Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Damascus

For one person, living is cheaper in Damascus: $870 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Damascus
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Damascus Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Damascus

🇸🇾 Syria

$870

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Damascus

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $870 in Damascus.

Medellin $1,639
Damascus $870

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,410 in Damascus.

Medellin $2,413
Damascus $1,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,951 in Damascus.

Medellin $3,186
Damascus $1,951

Living in Medellin is roughly 88% more expensive than in Damascus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Damascus is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$10.19 SYP 1,238

-20.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.7K

$43.30 SYP 5,262

8.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.6K

$6.80 SYP 827

39.71%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,722

$3.79 SYP 461

-20.58%

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

$1.80 COP 5,801

$2.28 SYP 277

-21.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

$0.81 SYP 98.9

74.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$1.93 SYP 235

64.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

$4.05 SYP 493

41.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,869

$1.10 SYP 134

37.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,667

$0.39 SYP 47.14

510.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,712

$1.52 SYP 185

16.45%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,320

$1.56 SYP 190

85.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$4.01 SYP 488

154.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.8K

$5.61 SYP 682

75.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$14.05 SYP 1,707

-0.43%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.07 SYP 130

271.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,005

$1.41 SYP 171

9.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,039

$1.09 SYP 132

100.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,041

$1.05 SYP 128

107.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,328

$0.80 SYP 97.0

145.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,125

$0.76 SYP 92.9

109.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,694

$0.40 SYP 49.10

187.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,009

$0.62 SYP 75.3

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$2.72 SYP 331

45.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

$5.98 SYP 727

128.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

$1.09 SYP 133

52.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

$2.94 SYP 358

-23.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

$0.21 SYP 25.46

457.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

$10.15 SYP 1,233

662.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,089

$1.02 SYP 124

24.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,603

$1.53 SYP 186

33.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$7.90 SYP 961

8.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,343

$3.68 SYP 447

-63.32%

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

$34.1K COP 109.8M

$15.1K SYP 1.8M

125.41%

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

$34.7K COP 111.8M

$18.9K SYP 2.3M

83.71%

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

$170 COP 547.0K

$140 SYP 17.0K

21.36%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$9.39 SYP 1,141

44.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.5K

$45.50 SYP 5,529

-38.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

$27.57 SYP 3,351

58.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

$8.41 SYP 1,022

104.40%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$5.46 SYP 663

26.56%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$65.4 SYP 7,952

1117.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$1,770 SYP 215.1K

414.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.2K

$28.26 SYP 3,434

199.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

$40.49 SYP 4,921

43.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.2K

$59.7 SYP 7,253

126.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.6K

$58.6 SYP 7,117

67.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$516 SYP 62.7K

134.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$186 SYP 22.6K

244.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$846 SYP 102.8K

139.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$462 SYP 56.2K

118.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

$1,713 SYP 208.2K

143.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$598 SYP 72.6K

219.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$79.5 SYP 9,665

726.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

14.25

-23.23%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Damascus: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Damascus

$186 21.4% 71% $455

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Damascus

$169 19.5% 43% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Damascus

$195 22.4% 7.8% $17

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Damascus

$178 20.4% 4.7% $8

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Damascus

$84 9.7% 50.2% $85

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Damascus

$20 2.3% 79% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Damascus

$38 4.4% 33.1% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $516 in Damascus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 8.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $43 in Damascus for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $169 per month, with Damascus cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇸🇾 Damascus

🕒 Local time

15:19 3:19 PM

23:19 11:19 PM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

1,414,913 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SYP, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 136 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.37 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Damascus 11,610 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Damascus

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 Damascus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $870 in Damascus, so Damascus is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Medellin is about 8.3 times higher, 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: $1,208 in Medellin versus $516 in Damascus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Damascus – a meal for two runs $43 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $870 in Damascus – Damascus is about 47% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $870 in Damascus versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Damascus but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Damascus 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.

Expats usually find Damascus gentler on the wallet – expenses run 47% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.