Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Upper Hutt

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $1,952 in Upper Hutt, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 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
96

Cost of Living Index in Upper Hutt
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Upper Hutt Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Upper Hutt

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,952

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Upper Hutt

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $1,952 in Upper Hutt, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Upper Hutt $1,952

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $2,954 in Upper Hutt, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Upper Hutt $2,954

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $3,956 in Upper Hutt, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Upper Hutt $3,956

Medellin is about 16% cheaper than Upper Hutt, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Medellin and Upper Hutt sit above the global median – Medellin by 20%, Upper Hutt by 43%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$8.58 NZ$15.26

-5.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$57.9 NZ$103

-18.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$8.66 NZ$15.39

9.70%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$2.92 NZ$5.18

3.08%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$2.39 NZ$4.25

-24.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$1.74 NZ$3.10

-18.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$7.58 NZ$13.47

-58.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$6.64 NZ$11.80

-13.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$1.86 NZ$3.31

-18.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$2.18 NZ$3.87

9.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$1.86 NZ$3.31

-4.84%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$7.09 NZ$12.60

-59.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$5.51 NZ$9.80

84.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$9.62 NZ$17.10

2.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$15.38 NZ$27.34

-9.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$3.17 NZ$5.63

25.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$2.26 NZ$4.02

-31.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$3.14 NZ$5.59

-30.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$6.41 NZ$11.40

-65.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$2.17 NZ$3.86

-9.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$1.30 NZ$2.32

22.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$2.08 NZ$3.70

-44.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$1.15 NZ$2.05

7.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$25.44 NZ$45.23

-84.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$11.31 NZ$20.11

20.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$3.19 NZ$5.67

-47.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$2.77 NZ$4.92

-18.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$1.89 NZ$3.36

-38.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$105 NZ$187

-26.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$1.82 NZ$3.23

-30.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$1.84 NZ$3.27

11.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$34.32 NZ$61.0

-75.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$1.83 NZ$3.25

-26.23%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$28.5K NZ$50.7K

19.53%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$23.2K NZ$41.2K

49.52%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$113 NZ$202

49.62%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$25.35 NZ$45.07

-46.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$54.8 NZ$97.4

-48.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$42.80 NZ$76.1

2.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$12.16 NZ$21.62

-43.17%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$1,064 NZ$1,892

-25.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$13.3K NZ$23.6K

-31.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$78.6 NZ$140

7.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$28.83 NZ$51.3

101.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$104 NZ$185

29.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$156 NZ$277

-37.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$1,057 NZ$1,879

14.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$869 NZ$1,544

-26.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$1,498 NZ$2,662

35.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$1,531 NZ$2,722

-33.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$4,193 NZ$7,453

-0.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$3,357 NZ$5,967

-43.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.39

102.97%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Upper Hutt: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Upper Hutt

$869 44.5% 35.4% $227

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Upper Hutt

$336 17.2% 13.3% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Upper Hutt

$194 9.9% 8.4% $18

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Upper Hutt

$197 10.1% 16.4% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Upper Hutt

$165 8.5% 2.2% $3.7

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Upper Hutt

$124 6.3% 32.4% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Upper Hutt

$67 3.4% 16.7% $9.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $1,057 in Upper Hutt. 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 $58 in Upper Hutt. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $336 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇳🇿 Upper Hutt

🕒 Local time

19:55 7:55 PM

13:55 1:55 PM

18 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

44,600

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, 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).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Upper Hutt 12,080 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Upper Hutt

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 Upper Hutt: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Upper Hutt is pricier by about 19%, 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 $2,928 in Upper Hutt. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Upper Hutt, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,057 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $58 in Upper Hutt. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $1,952 in Upper Hutt. That makes Medellin about 16% cheaper.

$2,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,639 in Medellin and $1,952 in Upper Hutt, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,639 in Medellin to $1,952 in Upper Hutt. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.