Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Oaxaca de Juarez

For one person, living is cheaper in Oaxaca de Juarez: $1,124 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Oaxaca de Juarez
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Oaxaca de Juarez Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Oaxaca de Juarez

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,124

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Oaxaca de Juarez

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 Oaxaca de Juarez actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $1,124 in Oaxaca de Juarez, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Oaxaca de Juarez $1,124

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,735 in Oaxaca de Juarez, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Oaxaca de Juarez $1,735

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $2,347 in Oaxaca de Juarez, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Oaxaca de Juarez $2,347

Medellin costs about 46% more than Oaxaca de Juarez, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Oaxaca de Juarez is 17% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$6.41 MX$120

26.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$32.43 MX$609

45.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$7.88 MX$148

20.56%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$2.72 MX$51.2

10.66%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$1.44 MX$26.99

25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.80 MX$14.99

76.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$2.38 MX$44.73

33.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$3.72 MX$69.9

54.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$1.30 MX$24.46

16.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$2.95 MX$55.5

-19.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$1.06 MX$19.83

66.98%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$1.65 MX$31.07

75.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$6.46 MX$121

57.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$5.46 MX$103

80.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$10.74 MX$202

30.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$2.09 MX$39.32

89.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$1.16 MX$21.82

33.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$1.84 MX$34.67

18.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$0.55 MX$10.42

296.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$2.00 MX$37.64

-2.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$1.91 MX$35.89

-16.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$1.07 MX$20.04

7.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.91 MX$17.07

36.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$4.13 MX$77.7

-4.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$9.29 MX$175

47.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$1.44 MX$27.03

15.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$2.63 MX$49.47

-14.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$0.52 MX$9.73

125.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$3.88 MX$72.9

-67.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$1.93 MX$36.28

6.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$10.94 MX$206

-21.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$1.36 MX$25.51

-0.74%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$23.8K MX$446.4K

43.41%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$23.9K MX$449.6K

44.93%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$59.8 MX$1,124

183.55%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$10.73 MX$202

26.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$23.45 MX$441

19.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$43.86 MX$824

-0.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$5.35 MX$101

29.16%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$419 MX$7,879

90.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$19.3K MX$363.3K

-52.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$52.8 MX$991

60.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$60.5 MX$1,137

-4.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$100.0 MX$1,879

34.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$93.7 MX$1,760

4.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$703 MX$13.2K

71.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$470 MX$8,825

36.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$1,168 MX$21.9K

73.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$871 MX$16.4K

16.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

10.96

-0.18%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Oaxaca de Juarez: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$470 41.8% 26.8% $172

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$216 19.2% 27.3% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$94 8.4% 55.5% $117

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$136 12.1% 19.9% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$138 12.3% 18.3% $31

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$16 * 1.4% 83.3% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$55 4.9% 5.2% $3

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $703 in Oaxaca de Juarez. 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 $47 in Medellin versus $32 in Oaxaca de Juarez. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $216 – making Oaxaca de Juarez the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇲🇽 Oaxaca de Juarez

🕒 Local time

23:50 11:50 PM

22:50 10:50 PM

1 h behind Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

258,913

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,605 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Medellin Oaxaca de Juarez 2,590 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
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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 Oaxaca de Juarez: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 46%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $1,685 in Oaxaca de Juarez. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Oaxaca de Juarez, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $703 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $32 in Oaxaca de Juarez. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 38% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,639 in Medellin and $1,124 in Oaxaca de Juarez. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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