Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and El Jadida

For one person, living is cheaper in El Jadida: $613 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 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
29

Cost of Living Index in El Jadida
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El Jadida Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

El Jadida

🇲🇦 Morocco

$613

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in El Jadida

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $613 in El Jadida.

Medellin $1,639
El Jadida $613

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $921 in El Jadida.

Medellin $2,413
El Jadida $921

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,230 in El Jadida.

Medellin $3,186
El Jadida $1,230

Living in Medellin is roughly 167% more expensive than in El Jadida, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, El Jadida is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.6K

$2.74 MAD 26.95

195.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.9K

$20.55 MAD 202

128.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$5.97 MAD 58.8

59.13%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,540

$1.51 MAD 14.85

99.34%

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

$1.80 COP 5,693

$0.42 MAD 4.11

328.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,469

$0.30 MAD 2.97

370.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.0K

$2.62 MAD 25.77

21.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.2K

$2.51 MAD 24.70

129.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,778

$0.98 MAD 9.66

54.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,524

$0.36 MAD 3.58

561.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,606

$1.96 MAD 19.32

-9.69%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,146

$1.88 MAD 18.54

53.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.2K

$6.26 MAD 61.6

62.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.2K

$4.02 MAD 39.59

145.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.3K

$7.50 MAD 73.8

86.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.6K

$1.51 MAD 14.84

162.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,911

$1.41 MAD 13.83

9.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,907

$0.65 MAD 6.36

235.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,910

$0.64 MAD 6.27

240.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,210

$0.68 MAD 6.65

188.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,029

$0.50 MAD 4.94

218.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,625

$0.30 MAD 2.92

283.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,934

$0.51 MAD 5.04

143.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$3.76 MAD 37.00

5.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.3K

$3.97 MAD 39.04

244.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,252

$2.48 MAD 24.39

-33.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,145

$2.83 MAD 27.82

-20.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,696

$0.44 MAD 4.38

165.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 244.8K

$15.98 MAD 157

384.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,013

$1.04 MAD 10.20

22.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,480

$1.04 MAD 10.24

97.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.1K

$4.96 MAD 48.77

72.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,262

$1.48 MAD 14.60

-8.78%

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

$34.1K COP 107.8M

$33.7K MAD 331.9K

1.01%

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

$34.7K COP 109.7M

$29.7K MAD 292.8K

16.55%

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

$170 COP 536.8K

$28.15 MAD 277

502.66%

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

$13.55 COP 42.9K

$9.90 MAD 97.4

36.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.8K

$30.58 MAD 301

-8.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 138.3K

$27.51 MAD 271

58.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.4K

$11.73 MAD 115

46.55%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.9K

$6.25 MAD 61.5

10.56%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$111 MAD 1,093

616.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.8M

$3,097 MAD 30.5K

194.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 268.1K

$26.67 MAD 263

217.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 183.4K

$35.40 MAD 348

63.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 427.1K

$64.3 MAD 633

109.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 309.7K

$68.3 MAD 672

43.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$203 MAD 1,996

495.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$165 MAD 1,628

287.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$361 MAD 3,556

461.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$226 MAD 2,221

348.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.2M

$1,544 MAD 15.2K

170.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$774 MAD 7,621

146.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$460 MAD 4,523

42.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.5

98.91%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for El Jadida: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

El Jadida

$165 27% 74.2% $476

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

El Jadida

$148 24.2% 50.1% $149

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

El Jadida

$69 11.2% 67.5% $143

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

El Jadida

$79 12.9% 53.5% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

El Jadida

$88 14.3% 48.2% $81

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

El Jadida

$24 3.9% 74.3% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

El Jadida

$40 6.5% 30.4% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $203 in El Jadida. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 43% 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: $47 in Medellin vs $21 in El Jadida for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $148 per month, with El Jadida cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇲🇦 El Jadida

🕒 Local time

23:02 11:02 PM

04:02 4:02 AM

5 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

237,464

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR

100 MAD = 10.16 USD

100 MAD = 9.13 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,164 COP (10,000 COP = 3.16 USD). 1 EUR = 3,523 COP (10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.84 MAD (1 MAD = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.13 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Medellin El Jadida 7,500 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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Medellin
El Jadida

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 El Jadida: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Jadida wins on cost – living expenses run 63% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making El Jadida the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 43% 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: $1,208 in Medellin versus $203 in El Jadida. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 100% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in El Jadida – a meal for two runs $21 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $613 in El Jadida versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $800 budget is realistic in El Jadida but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes El Jadida 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 El Jadida gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.