Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and High Level

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,168 in High Level, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 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
109

Cost of Living Index in High Level
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High Level Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

High Level

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,168

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in High Level

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $2,168 in High Level.

Medellin $1,639
High Level $2,168

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $3,250 in High Level.

Medellin $2,413
High Level $3,250

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $4,332 in High Level.

Medellin $3,186
High Level $4,332

Living in Medellin costs roughly 24% less than in High Level, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, High Level 59% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$19.04 CA$26.71

-57.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$57.0 CA$80.0

-17.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$10.18 CA$14.28

-6.68%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$3.41 CA$4.79

-11.73%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$1.90 CA$2.66

-5.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$1.83 CA$2.57

-22.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$5.39 CA$7.57

-41.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$6.29 CA$8.82

-8.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$2.30 CA$3.23

-34.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$2.85 CA$4.00

-16.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$3.60 CA$5.05

-50.83%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$3.62 CA$5.08

-20.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$9.52 CA$13.36

7.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$10.62 CA$14.90

-7.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$14.27 CA$20.02

-1.96%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$3.39 CA$4.75

17.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.36 CA$1.91

13.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$3.47 CA$4.86

-37.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$3.73 CA$5.23

-41.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$2.58 CA$3.62

-24.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$2.12 CA$2.97

-25.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$2.77 CA$3.88

-58.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$1.79 CA$2.52

-30.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$14.78 CA$20.74

-73.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$12.93 CA$18.14

5.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$2.70 CA$3.79

-38.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$3.02 CA$4.24

-25.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$2.22 CA$3.11

-47.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$55.5 CA$77.9

39.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$2.59 CA$3.64

-50.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$1.44 CA$2.02

42.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$22.89 CA$32.12

-62.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.13 CA$1.59

19.47%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$31.5K CA$44.2K

8.12%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$22.4K CA$31.4K

55.09%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$121 CA$170

39.68%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$40.46 CA$56.8

-66.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$58.1 CA$81.5

-51.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$36.13 CA$50.7

20.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$19.53 CA$27.41

-11.98%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$10.77 CA$15.11

-35.84%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$580 CA$814

37.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$14.4K CA$20.2K

-36.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$49.88 CA$70.0

69.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$36.48 CA$51.2

58.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$92.9 CA$130

45.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$89.6 CA$126

9.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$1,288 CA$1,807

-6.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$1,064 CA$1,493

-39.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$1,988 CA$2,790

1.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$1,862 CA$2,614

-45.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$4,808 CA$6,747

-13.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$3,870 CA$5,431

-50.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.68

133.76%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for High Level: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

High Level

$1.1K 49.1% 65.9% $423

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

High Level

$352 16.3% 18.7% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

High Level

$220 10.2% 4.1% $8.8

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

High Level

$278 12.8% 64% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

High Level

$121 5.6% 28.4% $48

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

High Level

$74 3.4% 20.7% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

High Level

$58 2.7% 0.2% $0.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $1,288 in High Level. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $57 in High Level for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $352 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇦 High Level

🕒 Local time

17:05 5:05 PM

16:05 4:05 PM

1 h behind Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

3,200

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin High Level 6,810 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
High Level

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 High Level: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $2,168 in High Level, so Medellin is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,459 in Medellin and $3,251 in High Level 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: $1,208 in Medellin versus $1,288 in High Level. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $2,168 in High Level – Medellin is about 24% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in High Level runs roughly 28% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Medellin gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.