Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nelson and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $1,865 in Nelson, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

90

Cost of Living Index in Nelson
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Nelson Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Nelson

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,865

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nelson and in Medellin

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Nelson and in Medellin actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,865 per month in Nelson vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Nelson $1,865
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $2,872 per month in Nelson vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Nelson $2,872
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $3,879 per month in Nelson vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Nelson $3,879
Medellin $3,186

Nelson costs about 14% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Nelson and Medellin sit above the global median – Nelson by 37%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.72 NZ$24.40

$8.09 COP 26.1K

69.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.8 NZ$115

$47.05 COP 151.9K

37.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.27 NZ$14.71

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-12.95%

Cappuccino

$3.19 NZ$5.66

$3.01 COP 9,735

5.98%

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

$1.82 NZ$3.23

$1.80 COP 5,809

1.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 NZ$2.94

$1.41 COP 4,561

17.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.61 NZ$13.52

$3.18 COP 10.3K

139.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.84 NZ$10.38

$5.75 COP 18.6K

1.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.93 NZ$3.43

$1.51 COP 4,876

27.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 NZ$3.89

$2.38 COP 7,678

-7.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 NZ$3.48

$1.77 COP 5,720

10.73%

Eggs

$5.85 NZ$10.40

$2.89 COP 9,333

102.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.13 NZ$16.22

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-10.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.62 NZ$13.54

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-22.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.65 NZ$24.26

$13.99 COP 45.2K

-2.43%

Apples (1kg)

$3.15 NZ$5.61

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-20.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 NZ$3.82

$1.55 COP 5,012

38.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.00 NZ$5.33

$2.18 COP 7,048

37.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.63 NZ$10.01

$2.18 COP 7,051

158.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 NZ$3.68

$1.96 COP 6,337

5.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 NZ$2.19

$1.59 COP 5,132

-22.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.02 NZ$3.60

$1.15 COP 3,699

75.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 NZ$1.92

$1.24 COP 4,014

-12.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.87 NZ$45.99

$3.96 COP 12.8K

553.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.94 NZ$17.66

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-27.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.14 NZ$5.58

$1.66 COP 5,359

89.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 NZ$5.00

$2.26 COP 7,291

24.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.20 NZ$3.92

$1.17 COP 3,771

88.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 NZ$3.25

$1.27 COP 4,094

44.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.79 NZ$3.18

$2.05 COP 6,612

-12.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.80 NZ$60.1

$8.55 COP 27.6K

295.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 NZ$2.77

$1.35 COP 4,349

15.56%

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

$17.1K NZ$30.3K

$34.1K COP 110.0M

-49.93%

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

$22.4K NZ$39.7K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-35.53%

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

$130 NZ$231

$170 COP 547.8K

-23.26%

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

$32.93 NZ$58.5

$13.55 COP 43.8K

143.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.70 NZ$77.7

$28.07 COP 90.6K

55.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$101 NZ$179

$43.70 COP 141.1K

130.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.48 NZ$61.3

$17.19 COP 55.5K

100.58%

Cinema Ticket

$11.14 NZ$19.81

$6.91 COP 22.3K

61.22%

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

$458 NZ$814

$797 COP 2.6M

-42.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K NZ$23.3K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

43.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.9 NZ$94.1

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-37.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.57 NZ$50.8

$58.0 COP 187.2K

-50.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 NZ$185

$135 COP 435.8K

-23.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$143 NZ$254

$97.9 COP 316.0K

45.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 NZ$1,819

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-15.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$813 NZ$1,445

$642 COP 2.1M

26.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,755 NZ$3,120

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-13.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,455 NZ$2,586

$1,012 COP 3.3M

43.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,396 NZ$2,482

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-66.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$852 NZ$1,514

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-55.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,043 NZ$3,632

$657 COP 2.1M

210.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

10.94

-50.73%

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

Last update for Nelson: October 24, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nelson

$813 43.6%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 21.1% $171

Groceries & Markets

Nelson

$319 17.1%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 6.8% $22

Eating Out

Nelson

$236 12.7%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 28.3% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nelson

$207 11.1%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 2.1% $4.4

Clothing & Footwear

Nelson

$148 7.9%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 14.5% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Nelson

$123 6.6%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 53.2% $65

Getting Around

Nelson

$20 * 1.1%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 378% $74

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,023 in Nelson versus $1,208 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Nelson are about 3.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $65 in Nelson versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $319 vs $297 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Nelson

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

16:46 4:46 PM

22:46 10:46 PM

18 h behind Nelson

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

51,100

2,486,723

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

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).

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).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nelson Medellin 12,230 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Nelson
Medellin

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

Nelson vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Nelson is pricier by about 14%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,797 per month in Nelson and $2,459 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nelson, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,023 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $65 in Nelson and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 7% more in Nelson, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$2,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,865 in Nelson and $1,639 in Medellin, 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 $1,865 in Nelson. 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, Nelson makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.