Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Jacksonville, NC

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,554 in Jacksonville, NC, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
123

Cost of Living Index in Jacksonville, NC
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Jacksonville, NC Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Jacksonville, NC

🇺🇸 United States

$2,554

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Jacksonville, NC

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $2,554 in Jacksonville, NC.

Medellin $1,639
Jacksonville, NC $2,554

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $3,595 in Jacksonville, NC.

Medellin $2,413
Jacksonville, NC $3,595

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $4,637 in Jacksonville, NC.

Medellin $3,186
Jacksonville, NC $4,637

Living in Medellin costs roughly 36% less than in Jacksonville, NC, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Jacksonville, NC 88% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$15.57 $15.57

-48.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$58.9 $58.9

-20.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$9.89 $9.89

-3.94%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$4.81 $4.81

-37.42%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$2.56 $2.56

-29.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$1.97 $1.97

-28.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$4.94 $4.94

-35.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$7.06 $7.06

-18.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.17 $1.17

29.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$4.21 $4.21

-43.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$11.08 $11.08

-84.03%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$6.04 $6.04

-52.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$19.50 $19.50

-47.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$17.09 $17.09

-42.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$24.53 $24.53

-42.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$5.87 $5.87

-32.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.86 $1.86

-16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$8.23 $8.23

-73.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$6.17 $6.17

-64.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$6.88 $6.88

-71.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$4.00 $4.00

-60.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$2.77 $2.77

-58.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$2.04 $2.04

-39.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$8.96 $8.96

-55.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$15.02 $15.02

-8.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$1.76 $1.76

-5.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$3.96 $3.96

-42.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$1.53 $1.53

-23.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$90.4 $90.4

-14.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$2.54 $2.54

-50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$0.91 $0.91

48.35%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$27.4K $27.4K

24.44%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$25.7K $25.7K

34.90%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$174 $174

-2.49%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$76.0 $76.0

-82.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$71.2 $71.2

-60.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$31.20 $31.20

40.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$1.71 $1.71

905.26%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$15.59 $15.59

-55.68%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$796 $796

0.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$60.9 $60.9

39.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$39.56 $39.56

46.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$103 $103

31.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$138 $138

-29.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$1,384 $1,384

-12.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$1,094 $1,094

-41.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$1,809 $1,809

12.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$1,451 $1,451

-30.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$2,049 $2,049

103.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$1,833 $1,833

4.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$2,208 $2,208

-70.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.37

71.74%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Jacksonville, NC: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Jacksonville, NC

$1.1K 42.8% 70.5% $452

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Jacksonville, NC

$555 21.7% 86.9% $258

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Jacksonville, NC

$321 12.6% 52% $110

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Jacksonville, NC

$269 10.5% 58.6% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Jacksonville, NC

$154 6% 9% $15

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Jacksonville, NC

$99 * 3.9% 5.9% $5.5

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Jacksonville, NC

$62 2.4% 8.4% $4.8

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 $1,208 in Medellin and $1,384 in Jacksonville, NC. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jacksonville, NC pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $59 in Jacksonville, NC for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $555 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇺🇸 Jacksonville, NC

🕒 Local time

17:56 5:56 PM

18:56 6:56 PM

1 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

949,611

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Jacksonville, NC 3,170 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Jacksonville, NC

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 Jacksonville, NC: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $2,554 in Jacksonville, NC, so Medellin is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 70% 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: $1,208 in Medellin versus $1,384 in Jacksonville, NC. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Medellin runs roughly 14% less than in Jacksonville, NC. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $796 in Jacksonville, NC. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,639 in Medellin versus $2,554 in Jacksonville, NC, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Jacksonville, NC. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin 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 Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Jacksonville, NC. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.