Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Datong

For one person, living is cheaper in Datong: $713 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 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 Datong
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Datong Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Datong

🇨🇳 China

$713

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Datong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $713 in Datong.

Medellin $1,692
Datong $713

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $1,133 in Datong.

Medellin $2,471
Datong $1,133

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $1,553 in Datong.

Medellin $3,249
Datong $1,553

Living in Medellin is roughly 137% more expensive than in Datong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, Datong is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$2.75 ¥18.30

203.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.1K

$21.93 ¥146

112.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.5K

$4.79 ¥31.95

97.70%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$3.09 ¥20.58

1.29%

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

$1.77 COP 5,696

$0.43 ¥2.90

311.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,594

$0.29 ¥1.95

389.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$0.90 ¥5.97

250.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$2.05 ¥13.64

178.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,943

$1.80 ¥12.03

-15.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,389

$1.54 ¥10.26

48.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,273

$0.98 ¥6.50

97.96%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,889

$1.56 ¥10.38

96.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.2K

$12.86 ¥85.7

-22.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$3.23 ¥21.51

223.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.0K

$10.09 ¥67.3

38.35%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$1.89 ¥12.59

114.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,929

$1.21 ¥8.09

26.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,786

$1.55 ¥10.30

35.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,397

$1.15 ¥7.64

99.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,803

$0.75 ¥5.03

181.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,512

$0.90 ¥5.99

90.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,774

$0.56 ¥3.76

108.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,096

$0.54 ¥3.62

192.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$3.10 ¥20.63

26.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.3K

$10.70 ¥71.3

31.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,682

$0.78 ¥5.22

125.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,746

$1.58 ¥10.56

71.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,805

$0.29 ¥1.95

306.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.0K

$17.04 ¥114

347.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,827

$1.37 ¥9.16

32.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,867

$0.36 ¥2.38

491.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.2K

$6.78 ¥45.21

19.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,113

$1.18 ¥7.89

8.47%

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

$34.4K COP 111.1M

$19.1K ¥127.0K

80.69%

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

$34.1K COP 110.1M

$17.1K ¥114.0K

99.45%

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

$178 COP 573.2K

$44.32 ¥295

301.02%

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

$13.89 COP 44.8K

$9.82 ¥65.4

41.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.1K

$11.70 ¥78.0

162.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.3K

$42.16 ¥281

-0.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.2K

$13.77 ¥91.7

22.00%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$5.99 ¥39.89

24.71%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$338 ¥2,252

133.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$16.9K ¥112.8K

-27.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.4K

$44.48 ¥296

94.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.1K

$30.37 ¥202

95.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.2K

$71.4 ¥476

93.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 318.7K

$71.3 ¥475

38.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$276 ¥1,836

386.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$191 ¥1,271

249.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$603 ¥4,018

227.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$360 ¥2,398

187.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$3,037 ¥20.2K

34.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$2,026 ¥13.5K

-4.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.89

181.23%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Datong: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Datong

$191 26.7% 71.4% $476

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Datong

$199 27.8% 35.4% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Datong

$66 9.2% 70.4% $157

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Datong

$85 11.9% 50.8% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Datong

$98 13.7% 43.2% $74

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Datong

$21 3% 77.1% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Datong

$54 7.6% 4.9% $2.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,341 in Medellin and $276 in Datong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $22 in Datong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $199 per month, with Datong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇳 Datong

🕒 Local time

00:25 12:25 AM

13:25 1:25 PM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

3,318,057

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.75 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 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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Datong 14,780 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Datong

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 Datong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Datong wins on cost – living expenses run 58% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Datong the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,538 in Medellin and $1,070 in Datong to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,341 in Medellin versus $276 in Datong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $338 in Datong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 55% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $713 in Datong versus $1,692 in Medellin, a $800 budget is realistic in Datong but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Datong 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 Datong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.