Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Lillestrom

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,741 in Lillestrom, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 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
132

Cost of Living Index in Lillestrom
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Lillestrom Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Lillestrom

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,741

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Lillestrom

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $2,741 in Lillestrom.

Medellin $1,639
Lillestrom $2,741

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $4,180 in Lillestrom.

Medellin $2,413
Lillestrom $4,180

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $5,619 in Lillestrom.

Medellin $3,186
Lillestrom $5,619

Living in Medellin costs roughly 40% less than in Lillestrom, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Lillestrom 101% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$21.75 NOK 202

-62.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$125 NOK 1,157

-62.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$11.47 NOK 106

-17.18%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,734

$6.10 NOK 56.6

-50.66%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$4.24 NOK 39.29

-57.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,560

$3.23 NOK 29.97

-56.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$12.28 NOK 114

-74.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$10.79 NOK 100

-46.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,875

$2.53 NOK 23.43

-40.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,677

$3.87 NOK 35.89

-38.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,719

$4.21 NOK 39.00

-57.96%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,332

$5.97 NOK 55.3

-51.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$13.55 NOK 126

-24.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$13.90 NOK 129

-28.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$28.81 NOK 267

-51.44%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$3.54 NOK 32.84

12.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,011

$2.86 NOK 26.48

-45.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,047

$4.25 NOK 39.44

-48.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,050

$5.49 NOK 50.8

-60.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,336

$2.91 NOK 27.00

-32.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,131

$3.62 NOK 33.57

-56.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,698

$1.85 NOK 17.13

-37.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$2.43 NOK 22.48

-48.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$17.85 NOK 165

-77.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$16.97 NOK 157

-19.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$5.58 NOK 51.7

-70.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,290

$5.87 NOK 54.4

-61.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,770

$4.82 NOK 44.63

-75.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$85.7 NOK 794

-9.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$10.53 NOK 97.6

-87.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,611

$1.78 NOK 16.46

15.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$70.1 NOK 650

-87.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,348

$2.27 NOK 21.01

-40.53%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$48.9K NOK 453.3K

-30.34%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$40.7K NOK 377.6K

-14.90%

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

$170 COP 547.7K

$276 NOK 2,558

-38.53%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$39.04 NOK 362

-65.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$50.8 NOK 470

-44.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$50.3 NOK 467

-13.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$37.67 NOK 349

-54.37%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$17.42 NOK 161

-60.33%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$325 NOK 3,009

145.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$13.5K NOK 124.8K

-32.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$101 NOK 937

-16.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.1K

$57.7 NOK 535

0.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.7K

$130 NOK 1,204

3.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$159 NOK 1,471

-38.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$1,312 NOK 12.2K

-7.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$1,063 NOK 9,855

-39.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$2,112 NOK 19.6K

-4.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$1,733 NOK 16.1K

-41.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$6,073 NOK 56.3K

-31.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$3,918 NOK 36.3K

-51.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$3,803 NOK 35.3K

-82.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.94

121.46%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lillestrom: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Lillestrom

$1.1K 38.8% 65.7% $422

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Lillestrom

$507 18.5% 70.6% $210

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Lillestrom

$366 13.3% 73.1% $154

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Lillestrom

$394 14.4% 133% $225

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Lillestrom

$201 7.4% 19.1% $32

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Lillestrom

$124 4.5% 32.9% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Lillestrom

$85 3.1% 48.1% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $1,312 in Lillestrom. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lillestrom pays about 5.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $125 in Lillestrom for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $507 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇳🇴 Lillestrom

🕒 Local time

10:59 10:59 AM

16:59 4:59 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

94,585

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

100 NOK = 10.79 USD

100 NOK = 9.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.27 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.34 NOK (100 NOK = 9.67 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Lillestrom 9,230 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Lillestrom

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 Lillestrom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin wins on cost – living expenses run 40% lower than in Lillestrom. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Medellin the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 83% 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 $1,312 in Lillestrom. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $325 in Lillestrom. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 71% higher in Lillestrom. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,639 in Medellin versus $2,741 in Lillestrom, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Lillestrom. 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 40% less than in Lillestrom. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.