Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Kiambu

For one person, living is cheaper in Kiambu: $503 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Kiambu
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Kiambu Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Kiambu

🇰🇪 Kenya

$503

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Kiambu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $503 in Kiambu.

Medellin $1,639
Kiambu $503

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $823 in Kiambu.

Medellin $2,413
Kiambu $823

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,143 in Kiambu.

Medellin $3,186
Kiambu $1,143

Living in Medellin is roughly 226% more expensive than in Kiambu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Kiambu is 63% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.6K

$6.41 KES 832

26.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.9K

$34.12 KES 4,429

37.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$6.52 KES 847

45.71%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,540

$2.60 KES 337

15.77%

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

$1.80 COP 5,693

$0.64 KES 83.4

181.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,469

$0.62 KES 81.0

127.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.0K

$2.26 KES 293

40.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.2K

$2.62 KES 340

119.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,778

$0.54 KES 70.7

179.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,524

$0.55 KES 71.5

332.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,606

$1.83 KES 237

-3.28%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,146

$1.37 KES 178

110.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.2K

$10.71 KES 1,390

-4.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.2K

$6.67 KES 866

47.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.3K

$4.01 KES 520

248.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.6K

$3.50 KES 455

13.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,911

$1.04 KES 135

49.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,907

$0.75 KES 97.0

190.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,910

$0.59 KES 77.0

269.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,210

$0.72 KES 93.7

172.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,029

$0.71 KES 92.4

123.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,625

$0.30 KES 38.51

283.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,934

$0.37 KES 47.82

235.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$3.39 KES 440

16.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.3K

$11.49 KES 1,492

19.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,252

$2.27 KES 295

-26.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,145

$2.70 KES 350

-16.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,696

$0.63 KES 81.3

85.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 244.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,013

$1.51 KES 196

-15.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,480

$0.36 KES 47.31

469.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.1K

$2.81 KES 365

204.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,262

$1.60 KES 208

-15.63%

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

$34.1K COP 107.8M

$19.2K KES 2.5M

77.28%

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

$34.7K COP 109.7M

$21.6K KES 2.8M

60.46%

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

$170 COP 536.8K

$56.4 KES 7,317

200.96%

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

$13.55 COP 42.9K

$7.86 KES 1,020

72.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.8K

$35.13 KES 4,560

-20.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 138.3K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.4K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.9K

$5.82 KES 755

18.73%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$280 KES 36.4K

184.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.8M

$12.5K KES 1.6M

-27.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 268.1K

$27.56 KES 3,577

207.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 183.4K

$29.19 KES 3,789

98.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 427.1K

$70.1 KES 9,104

92.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 309.7K

$57.5 KES 7,463

70.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$116 KES 15.0K

943.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.2M

$1,175 KES 152.6K

254.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$125 KES 16.3K

424.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

14.71

-25.63%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kiambu: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Kiambu

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Kiambu

$180 35.8% 39.4% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Kiambu

$99 19.7% 53% $112

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Kiambu

$124 24.6% 27.1% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Kiambu

$83 16.5% 50.9% $86

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Kiambu

$5.8 * 1.2% 93.8% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Kiambu

$12 * 2.3% 79.8% $46

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 $116 in Kiambu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 5.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $34 in Kiambu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $180 per month, with Kiambu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇰🇪 Kiambu

🕒 Local time

22:08 10:08 PM

06:08 6:08 AM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

147,870

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,164 COP (10,000 COP = 3.16 USD). 1 EUR = 3,523 COP (10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 144 KES (1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Kiambu 12,500 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Kiambu

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 Kiambu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kiambu is about 69% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Medellin is about 5.2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $116 in Kiambu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $280 in Kiambu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kiambu – a meal for two runs $34 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $503 in Kiambu versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kiambu but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Kiambu 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.

It comes down to priorities – Kiambu wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.