Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Foca

For one person, living is cheaper in Foca: $949 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Foca
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Foca Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Foca

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$949

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Foca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Medellin versus $949 in Foca.

Medellin $1,625
Foca $949

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,412 in Medellin versus $1,367 in Foca.

Medellin $2,412
Foca $1,367

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Medellin versus $1,786 in Foca.

Medellin $3,199
Foca $1,786

Living in Medellin is roughly 71% more expensive than in Foca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Foca is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.1K

$5.31 BAM 9.26

56.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 147.5K

$22.24 BAM 38.75

110.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.1K

$4.61 BAM 8.04

100.43%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,596

$1.49 BAM 2.59

104.70%

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

$1.80 COP 5,659

$1.35 BAM 2.35

33.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,345

$0.84 BAM 1.46

64.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.2K

$1.69 BAM 2.94

91.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.5K

$2.31 BAM 4.03

140.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,720

$1.18 BAM 2.05

27.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,445

$1.12 BAM 1.95

111.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,332

$1.59 BAM 2.76

6.92%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,301

$2.01 BAM 3.50

47.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.1K

$6.93 BAM 12.08

47.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.6K

$6.41 BAM 11.17

51.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 43.7K

$10.18 BAM 17.74

36.54%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.0K

$0.83 BAM 1.45

397.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,799

$1.75 BAM 3.05

-12.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 6,993

$2.14 BAM 3.73

3.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,135

$1.68 BAM 2.93

35.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,258

$0.99 BAM 1.72

101.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,241

$1.36 BAM 2.37

22.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,711

$1.13 BAM 1.97

4.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,886

$0.91 BAM 1.58

36.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.2K

$3.39 BAM 5.91

14.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.3K

$8.39 BAM 14.62

64.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,212

$0.84 BAM 1.46

97.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,552

$1.16 BAM 2.03

106.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$1.27 BAM 2.21

-2.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 245.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,011

$1.75 BAM 3.05

-26.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,747

$0.59 BAM 1.04

264.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.3K

$17.31 BAM 30.17

-51.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,252

$1.52 BAM 2.65

-11.18%

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

$34.8K COP 109.3M

$30.6K BAM 53.4K

13.53%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$21.8K BAM 38.0K

59.00%

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

$167 COP 524.0K

$156 BAM 273

6.50%

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

$13.62 COP 42.8K

$16.28 BAM 28.37

-16.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 91.6K

$33.80 BAM 58.9

-13.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 141.8K

$33.52 BAM 58.4

34.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 21.9K

$5.83 BAM 10.15

19.55%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$286 BAM 499

176.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.4M

$3,587 BAM 6,250

152.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 276.1K

$83.2 BAM 145

5.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 182.8K

$35.42 BAM 61.7

64.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 437.0K

$68.2 BAM 119

103.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 310.9K

$140 BAM 244

-29.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.2M

$154 BAM 269

567.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 1.9M

$248 BAM 432

150.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 5.9M

$516 BAM 899

264.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$366 BAM 638

175.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.5M

$2,407 BAM 4,194

65.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

$1,763 BAM 3,072

-3.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.44

146.40%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Foca: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Foca

$248 26.1% 60% $372

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Foca

$197 20.7% 33.9% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Foca

$207 21.8% 1.4% $2.8

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Foca

$147 15.5% 14.9% $26

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Foca

$96 10.1% 43.8% $75

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Foca

$9.8 * 1% 89.7% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Foca

$45 4.8% 23.5% $14

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 $154 in Foca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $22 in Foca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $298 vs $197 per month, with Foca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇧🇦 Foca

🕒 Local time

10:31 10:31 AM

16:31 4:31 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

12,334

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR

1 BAM = 0.574 USD

1 BAM = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 3,144 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,528 COP (10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BAM (1 BAM = 0.574 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BAM (1 BAM = 0.512 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Foca 9,880 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Foca

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 Foca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Foca is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and eating out. The 71% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,437 in Medellin and $1,424 in Foca 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: $1,028 in Medellin versus $154 in Foca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $286 in Foca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Foca – a meal for two runs $22 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.