Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Kurume

For one person, living is cheaper in Kurume: $986 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Kurume
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Kurume Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Kurume

🇯🇵 Japan

$986

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Kurume

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $986 in Kurume.

Medellin $1,639
Kurume $986

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,555 in Kurume.

Medellin $2,413
Kurume $1,555

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,124 in Kurume.

Medellin $3,186
Kurume $2,124

Living in Medellin is roughly 66% more expensive than in Kurume, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Kurume is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$4.30 ¥679

88.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$42.56 ¥6,720

10.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$3.85 ¥607

146.75%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$1.88 ¥298

60.11%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.69 ¥108

160.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.53 ¥84.3

166.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$3.13 ¥494

1.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$1.63 ¥257

252.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.30 ¥206

16.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$1.29 ¥203

84.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$5.01 ¥791

-64.67%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.87 ¥296

54.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$17.95 ¥2,834

-43.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$5.52 ¥872

78.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$19.22 ¥3,034

-27.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$3.54 ¥559

12.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.86 ¥294

-16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$2.92 ¥461

-25.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$3.25 ¥514

-32.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$2.20 ¥348

-10.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$2.62 ¥413

-39.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$1.04 ¥165

10.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.96 ¥152

29.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$3.57 ¥564

10.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$6.52 ¥1,030

109.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$1.68 ¥265

-1.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$1.10 ¥174

105.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$1.47 ¥233

-20.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$58.0 ¥9,163

33.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$4.15 ¥655

-69.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$2.31 ¥365

-11.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$17.66 ¥2,788

-51.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$0.65 ¥103

107.69%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$22.6K ¥3.6M

50.94%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$15.2K ¥2.4M

127.39%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$215 ¥34.0K

-21.21%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$24.93 ¥3,937

-45.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$22.65 ¥3,576

23.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$55.8 ¥8,806

-21.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$6.91 ¥1,091

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$695 ¥109.7K

14.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$12.5K ¥2.0M

-27.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$48.99 ¥7,735

72.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$12.62 ¥1,992

359.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$25.10 ¥3,962

437.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$31.59 ¥4,987

209.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$549 ¥86.7K

120.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$127 ¥20.1K

404.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$485 ¥76.6K

318.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$318 ¥50.2K

218.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$3,977 ¥627.8K

4.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$2,146 ¥338.9K

-10.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$1,510 ¥238.4K

-56.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

1.97

455.33%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kurume: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Kurume

$127 12.9% 80.2% $514

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Kurume

$301 30.5% 1.2% $3.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Kurume

$263 26.7% 24.4% $52

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Kurume

$92 9.4% 45.6% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Kurume

$53 5.4% 68.5% $116

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Kurume

$80 8.1% 14.8% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Kurume

$70 7.1% 21% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $549 in Kurume. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kurume pays about 2.3 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 $43 in Kurume. Groceries flip the comparison at $297 vs $301, with Medellin cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇯🇵 Kurume

🕒 Local time

14:59 2:59 PM

04:59 4:59 AM

14 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

303,316

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 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 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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Kurume 14,820 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Kurume

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 Kurume: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $986 in Kurume, so Kurume is about 40% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 56% 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 $549 in Kurume. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $695 in Kurume. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kurume – a meal for two runs $43 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $986 in Kurume versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kurume but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Kurume 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.