Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Guadalajara

For one person, living is cheaper in Guadalajara: $1,302 a month against $1,589 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
64

Cost of Living Index in Guadalajara
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Guadalajara Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,589

/mo nomad

Guadalajara

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,302

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Guadalajara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,589 in Medellin versus $1,302 in Guadalajara.

Medellin $1,589
Guadalajara $1,302

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,364 in Medellin versus $2,119 in Guadalajara.

Medellin $2,364
Guadalajara $2,119

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,139 in Medellin versus $2,936 in Guadalajara.

Medellin $3,139
Guadalajara $2,936

Living in Medellin is roughly 22% more expensive than in Guadalajara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 19% above, Guadalajara is 3% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.01 COP 25.5K

$13.67 MX$251

-41.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 COP 148.3K

$44.72 MX$821

4.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.43 COP 30.1K

$9.08 MX$167

3.85%

Cappuccino

$2.91 COP 9,277

$3.90 MX$71.5

-25.38%

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

$1.75 COP 5,585

$1.67 MX$30.69

4.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 COP 4,218

$1.17 MX$21.56

12.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 COP 9,969

$2.71 MX$49.70

15.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.55 COP 17.7K

$4.88 MX$89.6

13.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 COP 4,495

$1.76 MX$32.38

-19.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.44 COP 7,777

$2.62 MX$48.12

-6.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,191

$1.73 MX$31.68

-5.78%

Eggs

$2.82 COP 8,990

$2.48 MX$45.56

13.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.69 COP 30.9K

$8.99 MX$165

7.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 COP 29.7K

$9.95 MX$183

-6.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.46 COP 42.9K

$11.52 MX$211

16.84%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 COP 12.8K

$2.92 MX$53.6

36.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 COP 4,719

$1.60 MX$29.35

-7.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 COP 6,768

$2.04 MX$37.37

3.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.25 COP 7,178

$1.76 MX$32.27

27.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 COP 6,092

$2.00 MX$36.77

-4.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 COP 5,160

$1.80 MX$33.03

-10.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,658

$1.49 MX$27.41

-22.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 COP 4,021

$1.08 MX$19.87

16.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.82 COP 12.2K

$4.63 MX$84.9

-17.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.11 COP 41.8K

$10.82 MX$199

21.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 COP 5,083

$1.94 MX$35.55

-17.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,188

$3.38 MX$62.1

-33.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,731

$0.58 MX$10.65

101.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.0 COP 239.0K

$30.62 MX$562

145.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,056

$2.20 MX$40.31

-42.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,531

$1.41 MX$25.86

45.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.20 COP 26.1K

$12.36 MX$227

-33.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 COP 4,046

$1.52 MX$27.90

-16.45%

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

$26.8K COP 85.3M

$21.1K MX$387.5K

26.86%

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

$34.4K COP 109.6M

$24.1K MX$442.2K

42.86%

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

$162 COP 516.9K

$49.59 MX$911

227.10%

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

$13.12 COP 41.8K

$22.94 MX$421

-42.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.09 COP 89.5K

$31.15 MX$572

-9.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.33 COP 141.2K

$28.66 MX$526

54.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 COP 52.0K

$11.30 MX$207

44.51%

Cinema Ticket

$6.09 COP 19.4K

$6.57 MX$121

-7.31%

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

$764 COP 2.4M

$253 MX$4,645

202.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,904 COP 28.4M

$10.9K MX$199.8K

-18.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.0 COP 270.8K

$60.1 MX$1,104

41.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 COP 183.2K

$40.27 MX$739

42.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$132 COP 419.8K

$108 MX$1,983

21.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.8 COP 305.1K

$83.1 MX$1,525

15.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$856 MX$15.7K

20.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$604 COP 1.9M

$497 MX$9,123

21.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,802 COP 5.7M

$1,571 MX$28.8K

14.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$993 COP 3.2M

$1,009 MX$18.5K

-1.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,921 COP 12.5M

$3,101 MX$56.9K

26.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,639 COP 5.2M

$1,953 MX$35.9K

-16.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$626 COP 2.0M

$776 MX$14.2K

-19.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

11.68

-6.34%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 6, 2026

Last update for Guadalajara: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$604 38.3%

Guadalajara

$497 37.8% 17.8% $108

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$288 18.3%

Guadalajara

$280 21.3% 3% $8.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$203 12.9%

Guadalajara

$104 7.9% 49% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Guadalajara

$131 10% 21.2% $35

Eating Out

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Guadalajara

$218 16.6% 31.1% $52

Getting Around

Medellin

$91 5.8%

Guadalajara

$42 3.2% 53.8% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.6%

Guadalajara

$42 3.2% 26% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,028 in Medellin and $856 in Guadalajara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Guadalajara pays 24% 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 $45.00 in Guadalajara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $280 per month, with Guadalajara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇲🇽 Guadalajara

🕒 Local time

01:42 1:42 AM

00:42 12:42 AM

1 h behind Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

1,385,629

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,187 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,574 COP (10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Guadalajara 3,390 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Guadalajara

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 Guadalajara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Guadalajara wins on cost – living expenses run 22% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Guadalajara the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 24% lower in Guadalajara. 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 $856 in Guadalajara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Guadalajara – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,302 in Guadalajara versus $1,589 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Guadalajara but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Guadalajara the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Guadalajara delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,302 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Guadalajara hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Guadalajara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.