Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Santa Clara

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Clara: $959 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Santa Clara
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Santa Clara Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Santa Clara

🇨🇺 Cuba

$959

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Santa Clara

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $959 in Santa Clara, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Santa Clara $959

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,439 in Santa Clara, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Santa Clara $1,439

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $1,920 in Santa Clara, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Santa Clara $1,920

Medellin costs about 71% more than Santa Clara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Santa Clara is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$3.69 CUP 88.5

119.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.7K

$27.05 CUP 649

73.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.6K

$5.03 CUP 121

88.87%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,722

$1.04 CUP 24.97

189.42%

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

$1.80 COP 5,801

$1.58 CUP 37.94

13.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

$0.92 CUP 22.19

53.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$1.22 CUP 29.18

160.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

$2.04 CUP 49.02

181.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,869

$2.76 CUP 66.3

-45.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,667

$1.45 CUP 34.90

64.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,712

$1.72 CUP 41.36

2.91%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,320

$3.43 CUP 82.3

-15.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$4.52 CUP 109

125.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.8K

$4.75 CUP 114

107.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$8.31 CUP 199

68.35%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$5.97 CUP 143

-33.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,005

$1.06 CUP 25.49

46.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,039

$4.05 CUP 97.1

-46.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,041

$2.35 CUP 56.3

-7.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,328

$2.93 CUP 70.3

-33.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,125

$2.73 CUP 65.5

-41.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,694

$0.75 CUP 17.96

53.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,009

$0.57 CUP 13.77

117.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$1.63 CUP 39.21

142.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

$5.19 CUP 125

163.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

$1.72 CUP 41.22

-3.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

$2.07 CUP 49.79

9.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,089

$2.62 CUP 62.8

-51.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,603

$0.34 CUP 8.16

502.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$20.30 CUP 487

-57.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,343

$1.27 CUP 30.41

6.30%

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

$34.1K COP 109.8M

$60.8K CUP 1.5M

-44.00%

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

$34.7K COP 111.8M

$59.0K CUP 1.4M

-41.24%

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

$170 COP 547.0K

$48.16 CUP 1,156

252.26%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$38.98 CUP 935

-65.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.5K

$88.7 CUP 2,130

-68.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$0.81 CUP 19.44

753.09%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$155 CUP 3,713

414.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$12.6K CUP 302.4K

-27.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.2K

$50.7 CUP 1,217

67.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

$41.49 CUP 996

39.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.2K

$79.6 CUP 1,911

69.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.6K

$67.4 CUP 1,616

45.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$343 CUP 8,241

251.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$356 CUP 8,536

80.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$758 CUP 18.2K

167.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$605 CUP 14.5K

67.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

$279 CUP 6,702

1393.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$291 CUP 6,994

555.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

9.1

20.22%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Santa Clara: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Santa Clara

$356 37.1% 44.6% $286

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Santa Clara

$236 24.7% 20.4% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Santa Clara

$176 18.3% 16.8% $35

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Santa Clara

$77 8.1% 54.4% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Santa Clara

$108 11.2% 36.3% $61

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Santa Clara

$4.3 * 0.5% 95.4% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Santa Clara

$1.6 * 0.2% 97.2% $56

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 $343 in Santa Clara. 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 $27 in Santa Clara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $236 – making Santa Clara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇺 Santa Clara

🕒 Local time

19:09 7:09 PM

Same time as Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

216,056

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.73 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.8 CUP (100 CUP = 3.73 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Santa Clara 1,850 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Santa Clara

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 Santa Clara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 71%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $1,438 in Santa Clara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Santa Clara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $343 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $27 in Santa Clara. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 26% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,639 in Medellin and $959 in Santa Clara. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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