 per month, with Chaiyaphum cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇭 Chaiyaphum

🕒 Local time

18:34 6:34 PM

06:34 6:34 AM

12 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

42,436

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Chaiyaphum 17,550 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Chaiyaphum

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 Chaiyaphum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chaiyaphum is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 76% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 47% higher in Medellin, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,055 in Medellin versus $437 in Chaiyaphum. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $770 in Medellin versus $572 in Chaiyaphum. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chaiyaphum – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $46.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $915 in Chaiyaphum versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Chaiyaphum but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Chaiyaphum the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Chaiyaphum is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Chaiyaphum 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 Chaiyaphum gentler on the wallet – expenses run 76% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.