Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Taiyuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Taiyuan: $589 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 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
28

Cost of Living Index in Taiyuan
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Taiyuan Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Taiyuan

🇨🇳 China

$589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Taiyuan

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

A single person spends $1,614 per month in Medellin vs $589 in Taiyuan, rent included.

Medellin $1,614
Taiyuan $589

A couple spends around $2,402 per month in Medellin vs $913 in Taiyuan, rent included.

Medellin $2,402
Taiyuan $913

A family of three spends $3,190 per month in Medellin vs $1,238 in Taiyuan, rent included.

Medellin $3,190
Taiyuan $1,238

Medellin costs about 174% more than Taiyuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Taiyuan is 56% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$2.28 ¥15.21

247.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$14.73 ¥98.4

213.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$4.40 ¥29.37

115.91%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$2.64 ¥17.60

17.80%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$0.47 ¥3.11

289.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$0.29 ¥1.92

375.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$1.22 ¥8.12

150.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$2.15 ¥14.36

155.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$0.83 ¥5.51

102.41%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$1.01 ¥6.75

183.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$13.02 ¥86.9

7.83%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$1.87 ¥12.50

117.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$1.38 ¥9.20

8.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$0.81 ¥5.40

167.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$1.16 ¥7.76

99.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$0.48 ¥3.20

302.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$0.29 ¥1.91

465.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$0.46 ¥3.07

171.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$2.95 ¥19.72

35.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$7.56 ¥50.5

76.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$0.87 ¥5.80

95.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$1.45 ¥9.71

63.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$0.31 ¥2.08

290.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

$13.65 ¥91.1

460.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$1.18 ¥7.89

11.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$0.23 ¥1.53

830.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$3.73 ¥24.88

127.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$1.25 ¥8.32

4.00%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$20.0K ¥133.4K

40.09%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$17.5K ¥117.1K

101.95%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$94.3 ¥630

82.45%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$10.27 ¥68.6

30.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$12.74 ¥85.1

125.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$45.17 ¥302

0.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

$8.76 ¥58.5

94.52%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$6.64 ¥44.31

-5.42%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$27.60 ¥184

213.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$67.2 ¥449

-14.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$74.0 ¥494

84.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$59.4 ¥397

64.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$223 ¥1,488

373.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$114 ¥759

441.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$556 ¥3,714

240.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$259 ¥1,730

294.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$2,629 ¥17.6K

54.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$1,252 ¥8,356

34.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$928 ¥6,194

-29.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.83

185.64%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Taiyuan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Taiyuan

$114 19.3% 81.5% $502

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Taiyuan

$103 * 17.5% 65.1% $192

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Taiyuan

$117 19.9% 45.2% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Taiyuan

$103 17.4% 39.6% $67

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Taiyuan

$76 13% 54.6% $92

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Taiyuan

$17 2.9% 81.5% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Taiyuan

$58 9.9% 1.1% $0.6

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,055 in Medellin versus $223 in Taiyuan. 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 42% higher in Taiyuan, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $46.00 in Medellin versus $15.00 in Taiyuan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $295 vs $103 – making Taiyuan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇳 Taiyuan

🕒 Local time

07:04 7:04 AM

20:04 8:04 PM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

3,525,300

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, 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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Medellin Taiyuan 15,030 km ≈ 19 h 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 Taiyuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 174%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,421 per month in Medellin and $883 in Taiyuan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 460% less in Taiyuan. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Groceries cost about 186% more in Medellin, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Taiyuan, where all-in costs run around $589, than in Medellin at $1,614. In Taiyuan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Taiyuan. 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.