Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Morelia

For one person, living is cheaper in Morelia: $1,151 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Morelia
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Morelia Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Morelia

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,151

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Morelia

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

A single person spends $1,625 per month in Medellin vs $1,151 in Morelia, rent included.

Medellin $1,625
Morelia $1,151

A couple spends around $2,412 per month in Medellin vs $1,859 in Morelia, rent included.

Medellin $2,412
Morelia $1,859

A family of three spends $3,199 per month in Medellin vs $2,566 in Morelia, rent included.

Medellin $3,199
Morelia $2,566

Medellin costs about 41% more than Morelia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Morelia is 15% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.3K

$6.87 MX$127

20.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 148.7K

$38.64 MX$714

21.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.3K

$6.09 MX$112

51.72%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,676

$3.51 MX$64.9

-13.11%

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

$1.80 COP 5,707

$1.22 MX$22.60

47.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,382

$1.14 MX$21.14

21.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.3K

$2.79 MX$51.6

16.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.6K

$3.69 MX$68.1

50.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,760

$1.69 MX$31.16

-11.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,508

$3.04 MX$56.2

-22.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,377

$1.95 MX$36.03

-12.82%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,379

$2.73 MX$50.5

8.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.4K

$11.77 MX$218

-13.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.9K

$9.71 MX$179

0.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

$14.52 MX$268

-4.27%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$3.00 MX$55.4

37.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,839

$1.61 MX$29.73

-4.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 7,052

$1.97 MX$36.49

12.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$2.30 MX$42.59

-1.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,311

$2.03 MX$37.46

-1.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,285

$1.79 MX$33.04

-6.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,742

$1.45 MX$26.72

-18.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,919

$1.32 MX$24.37

-6.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.3K

$3.78 MX$69.9

2.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.7K

$14.74 MX$272

-6.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

$1.87 MX$34.60

-11.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,615

$3.52 MX$65.1

-31.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

$0.59 MX$10.88

110.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

$24.29 MX$449

221.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

$1.38 MX$25.45

-7.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

$0.52 MX$9.52

313.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

$5.55 MX$103

50.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$1.48 MX$27.37

-8.78%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

$21.8K MX$403.5K

59.21%

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

$23.4K MX$433.1K

48.00%

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

$167 COP 528.4K

$60.0 MX$1,109

177.70%

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

$13.62 COP 43.2K

$28.39 MX$525

-52.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 92.3K

$33.68 MX$622

-13.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

$50.8 MX$938

-11.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

$27.11 MX$501

-36.63%

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

$4.42 MX$81.7

57.69%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$213 MX$3,937

270.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

$2,841 MX$52.5K

218.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 278.4K

$55.4 MX$1,024

58.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 184.4K

$37.34 MX$690

55.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.7K

$106 MX$1,964

30.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 313.5K

$93.2 MX$1,722

6.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$337 MX$6,236

204.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

$347 MX$6,406

78.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

$928 MX$17.1K

102.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$714 MX$13.2K

41.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

$1,654 MX$30.6K

141.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

$653 MX$12.1K

160.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

$660 MX$12.2K

0.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

10.53

3.89%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Morelia: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Morelia

$347 30.1% 44% $273

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Morelia

$315 27.3% 5.6% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Morelia

$122 10.6% 41.7% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Morelia

$131 11.4% 23.9% $41

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Morelia

$146 12.7% 14.5% $25

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Morelia

$31 2.7% 67.9% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Morelia

$60 5.2% 1% $0.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Medellin versus $337 in Morelia. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 0% higher in Medellin, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Medellin versus $39.00 in Morelia. Groceries tell a different story – $298 in Medellin vs $315 in Morelia – so Medellin wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇲🇽 Morelia

🕒 Local time

05:19 5:19 AM

04:19 4:19 AM

1 h behind Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

743,275

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Morelia 3,140 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Morelia

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 Morelia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 41%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,437 per month in Medellin and $1,727 in Morelia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Morelia, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Medellin and $39.00 in Morelia. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,625 in Medellin and $1,151 in Morelia. That's a gap of about 41%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Morelia, where all-in costs run around $1,151, than in Medellin at $1,625. In Morelia it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Morelia – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Morelia. 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.