Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Lanzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Lanzhou: $719 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Lanzhou
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Lanzhou Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Lanzhou

🇨🇳 China

$719

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Lanzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,614 in Medellin versus $719 in Lanzhou.

Medellin $1,614
Lanzhou $719

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,402 in Medellin versus $1,143 in Lanzhou.

Medellin $2,402
Lanzhou $1,143

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,190 in Medellin versus $1,567 in Lanzhou.

Medellin $3,190
Lanzhou $1,567

Living in Medellin is roughly 125% more expensive than in Lanzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Lanzhou is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$2.06 ¥13.80

284.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$28.34 ¥189

62.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$5.86 ¥39.15

62.12%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$3.12 ¥20.89

-0.32%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$0.48 ¥3.19

281.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$0.29 ¥1.93

375.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$1.10 ¥7.35

177.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$2.02 ¥13.54

172.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.77 ¥11.81

-18.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$1.61 ¥10.75

46.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$0.96 ¥6.40

75.00%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$1.60 ¥10.72

78.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$13.22 ¥88.4

-22.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$3.43 ¥22.92

177.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$12.11 ¥81.0

15.94%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$1.81 ¥12.09

124.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$1.28 ¥8.56

17.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$1.49 ¥9.97

45.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$1.24 ¥8.32

86.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$0.70 ¥4.70

175.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$0.93 ¥6.21

76.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$0.60 ¥3.99

88.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$0.55 ¥3.70

127.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$3.77 ¥25.19

5.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$11.52 ¥77.0

15.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$0.83 ¥5.52

104.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$1.53 ¥10.25

54.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$0.29 ¥1.92

317.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

$18.07 ¥121

323.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$1.48 ¥9.91

-10.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$0.32 ¥2.17

568.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$7.12 ¥47.58

18.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$1.46 ¥9.73

-10.96%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$17.5K ¥117.2K

59.65%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$15.0K ¥100.4K

135.95%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$58.0 ¥388

196.66%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$8.79 ¥58.8

52.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$11.18 ¥74.8

156.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$42.33 ¥283

6.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

$14.69 ¥98.2

16.00%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$6.29 ¥42.06

-0.16%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$412 ¥2,756

86.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$17.6K ¥117.6K

-48.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$42.85 ¥287

101.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$33.44 ¥224

70.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$75.6 ¥505

80.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$74.1 ¥495

32.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$295 ¥1,971

257.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$168 ¥1,126

265.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$626 ¥4,186

202.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$297 ¥1,986

244.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$2,671 ¥17.9K

51.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$1,611 ¥10.8K

4.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$953 ¥6,375

-31.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

264.67%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lanzhou: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Lanzhou

$168 23.4% 72.6% $447

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Lanzhou

$209 29.1% 29% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Lanzhou

$78 10.9% 63.6% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Lanzhou

$102 14.2% 40.2% $68

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Lanzhou

$84 11.7% 50% $84

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Lanzhou

$22 3.1% 76.1% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Lanzhou

$55 7.6% 5% $2.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,055 in Medellin and $295 in Lanzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lanzhou pays 46% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46.00 in Medellin vs $28.00 in Lanzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $295 vs $209 per month, with Lanzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇳 Lanzhou

🕒 Local time

03:42 3:42 AM

16:42 4:42 PM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

3,688,400

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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 →

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Between locations

Medellin Lanzhou 15,310 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Lanzhou

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 Lanzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lanzhou is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 125% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 46% lower in Lanzhou. 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: $1,055 in Medellin versus $295 in Lanzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $770 in Medellin versus $412 in Lanzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $719 in Lanzhou versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Lanzhou but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Lanzhou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Lanzhou is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Lanzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 125% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.