Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Ibaraki

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibaraki: $1,142 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Ibaraki
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Ibaraki Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Ibaraki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,142

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Ibaraki

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $1,142 in Ibaraki.

Medellin $1,692
Ibaraki $1,142

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $1,768 in Ibaraki.

Medellin $2,471
Ibaraki $1,768

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $2,395 in Ibaraki.

Medellin $3,249
Ibaraki $2,395

Living in Medellin is roughly 48% more expensive than in Ibaraki, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, Ibaraki is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$6.20 ¥977

34.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.3K

$31.03 ¥4,888

49.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.6K

$5.22 ¥822

81.42%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$3.15 ¥496

-0.63%

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

$1.77 COP 5,705

$1.15 ¥181

53.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,601

$0.79 ¥124

79.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$2.65 ¥417

18.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$3.12 ¥491

82.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,950

$2.73 ¥429

-43.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,401

$1.57 ¥247

45.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,282

$4.10 ¥646

-52.68%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,905

$2.03 ¥319

51.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.3K

$10.34 ¥1,628

-3.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$6.54 ¥1,031

59.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.1K

$16.75 ¥2,638

-16.66%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$3.71 ¥585

9.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,937

$2.28 ¥359

-32.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,797

$2.95 ¥464

-28.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,409

$4.16 ¥655

-44.95%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,813

$2.47 ¥390

-14.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,521

$2.60 ¥410

-34.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,780

$1.32 ¥208

-11.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,104

$0.85 ¥134

85.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$4.29 ¥676

-8.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.4K

$6.57 ¥1,035

113.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,690

$1.86 ¥293

-5.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,760

$2.08 ¥327

30.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,811

$1.64 ¥258

-28.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.4K

$57.8 ¥9,109

31.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,836

$4.75 ¥749

-61.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,878

$2.93 ¥461

-27.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.3K

$25.58 ¥4,028

-68.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,119

$1.09 ¥172

17.43%

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

$34.4K COP 111.2M

$21.7K ¥3.4M

58.64%

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

$34.1K COP 110.3M

$15.4K ¥2.4M

121.98%

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

$178 COP 574.1K

$138 ¥21.7K

29.16%

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

$13.89 COP 44.9K

$24.35 ¥3,835

-42.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.3K

$31.52 ¥4,964

-2.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.5K

$50.6 ¥7,973

-17.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.3K

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$12.49 ¥1,967

-40.19%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$626 ¥98.6K

26.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$15.4K ¥2.4M

-20.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.9K

$26.34 ¥4,148

227.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.4K

$31.99 ¥5,039

85.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.9K

$67.6 ¥10.6K

104.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 319.2K

$81.0 ¥12.8K

22.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$403 ¥63.4K

232.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$264 ¥41.6K

152.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$1,028 ¥161.9K

92.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$527 ¥83.0K

95.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$4,712 ¥742.1K

-13.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$2,384 ¥375.5K

-18.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$2,498 ¥393.4K

-74.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

2.21

395.02%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Ibaraki: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Ibaraki

$264 23.2% 60.4% $403

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Ibaraki

$301 26.4% 2.1% $6.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Ibaraki

$193 17% 13% $29

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Ibaraki

$130 11.4% 24.5% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Ibaraki

$93 8.2% 45.9% $79

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Ibaraki

$84 7.3% 10.3% $9.6

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Ibaraki

$76 6.6% 32.9% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,341 in Medellin and $403 in Ibaraki. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ibaraki pays about 3.9 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $31 in Ibaraki for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $301 per month, with Ibaraki cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇯🇵 Ibaraki

🕒 Local time

11:03 11:03 AM

01:03 1:03 AM

14 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

287,730

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3,230 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,628 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 157 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.65 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Medellin Ibaraki 14,400 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Ibaraki

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 Ibaraki: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,692 in Medellin and $1,142 in Ibaraki, so Ibaraki is about 33% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 74% lower in Medellin. 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: $1,341 in Medellin versus $403 in Ibaraki. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ibaraki runs roughly 24% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,692 per month in Medellin versus $1,142 in Ibaraki – Ibaraki is about 33% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ibaraki 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.