Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Los Teques

For one person, living is cheaper in Los Teques: $607 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Medellin, Colombia
Los Teques, Venezuela
Medellin
🇨🇴 Colombia
$1,639
/mo nomad
Los Teques
🇻🇪 Venezuela
$607
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Los Teques

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $607 in Los Teques, rent included.

  • Medellin $1,639
  • Los Teques $607

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,009 in Los Teques, rent included.

  • Medellin $2,413
  • Los Teques $1,009

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $1,412 in Los Teques, rent included.

  • Medellin $3,186
  • Los Teques $1,412

Medellin costs about 170% more than Los Teques, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Los Teques is 55% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Medellin
Los Teques
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$8.09 COP 25.4K
$5.83 VES 5,167
38.77%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$47.05 COP 148.0K
$34.44 VES 30.5K
36.61%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.50 COP 29.9K
$16.20 VES 14.4K
-41.36%
Cappuccino
$3.01 COP 9,485
$3.36 VES 2,981
-10.42%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.80 COP 5,660
$1.70 VES 1,508
5.88%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.41 COP 4,443
$1.25 VES 1,112
12.80%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.18 COP 9,990
$2.06 VES 1,822
54.37%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.75 COP 18.1K
$2.94 VES 2,602
95.58%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Medellin
Los Teques
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.51 COP 4,751
$2.06 VES 1,829
-26.70%
White Bread (500g)
$2.38 COP 7,480
$1.37 VES 1,210
73.72%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.77 COP 5,573
$1.38 VES 1,225
28.26%
Eggs
$2.89 COP 9,093
$2.21 VES 1,954
30.77%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.19 COP 32.1K
$6.38 VES 5,653
59.72%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.87 COP 31.1K
$6.79 VES 6,011
45.36%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.99 COP 44.0K
$7.40 VES 6,560
89.05%
Apples (1kg)
$3.97 COP 12.5K
$5.26 VES 4,659
-24.52%
Banana (1kg)
$1.55 COP 4,883
$1.45 VES 1,289
6.90%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.18 COP 6,867
$1.90 VES 1,686
14.74%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.18 COP 6,870
$2.43 VES 2,152
-10.29%
Potato (1kg)
$1.96 COP 6,174
$2.78 VES 2,467
-29.50%
Onion (1kg)
$1.59 COP 5,000
$2.05 VES 1,813
-22.44%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 COP 3,604
$1.91 VES 1,691
-39.79%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.24 COP 3,911
$1.83 VES 1,618
-32.24%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.96 COP 12.5K
$2.53 VES 2,237
56.52%
Wine (Bottle)
$13.68 COP 43.0K
$10.08 VES 8,926
35.71%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.66 COP 5,221
$1.41 VES 1,247
17.73%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.26 COP 7,103
$2.29 VES 2,029
-1.31%
🚌 Getting Around
Medellin
Los Teques
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.17 COP 3,674
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$77.4 COP 243.4K
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.27 COP 3,989
$3.22 VES 2,857
-60.56%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.05 COP 6,442
$1.95 VES 1,725
5.13%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$8.55 COP 26.9K
$4.10 VES 3,632
108.54%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.35 COP 4,237
$0.77 VES 684
75.32%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.1K COP 107.2M
$30.7K VES 27.2M
10.82%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$34.7K COP 109.1M
$41.7K VES 37.0M
-16.91%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Medellin
Los Teques
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$170 COP 533.7K
$20.13 VES 17.8K
742.77%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.55 COP 42.6K
$8.60 VES 7,623
57.56%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$28.07 COP 88.3K
$35.58 VES 31.5K
-21.11%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Medellin
Los Teques
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$43.70 COP 137.5K
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$17.19 COP 54.1K
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$6.91 COP 21.7K
$5.06 VES 4,482
36.56%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Medellin
Los Teques
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$797 COP 2.5M
$82.3 VES 72.9K
868.43%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$9,112 COP 28.7M
$2,948 VES 2.6M
209.05%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Medellin
Los Teques
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$84.7 COP 266.5K
$43.13 VES 38.2K
96.43%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$58.0 COP 182.3K
$46.64 VES 41.3K
24.27%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$135 COP 424.6K
$93.8 VES 83.1K
43.91%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$97.9 COP 307.9K
$45.94 VES 40.7K
113.04%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Medellin
Los Teques
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,208 COP 3.8M
-
-
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 13.1M
$203 VES 179.9K
1953.50%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,910 COP 6.0M
$267 VES 236.9K
614.43%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Medellin
Los Teques
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$657 COP 2.1M
$203 VES 179.9K
223.62%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.94
0
-

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Los Teques: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Medellin
$642
Los Teques
- * 100%
Groceries & Markets
Medellin
$297
Los Teques
$252 15% $44
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Medellin
$211
Los Teques
$64 69.6% $147
Eating Out
Medellin
$170
Los Teques
$164 3.5% $6
Clothing & Footwear
Medellin
$169
Los Teques
$103 38.9% $66
Getting Around
Medellin
$94
Los Teques
$13 * 86.1% $81
Sport & Entertainment
Medellin
$58
Los Teques
$10 * 82.4% $47

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Salaries in Medellin are about 3.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $34 in Los Teques. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $252 – making Los Teques the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇨🇴 Medellin
🇻🇪 Los Teques
🕒 Local time
13:48 1:48 PM
14:48 2:48 PM
1 h ahead of Medellin
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
2,486,723
252,242
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

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).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 886 VES (1,000 VES = 1.13 USD). 1 EUR = 986 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Medellin Los Teques 1,040 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Medellin
  • Los Teques

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 Los Teques: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
How do living costs in Medellin and in Los Teques compare overall?
Monthly costs with rent: $1,639 in Medellin, $607 in Los Teques – roughly 170% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.
What salary covers living expenses in Medellin compared to Los Teques?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $910 in Los Teques. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city is more expensive overall: Medellin or Los Teques?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $607 in Los Teques. That’s a gap of about 170%.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Medellin and Los Teques?
Kindergarten costs $797 per month in Medellin and $82 in Los Teques. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Which city is more doable on $1,200 per month?
A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Los Teques, where all-in costs run around $607, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Los Teques it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
How does quality of life compare between Medellin and Los Teques?
It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $607 in Los Teques to $1,639 in Medellin. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.
How do I decide between Medellin and Los Teques?
If budget matters most, go with Los Teques. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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