Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rosarito and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Rosarito: $1,173 a month against $1,589 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Rosarito
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Rosarito Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Rosarito

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,173

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rosarito 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 Rosarito and in Medellin actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,173 per month in Rosarito vs $1,589 in Medellin, rent included.

Rosarito $1,173
Medellin $1,589

A couple spends around $1,900 per month in Rosarito vs $2,364 in Medellin, rent included.

Rosarito $1,900
Medellin $2,364

A family of three spends $2,628 per month in Rosarito vs $3,139 in Medellin, rent included.

Rosarito $2,628
Medellin $3,139

Rosarito is about 26% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Rosarito sits 12% below the global median, while Medellin is 19% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.41 MX$226

$8.01 COP 25.8K

54.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.87 MX$634

$46.55 COP 149.9K

-25.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.82 MX$179

$9.43 COP 30.4K

4.14%

Cappuccino

$4.26 MX$77.5

$2.91 COP 9,374

46.39%

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

$1.37 MX$24.96

$1.75 COP 5,643

-21.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.62

$1.32 COP 4,263

-6.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 MX$62.1

$3.13 COP 10.1K

9.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.57 MX$119

$5.55 COP 17.9K

18.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MX$32.73

$1.41 COP 4,542

27.66%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 MX$54.8

$2.44 COP 7,858

23.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 MX$31.97

$1.63 COP 5,245

7.98%

Eggs

$3.31 MX$60.1

$2.82 COP 9,084

17.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.34 MX$152

$9.69 COP 31.2K

-13.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.32 MX$133

$9.32 COP 30.0K

-21.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.88 MX$216

$13.46 COP 43.3K

-11.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 MX$52.0

$4.00 COP 12.9K

-28.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 MX$30.51

$1.48 COP 4,768

13.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 MX$34.70

$2.12 COP 6,839

-9.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.02

$2.25 COP 7,253

-26.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 MX$28.66

$1.91 COP 6,155

-17.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 MX$34.75

$1.62 COP 5,214

17.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 MX$26.83

$1.15 COP 3,696

27.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$19.54

$1.26 COP 4,063

-15.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.37 MX$79.5

$3.82 COP 12.3K

14.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.20 MX$149

$13.11 COP 42.2K

-37.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.30 MX$41.76

$1.60 COP 5,136

43.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 MX$74.8

$2.26 COP 7,263

81.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.66 MX$11.99

$1.17 COP 3,770

-43.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.0 COP 241.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 MX$54.7

$1.27 COP 4,098

136.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.28 MX$41.45

$2.05 COP 6,600

11.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.05 MX$201

$8.20 COP 26.4K

34.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$23.90

$1.27 COP 4,088

3.15%

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

$21.2K MX$386.0K

$26.8K COP 86.2M

-20.75%

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

$24.4K MX$444.7K

$34.4K COP 110.8M

-28.94%

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

$48.34 MX$879

$162 COP 522.3K

-70.20%

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

$34.02 MX$619

$13.12 COP 42.3K

159.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.93 MX$544

$28.09 COP 90.5K

6.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.33 MX$643

$44.33 COP 142.7K

-20.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.08 MX$365

$16.33 COP 52.6K

22.96%

Cinema Ticket

$6.88 MX$125

$6.09 COP 19.6K

12.97%

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

$210 MX$3,814

$764 COP 2.5M

-72.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,684 MX$85.2K

$8,904 COP 28.7M

-47.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.5 MX$991

$85.0 COP 273.6K

-35.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.77 MX$851

$57.5 COP 185.1K

-18.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 MX$1,884

$132 COP 424.2K

-21.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.5 MX$1,265

$95.8 COP 308.3K

-27.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$624 MX$11.4K

$1,028 COP 3.3M

-39.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$396 MX$7,207

$604 COP 1.9M

-34.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 MX$18.8K

$1,802 COP 5.8M

-42.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$776 MX$14.1K

$993 COP 3.2M

-21.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,894 MX$34.4K

$3,921 COP 12.6M

-51.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,146 MX$20.8K

$1,639 COP 5.3M

-30.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$626 COP 2.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.07

10.94

10.33%

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

Last update for Rosarito: October 4, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rosarito

$396 33.4%

Medellin

$604 38.3% 52.6% $208

Groceries & Markets

Rosarito

$269 22.7%

Medellin

$288 18.3% 7.1% $19

Eating Out

Rosarito

$220 18.6%

Medellin

$166 10.6% 24.6% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Rosarito

$123 10.4%

Medellin

$166 10.6% 34.9% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rosarito

$112 9.5%

Medellin

$203 12.9% 81.2% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Rosarito

$49 4.1%

Medellin

$57 3.6% 15.1% $7.4

Getting Around

Rosarito

$17 * 1.4%

Medellin

$91 5.8% 435% $74

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $624 in Rosarito versus $1,028 in Medellin. 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 $35.00 in Rosarito versus $47.00 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $269 vs $288 – making Rosarito the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Rosarito

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

23:33 11:33 PM

01:33 1:33 AM

2 h ahead of Rosarito

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

100,660

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.11 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,220 COP (10,000 COP = 3.11 USD). 1 EUR = 3,611 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rosarito Medellin 5,180 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Rosarito
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

Rosarito vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 36%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,759 per month in Rosarito and $2,384 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $35.00 in Rosarito and $47.00 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 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 Rosarito, where all-in costs run around $1,173, than in Medellin at $1,589. In Rosarito it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Rosarito – 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 Rosarito. 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.