Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Clara and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Clara: $959 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Santa Clara
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Santa Clara Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Santa Clara

🇨🇺 Cuba

$959

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $959 per month in Santa Clara vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Santa Clara $959
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $1,439 per month in Santa Clara vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Santa Clara $1,439
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $1,920 per month in Santa Clara vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Santa Clara $1,920
Medellin $3,186

Santa Clara is about 42% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Santa Clara sits 30% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.69 CUP 88.5

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-54.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.05 CUP 649

$47.05 COP 151.7K

-42.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.03 CUP 121

$9.50 COP 30.6K

-47.05%

Cappuccino

$1.04 CUP 24.97

$3.01 COP 9,722

-65.45%

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

$1.58 CUP 37.94

$1.80 COP 5,801

-12.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 CUP 22.19

$1.41 COP 4,554

-34.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 CUP 29.18

$3.18 COP 10.2K

-61.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 CUP 49.02

$5.75 COP 18.5K

-64.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.76 CUP 66.3

$1.51 COP 4,869

82.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 CUP 34.90

$2.38 COP 7,667

-39.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 CUP 41.36

$1.77 COP 5,712

-2.82%

Eggs

$3.43 CUP 82.3

$2.89 COP 9,320

18.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.52 CUP 109

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-55.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.75 CUP 114

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-51.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.31 CUP 199

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-40.60%

Apples (1kg)

$5.97 CUP 143

$3.97 COP 12.8K

50.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 CUP 25.49

$1.55 COP 5,005

-31.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.05 CUP 97.1

$2.18 COP 7,039

85.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.35 CUP 56.3

$2.18 COP 7,041

7.80%

Potato (1kg)

$2.93 CUP 70.3

$1.96 COP 6,328

49.49%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 CUP 65.5

$1.59 COP 5,125

71.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 CUP 17.96

$1.15 COP 3,694

-34.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 CUP 13.77

$1.24 COP 4,009

-54.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.63 CUP 39.21

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-58.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.19 CUP 125

$13.68 COP 44.1K

-62.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 CUP 41.22

$1.66 COP 5,352

3.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 CUP 49.79

$2.26 COP 7,281

-8.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.62 CUP 62.8

$1.27 COP 4,089

106.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 CUP 8.16

$2.05 COP 6,603

-83.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.30 CUP 487

$8.55 COP 27.6K

137.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 CUP 30.41

$1.35 COP 4,343

-5.93%

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

$60.8K CUP 1.5M

$34.1K COP 109.8M

78.57%

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

$59.0K CUP 1.4M

$34.7K COP 111.8M

70.19%

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

$48.16 CUP 1,156

$170 COP 547.0K

-71.61%

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

$38.98 CUP 935

$13.55 COP 43.7K

187.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$88.7 CUP 2,130

$28.07 COP 90.5K

216.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

Cinema Ticket

$0.81 CUP 19.44

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-88.28%

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

$155 CUP 3,713

$797 COP 2.6M

-80.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K CUP 302.4K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

38.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.7 CUP 1,217

$84.7 COP 273.2K

-40.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 CUP 996

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-28.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.6 CUP 1,911

$135 COP 435.2K

-41.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.4 CUP 1,616

$97.9 COP 315.6K

-31.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$343 CUP 8,241

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-71.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 CUP 8,536

$642 COP 2.1M

-44.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$758 CUP 18.2K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-62.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$605 CUP 14.5K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-40.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$279 CUP 6,702

$4,170 COP 13.4M

-93.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$291 CUP 6,994

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-84.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.1

10.94

-16.82%

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

Last update for Santa Clara: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Clara

$356 37.1%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 80.4% $286

Groceries & Markets

Santa Clara

$236 24.7%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 25.6% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Clara

$176 18.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 20.1% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Clara

$108 11.2%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 57% $61

Eating Out

Santa Clara

$77 8.1%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 120% $92

Getting Around

Santa Clara

$4.3 * 0.5%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 2071% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Clara

$1.6 * 0.2%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 3451% $56

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $343 in Santa Clara 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Santa Clara versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $236 vs $297 – making Santa Clara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇺 Santa Clara

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

11:28 11:28 AM

Same time as Santa Clara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

216,056

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Cuban Peso CUP $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.73 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to CUP – Cuban Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇺 Cuban Peso ($)

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.8 CUP (100 CUP = 3.73 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to CUP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Clara Medellin 1,850 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Santa Clara
Medellin

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Santa Clara vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 71%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,438 per month in Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $343 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Santa Clara and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 26% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $959 in Santa Clara and $1,639 in Medellin. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Santa Clara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.