Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and St.James

For one person, living is cheaper in St.James: $917 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 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
44

Cost of Living Index in St.James
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St.James Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

St.James

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$917

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in St.James

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $917 in St.James, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
St.James $917

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,593 in St.James, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
St.James $1,593

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $2,270 in St.James, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
St.James $2,270

Medellin costs about 79% more than St.James, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while St.James is 33% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$10.13 TTD 68.0

-20.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$88.4 TTD 593

-46.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$9.03 TTD 60.6

5.20%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$3.65 TTD 24.49

-17.53%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$0.99 TTD 6.67

81.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.77 TTD 5.15

83.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$2.25 TTD 15.06

41.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$3.67 TTD 24.62

56.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$2.51 TTD 16.85

-39.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$2.48 TTD 16.67

-4.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$2.80 TTD 18.82

-36.79%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$4.43 TTD 29.73

-34.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$6.57 TTD 44.06

55.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$9.90 TTD 66.4

-0.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$11.79 TTD 79.1

18.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$5.66 TTD 37.97

-29.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$2.97 TTD 19.90

-47.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$3.75 TTD 25.19

-41.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$4.28 TTD 28.70

-49.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$2.21 TTD 14.84

-11.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$1.87 TTD 12.54

-14.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$1.91 TTD 12.84

-39.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$1.35 TTD 9.08

-8.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$5.73 TTD 38.48

-30.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$19.28 TTD 129

-29.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$2.21 TTD 14.82

-24.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$3.00 TTD 20.13

-24.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$1.01 TTD 6.78

25.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$1.23 TTD 8.26

66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$14.65 TTD 98.3

-41.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$1.17 TTD 7.83

15.38%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$37.2K TTD 249.9K

-8.54%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$40.7K TTD 273.4K

-14.92%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$90.2 TTD 605

88.02%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$50.9 TTD 341

-73.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$56.0 TTD 376

-49.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$9.06 TTD 60.8

-23.73%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$398 TTD 2,669

100.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$10.9K TTD 73.1K

-16.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$54.3 TTD 364

55.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$51.3 TTD 344

12.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$148 TTD 996

-9.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$103 TTD 693

-5.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

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

5.75

90.26%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for St.James: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

St.James

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

St.James

$356 38.8% 19.8% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

St.James

$197 21.5% 6.7% $14

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

St.James

$178 19.4% 4.7% $7.9

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

St.James

$161 17.5% 4.8% $8.2

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

St.James

$7.2 * 0.8% 92.3% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

St.James

$18 * 2% 68.5% $39

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $88 in St.James. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $356 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇹 St.James

🕒 Local time

22:21 10:21 PM

23:21 11:21 PM

1 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

4,342

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, 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).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 TTD (1 TTD = 0.133 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin St.James 1,620 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
St.James

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 St.James: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 79%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $1,375 in St.James. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $88 in St.James. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 17% cheaper in Medellin – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in St.James, where all-in costs run around $917, than in Medellin at $1,639. In St.James it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $917 in St.James to $1,639 in Medellin. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.