Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sagamihara and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Sagamihara: $1,257 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Sagamihara
🇯🇵 Japan
$1,257
/mo nomad
Medellin
🇨🇴 Colombia
$1,614
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,257 per month in Sagamihara vs $1,614 in Medellin, rent included.

  • Sagamihara $1,257
  • Medellin $1,614

A couple spends around $2,021 per month in Sagamihara vs $2,402 in Medellin, rent included.

  • Sagamihara $2,021
  • Medellin $2,402

A family of three spends $2,785 per month in Sagamihara vs $3,190 in Medellin, rent included.

  • Sagamihara $2,785
  • Medellin $3,190

Sagamihara is about 22% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Sagamihara sits 7% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Sagamihara
Medellin
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$8.53 ¥1,348
$7.93 COP 25.2K
7.57%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$32.01 ¥5,057
$46.13 COP 146.3K
-30.61%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.91 ¥775
$9.50 COP 30.1K
-48.32%
Cappuccino
$2.46 ¥389
$3.11 COP 9,866
-20.90%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.23 ¥195
$1.83 COP 5,800
-32.79%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.86 ¥135
$1.38 COP 4,360
-37.68%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.11 ¥492
$3.05 COP 9,672
1.97%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.08 ¥486
$5.50 COP 17.4K
-44.00%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Sagamihara
Medellin
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.93 ¥147
$1.45 COP 4,600
-35.86%
White Bread (500g)
$0.62 ¥97.4
$2.36 COP 7,496
-73.73%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$4.18 ¥660
$1.68 COP 5,328
148.81%
Eggs
$1.83 ¥290
$2.86 COP 9,077
-36.01%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$15.74 ¥2,486
$10.19 COP 32.3K
54.47%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.96 ¥1,099
$9.53 COP 30.2K
-26.97%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.26 ¥2,727
$14.04 COP 44.5K
22.93%
Apples (1kg)
$2.27 ¥358
$4.07 COP 12.9K
-44.23%
Banana (1kg)
$1.60 ¥252
$1.50 COP 4,742
6.67%
Oranges (1kg)
$5.02 ¥794
$2.17 COP 6,891
131.34%
Tomato (1kg)
$7.96 ¥1,257
$2.31 COP 7,310
244.59%
Potato (1kg)
$3.90 ¥616
$1.93 COP 6,113
102.07%
Onion (1kg)
$4.74 ¥749
$1.64 COP 5,196
189.02%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.13 ¥178
$1.13 COP 3,571
-
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.42 ¥67.1
$1.25 COP 3,954
-66.40%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.98 ¥629
$3.99 COP 12.6K
-0.25%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.59 ¥1,515
$13.35 COP 42.3K
-28.16%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.61 ¥412
$1.70 COP 5,384
53.53%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.13 ¥337
$2.37 COP 7,525
-10.13%
🚌 Getting Around
Sagamihara
Medellin
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.32 ¥209
$1.21 COP 3,827
9.09%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$47.24 ¥7,463
$76.5 COP 242.5K
-38.24%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.09 ¥488
$1.32 COP 4,179
134.09%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.81 ¥444
$2.14 COP 6,774
31.31%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$15.55 ¥2,457
$8.47 COP 26.8K
83.59%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.06 ¥167
$1.30 COP 4,114
-18.46%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.4K ¥3.4M
$28.0K COP 88.7M
-23.54%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$15.1K ¥2.4M
$35.4K COP 112.3M
-57.42%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sagamihara
Medellin
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$117 ¥18.5K
$172 COP 545.6K
-31.80%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.13 ¥3,654
$13.37 COP 42.4K
73.00%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$31.04 ¥4,904
$28.73 COP 91.1K
8.04%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Sagamihara
Medellin
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$58.1 ¥9,172
$45.24 COP 143.5K
28.34%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$17.04 COP 54.0K
-
Cinema Ticket
$11.33 ¥1,790
$6.28 COP 19.9K
80.41%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Sagamihara
Medellin
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$580 ¥91.6K
$770 COP 2.4M
-24.68%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$14.5K ¥2.3M
$9,011 COP 28.6M
61.30%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Sagamihara
Medellin
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$49.53 ¥7,826
$86.4 COP 274.0K
-42.68%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$35.82 ¥5,659
$57.1 COP 181.1K
-37.30%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$61.4 ¥9,695
$137 COP 432.9K
-55.05%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$97.3 ¥15.4K
$97.9 COP 310.4K
-0.66%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Sagamihara
Medellin
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$468 ¥73.9K
$1,055 COP 3.3M
-55.65%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$362 ¥57.1K
$616 COP 2.0M
-41.28%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,074 ¥169.7K
$1,892 COP 6.0M
-43.23%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$845 ¥133.5K
$1,023 COP 3.2M
-17.40%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,844 ¥765.3K
$4,059 COP 12.9M
19.35%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,779 ¥281.0K
$1,678 COP 5.3M
5.97%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Sagamihara
Medellin
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$652 COP 2.1M
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
2.02
10.94
-81.54%

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

Last update for Sagamihara: October 10, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Sagamihara
$362
Medellin
$616 70.3% $254
Groceries & Markets
Sagamihara
$321
Medellin
$295 8.3% $27
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sagamihara
$172
Medellin
$214 24.9% $43
Eating Out
Sagamihara
$143
Medellin
$168 18.1% $26
Clothing & Footwear
Sagamihara
$110
Medellin
$170 54.9% $60
Sport & Entertainment
Sagamihara
$81
Medellin
$58 28.4% $23
Getting Around
Sagamihara
$70
Medellin
$93 33.9% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $468 in Sagamihara versus $1,055 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 $32.00 in Sagamihara versus $46.00 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $321 in Sagamihara vs $295 in Medellin – so Medellin wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know
🇯🇵 Sagamihara
🇨🇴 Medellin
🕒 Local time
20:36 8:36 PM
06:36 6:36 AM
14 h behind Sagamihara
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
725,493
2,486,723
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Sagamihara Medellin 14,100 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Sagamihara
  • 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
Sagamihara vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Medellin cheaper than Sagamihara?
Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 28%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,886 per month in Sagamihara and $2,421 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Sagamihara, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
Is eating out cheaper in Sagamihara or in Medellin?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $32.00 in Sagamihara and $46.00 in Medellin. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
What are total monthly expenses in Sagamihara and in Medellin?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,257 in Sagamihara and $1,614 in Medellin. That's a gap of about 28%.
Is $1,000 a realistic budget for living in Sagamihara or in Medellin?
A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Sagamihara, where all-in costs run around $1,257, than in Medellin at $1,614. In Sagamihara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Sagamihara or Medellin more family-friendly?
Families tend to lean toward Sagamihara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.
Which city is safer, Sagamihara or Medellin?
Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Sagamihara. 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.

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