Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Changchun

For one person, living is cheaper in Changchun: $904 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 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 Changchun
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Changchun Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Changchun

🇨🇳 China

$904

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Changchun

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Medellin versus $904 in Changchun.

Medellin $1,625
Changchun $904

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,412 in Medellin versus $1,324 in Changchun.

Medellin $2,412
Changchun $1,324

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Medellin versus $1,743 in Changchun.

Medellin $3,199
Changchun $1,743

Living in Medellin is roughly 80% more expensive than in Changchun, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Changchun is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.3K

$3.02 ¥20.22

174.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 148.7K

$22.15 ¥148

111.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.3K

$5.19 ¥34.68

78.03%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,676

$2.40 ¥16.02

27.08%

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

$1.80 COP 5,707

$0.47 ¥3.14

282.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,382

$0.31 ¥2.10

345.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.3K

$1.21 ¥8.12

167.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.6K

$1.91 ¥12.74

191.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,760

$1.90 ¥12.70

-21.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,508

$1.22 ¥8.16

94.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,377

$1.44 ¥9.65

18.06%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,379

$1.81 ¥12.12

63.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.4K

$34.55 ¥231

-70.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.9K

$5.71 ¥38.15

70.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

$10.36 ¥69.3

34.17%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$1.72 ¥11.51

140.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,839

$1.45 ¥9.71

5.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 7,052

$1.80 ¥12.05

23.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$1.89 ¥12.66

20.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,311

$0.89 ¥5.95

123.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,285

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,742

$0.58 ¥3.89

103.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,919

$1.47 ¥9.80

-15.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.3K

$3.78 ¥25.28

2.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.7K

$21.06 ¥141

-34.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

$0.92 ¥6.13

80.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,615

$1.10 ¥7.37

118.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

$0.44 ¥2.92

181.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

$1.24 ¥8.26

3.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

$0.31 ¥2.09

593.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

$3.02 ¥20.18

177.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$1.28 ¥8.58

5.47%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

$19.3K ¥129.3K

79.73%

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

$17.8K ¥118.9K

95.05%

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

$167 COP 528.4K

$76.7 ¥513

117.36%

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

$13.62 COP 43.2K

$4.43 ¥29.63

207.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 92.3K

$14.76 ¥98.7

97.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

$37.44 ¥250

20.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

$4.13 ¥27.59

315.98%

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

$6.64 ¥44.42

4.97%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$553 ¥3,701

42.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

$21.9K ¥146.1K

-58.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 278.4K

$73.7 ¥493

19.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 184.4K

$44.44 ¥297

30.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.7K

$60.2 ¥402

130.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 313.5K

$69.7 ¥466

41.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$216 ¥1,446

375.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

$246 ¥1,648

151.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

$576 ¥3,848

226.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$308 ¥2,057

227.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

$1,668 ¥11.2K

139.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

$1,006 ¥6,728

69.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

$961 ¥6,423

-30.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.37

150.34%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Changchun: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Changchun

$246 27.3% 60.2% $373

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Changchun

$313 * 34.6% 5% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Changchun

$96 10.6% 54.2% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Changchun

$112 12.4% 35.4% $61

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Changchun

$82 9% 52.3% $89

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Changchun

$4.5 * 0.5% 95.2% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Changchun

$51 5.6% 14.1% $8.3

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 $1,028 in Medellin and $216 in Changchun. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Changchun pays 45% 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 $22.00 in Changchun. Groceries flip the comparison at $298 vs $313, with Medellin cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇳 Changchun

🕒 Local time

10:45 10:45 AM

23:45 11:45 PM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

9,066,906

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Changchun 14,060 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Changchun

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 Changchun: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Changchun is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and transport. The 80% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 45% lower in Changchun. 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: $1,028 in Medellin versus $216 in Changchun. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $553 in Changchun. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Changchun – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $904 in Changchun versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Changchun but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Changchun the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Changchun 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.

Expats usually find Changchun gentler on the wallet – expenses run 80% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.