Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Townsville

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,692 a month against $2,606 in Townsville, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Townsville
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Townsville Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Townsville

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,606

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Townsville

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

A single person spends $1,692 per month in Medellin vs $2,606 in Townsville, rent included.

Medellin $1,692
Townsville $2,606

A couple spends around $2,471 per month in Medellin vs $3,842 in Townsville, rent included.

Medellin $2,471
Townsville $3,842

A family of three spends $3,249 per month in Medellin vs $5,078 in Townsville, rent included.

Medellin $3,249
Townsville $5,078

Medellin is about 35% cheaper than Townsville, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Medellin and Townsville sit above the global median – Medellin by 25%, Townsville by 93%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.8K

$22.82 A$32.52

-63.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 149.7K

$70.4 A$100

-33.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.5K

$12.16 A$17.33

-22.12%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$3.58 A$5.10

-12.57%

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

$1.77 COP 5,681

$2.64 A$3.76

-32.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,582

$2.47 A$3.52

-42.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.1K

$8.53 A$12.16

-63.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.3K

$7.20 A$10.27

-20.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,930

$1.77 A$2.53

-13.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,370

$2.27 A$3.23

0.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,257

$1.36 A$1.94

42.65%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,864

$5.23 A$7.45

-41.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.1K

$8.16 A$11.63

22.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.6K

$9.89 A$14.09

5.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 44.9K

$13.37 A$19.06

4.41%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.0K

$4.13 A$5.89

-1.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,916

$2.70 A$3.85

-43.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,769

$3.58 A$5.10

-41.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,378

$4.29 A$6.11

-46.62%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,785

$2.64 A$3.76

-20.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,498

$2.85 A$4.07

-40.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,764

$2.30 A$3.28

-49.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,083

$3.26 A$4.64

-51.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$30.58 A$43.58

-87.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.2K

$10.71 A$15.26

31.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,667

$6.93 A$9.88

-74.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,724

$8.54 A$12.17

-68.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,795

$2.11 A$3.01

-44.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 245.4K

$55.2 A$78.7

38.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,812

$2.62 A$3.74

-30.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,849

$2.04 A$2.91

4.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.2K

$44.02 A$62.7

-81.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,102

$1.24 A$1.76

3.23%

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

$34.4K COP 110.8M

$28.1K A$40.1K

22.36%

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

$34.1K COP 109.8M

$27.8K A$39.7K

22.56%

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

$178 COP 571.7K

$383 A$545

-53.57%

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

$13.89 COP 44.7K

$36.42 A$51.9

-61.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 98.9K

$66.0 A$94.1

-53.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 134.9K

$55.4 A$78.9

-24.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.0K

$19.73 A$28.11

-14.85%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.0K

$15.23 A$21.71

-50.95%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$2,084 A$2,970

-62.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.6M

$12.2K A$17.5K

0.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 277.7K

$92.5 A$132

-6.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 190.6K

$70.1 A$99.9

-15.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 445.0K

$164 A$233

-15.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 317.8K

$131 A$187

-24.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$1,286 A$1,832

4.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.1M

$1,025 A$1,460

-34.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$2,313 A$3,296

-14.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$1,845 A$2,630

-44.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$4,976 A$7,091

-17.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.2M

$4,112 A$5,860

-52.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$4,066 A$5,794

-84.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.68

92.61%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Townsville: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Townsville

$1K 39.3% 53.6% $358

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Townsville

$389 14.9% 26.4% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Townsville

$485 18.6% 118% $263

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Townsville

$340 13% 96.7% $167

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Townsville

$206 7.9% 19.6% $34

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Townsville

$77 2.9% 18.1% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Townsville

$86 3.3% 50.9% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,341 in Medellin versus $1,286 in Townsville. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Townsville are about 6.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $70 in Townsville. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $389 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇦🇺 Townsville

🕒 Local time

11:18 11:18 AM

02:18 2:18 AM

15 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

173,724

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.11 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 AUD = 0.702 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3,217 COP (10,000 COP = 3.11 USD). 1 EUR = 3,615 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Townsville 15,210 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Townsville

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 Townsville: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Townsville is pricier by about 54%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,538 per month in Medellin and $3,910 in Townsville. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $1,341 in Medellin and $1,286 in Townsville. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $70 in Townsville. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,692 in Medellin and $2,606 in Townsville. That makes Medellin about 35% cheaper.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Medellin, where all-in costs run around $1,692, than in Townsville at $2,606. In Medellin it covers expenses comfortably, while in Townsville 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 $1,692 in Medellin to $2,606 in Townsville. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Medellin. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Townsville makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.