Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Morioka

For one person, living is cheaper in Morioka: $1,190 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Morioka
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Morioka Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Morioka

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Morioka

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

A single person spends $1,614 per month in Medellin vs $1,190 in Morioka, rent included.

Medellin $1,614
Morioka $1,190

A couple spends around $2,402 per month in Medellin vs $1,943 in Morioka, rent included.

Medellin $2,402
Morioka $1,943

A family of three spends $3,190 per month in Medellin vs $2,696 in Morioka, rent included.

Medellin $3,190
Morioka $2,696

Medellin costs about 36% more than Morioka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Morioka is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$6.13 ¥969

29.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$31.46 ¥4,971

46.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$5.15 ¥813

84.47%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$2.96 ¥468

5.07%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$1.20 ¥189

52.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$0.79 ¥124

74.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$2.66 ¥421

14.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$3.11 ¥491

76.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.46 ¥230

-0.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$1.55 ¥244

52.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$4.23 ¥668

-60.28%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$2.03 ¥320

40.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$9.04 ¥1,428

12.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$7.42 ¥1,172

28.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$17.65 ¥2,788

-20.45%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$3.97 ¥627

2.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$2.24 ¥355

-33.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$3.10 ¥489

-30.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$4.29 ¥678

-46.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$2.56 ¥405

-24.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$2.22 ¥352

-26.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$1.18 ¥187

-4.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$0.94 ¥148

32.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$4.13 ¥653

-3.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$6.81 ¥1,076

96.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$1.68 ¥266

1.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$2.33 ¥368

1.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$1.50 ¥236

-19.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

$54.5 ¥8,603

40.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$3.13 ¥494

-57.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$2.63 ¥415

-18.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$21.32 ¥3,368

-60.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$1.09 ¥172

19.27%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$20.2K ¥3.2M

38.30%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$15.1K ¥2.4M

134.75%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$132 ¥20.8K

30.64%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$23.69 ¥3,743

-43.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$31.46 ¥4,970

-8.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$51.7 ¥8,167

-12.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$11.07 ¥1,749

-43.27%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$545 ¥86.1K

41.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$12.2K ¥1.9M

-26.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$50.8 ¥8,018

70.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$35.59 ¥5,623

60.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$57.1 ¥9,025

138.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$96.3 ¥15.2K

1.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$552 ¥87.1K

91.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$323 ¥51.0K

90.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$1,157 ¥182.8K

63.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$842 ¥133.0K

21.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$4,122 ¥651.2K

-1.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$1,502 ¥237.3K

11.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

2.21

395.02%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Morioka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Morioka

$323 27.1% 47.6% $293

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Morioka

$294 24.7% 0.2% $0.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Morioka

$187 15.7% 12.7% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Morioka

$108 9.1% 36.6% $62

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Morioka

$127 10.7% 24.3% $41

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Morioka

$77 6.5% 17.8% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Morioka

$74 6.2% 27.7% $16

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,055 in Medellin versus $552 in Morioka. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $46.00 in Medellin versus $31.00 in Morioka. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $295 vs $294 – making Morioka the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇯🇵 Morioka

🕒 Local time

21:39 9:39 PM

11:39 11:39 AM

14 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

289,731

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Medellin Morioka 13,660 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

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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 Morioka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 36%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,421 per month in Medellin and $1,785 in Morioka. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Morioka, 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 $46.00 in Medellin and $31.00 in Morioka. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,614 in Medellin and $1,190 in Morioka. That's a gap of about 36%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Morioka, where all-in costs run around $1,190, than in Medellin at $1,614. In Morioka it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Morioka – 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 Morioka. 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.