Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Jieyang

For one person, living is cheaper in Jieyang: $683 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Jieyang
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Jieyang Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Jieyang

🇨🇳 China

$683

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Jieyang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Medellin versus $683 in Jieyang.

Medellin $1,625
Jieyang $683

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,412 in Medellin versus $1,078 in Jieyang.

Medellin $2,412
Jieyang $1,078

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Medellin versus $1,474 in Jieyang.

Medellin $3,199
Jieyang $1,474

Living in Medellin is roughly 138% more expensive than in Jieyang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Jieyang is 50% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.3K

$2.04 ¥13.62

306.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 148.7K

$12.95 ¥86.6

262.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.3K

$3.79 ¥25.32

143.80%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,676

$2.44 ¥16.32

25.00%

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

$1.80 COP 5,707

$0.47 ¥3.13

282.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,382

$0.33 ¥2.19

318.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.3K

$0.91 ¥6.09

256.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.6K

$1.75 ¥11.67

217.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,760

$1.47 ¥9.82

2.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,508

$2.38 ¥15.94

-0.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,377

$0.99 ¥6.64

71.72%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,379

$0.89 ¥5.94

232.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.4K

$11.86 ¥79.3

-13.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.9K

$2.43 ¥16.23

300.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

$11.72 ¥78.3

18.60%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$1.95 ¥13.07

111.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,839

$0.69 ¥4.59

121.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 7,052

$1.01 ¥6.78

119.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$2.04 ¥13.62

11.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,311

$0.97 ¥6.51

105.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,285

$1.74 ¥11.62

-4.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,742

$0.46 ¥3.08

156.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,919

$0.51 ¥3.39

143.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.3K

$2.90 ¥19.41

33.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.7K

$11.06 ¥73.9

24.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

$0.84 ¥5.62

97.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,615

$1.75 ¥11.72

37.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

$0.29 ¥1.94

327.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

$18.26 ¥122

328.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

$0.93 ¥6.23

37.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

$0.14 ¥0.94

1435.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

$7.26 ¥48.53

15.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$0.93 ¥6.24

45.16%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

$12.9K ¥86.4K

169.12%

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

$11.3K ¥75.9K

205.74%

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

$167 COP 528.4K

$44.10 ¥295

277.89%

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

$13.62 COP 43.2K

$8.85 ¥59.1

53.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 92.3K

$11.15 ¥74.6

161.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

$41.70 ¥279

8.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

$14.70 ¥98.3

16.87%

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

$6.13 ¥41.01

13.70%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$490 ¥3,273

61.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

$24.5K ¥163.6K

-63.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 278.4K

$21.25 ¥142

313.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 184.4K

$29.23 ¥195

98.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.7K

$60.0 ¥401

131.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 313.5K

$87.6 ¥585

12.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$301 ¥2,014

241.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

$185 ¥1,238

234.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

$621 ¥4,153

202.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$378 ¥2,526

166.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

$3,444 ¥23.0K

15.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

$1,936 ¥12.9K

-12.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

$1,101 ¥7,360

-39.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.46

216.18%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Jieyang: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Jieyang

$185 27.1% 70.1% $434

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Jieyang

$201 29.5% 32.5% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Jieyang

$64 9.4% 69.4% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Jieyang

$89 13.1% 48.4% $84

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Jieyang

$68 10% 60.1% $103

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Jieyang

$21 3.1% 77.9% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Jieyang

$54 7.9% 8.6% $5.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,028 in Medellin and $301 in Jieyang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jieyang pays 66% 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 $13.00 in Jieyang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $298 vs $201 per month, with Jieyang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇳 Jieyang

🕒 Local time

19:40 7:40 PM

08:40 8:40 AM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

5,877,025

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Jieyang 16,450 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Jieyang

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 Jieyang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jieyang wins on cost – living expenses run 138% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Jieyang the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 66% lower in Jieyang. 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 $301 in Jieyang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,625 per month in Medellin versus $683 in Jieyang – a 138% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Jieyang runs roughly 328% less than in Medellin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $683 in Jieyang versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Jieyang but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Jieyang the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Jieyang delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $683 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Jieyang hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Jieyang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 138% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.