Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Lucía Milpas Altas and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas: $746 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas, Guatemala
Medellin, Colombia
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
🇬🇹 Guatemala
$746
/mo nomad
Medellin
🇨🇴 Colombia
$1,692
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $746 per month in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas vs $1,692 in Medellin, rent included.

  • Santa Lucía Milpas Altas $746
  • Medellin $1,692

A couple spends around $1,243 per month in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas vs $2,471 in Medellin, rent included.

  • Santa Lucía Milpas Altas $1,243
  • Medellin $2,471

A family of three spends $1,740 per month in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas vs $3,249 in Medellin, rent included.

  • Santa Lucía Milpas Altas $1,740
  • Medellin $3,249

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas is about 56% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas sits 45% below the global median, while Medellin is 25% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
Medellin
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$6.96 Q 53.1
$8.34 COP 27.0K
-16.55%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$49.15 Q 375
$46.53 COP 150.9K
5.63%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.74 Q 59.1
$9.47 COP 30.7K
-18.27%
Cappuccino
$3.27 Q 24.97
$3.13 COP 10.2K
4.47%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.15 Q 8.79
$1.77 COP 5,728
-35.03%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.99 Q 7.60
$1.42 COP 4,620
-30.28%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.33 Q 25.44
$3.15 COP 10.2K
5.71%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.73 Q 36.11
$5.70 COP 18.5K
-17.02%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
Medellin
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.00 Q 15.24
$1.53 COP 4,971
30.72%
White Bread (500g)
$3.14 Q 23.99
$2.29 COP 7,431
37.12%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.06 Q 15.70
$1.94 COP 6,308
6.19%
Eggs
$2.38 Q 18.17
$3.07 COP 9,945
-22.48%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$6.25 Q 47.73
$9.99 COP 32.4K
-37.44%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.29 Q 71.0
$10.45 COP 33.9K
-11.10%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.40 Q 102
$13.96 COP 45.3K
-4.01%
Apples (1kg)
$3.83 Q 29.27
$4.05 COP 13.1K
-5.43%
Banana (1kg)
$1.66 Q 12.69
$1.53 COP 4,957
8.50%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.87 Q 21.88
$2.10 COP 6,825
36.67%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.61 Q 12.28
$2.29 COP 7,439
-29.69%
Potato (1kg)
$1.54 Q 11.76
$2.11 COP 6,841
-27.01%
Onion (1kg)
$2.19 Q 16.73
$1.71 COP 5,543
28.07%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.74 Q 5.68
$1.17 COP 3,795
-36.75%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.17 Q 8.90
$1.58 COP 5,125
-25.95%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.04 Q 30.85
$3.91 COP 12.7K
3.32%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.02 Q 61.3
$14.04 COP 45.6K
-42.88%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.74 Q 13.32
$1.76 COP 5,714
-1.14%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.61 Q 19.95
$2.71 COP 8,796
-3.69%
🚌 Getting Around
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
Medellin
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
-
$1.18 COP 3,826
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$76.3 COP 247.4K
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.31 Q 40.51
$1.81 COP 5,860
193.37%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
-
$2.13 COP 6,906
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$10.43 Q 79.6
$8.13 COP 26.4K
28.29%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.33 Q 10.15
$1.28 COP 4,136
3.91%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$27.7K Q 211.9K
$34.4K COP 111.7M
-19.42%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$25.6K Q 195.5K
$34.1K COP 110.7M
-24.98%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
Medellin
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$71.8 Q 548
$178 COP 576.4K
-59.59%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$28.67 Q 219
$13.89 COP 45.0K
106.41%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$46.52 Q 355
$30.74 COP 99.7K
51.33%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
Medellin
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
-
$41.94 COP 136.0K
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$16.80 COP 54.5K
-
Cinema Ticket
$6.66 Q 50.8
$7.47 COP 24.2K
-10.84%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
Medellin
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$337 Q 2,574
$790 COP 2.6M
-57.33%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$6,557 Q 50.1K
$12.3K COP 39.9M
-46.67%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
Medellin
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$48.91 Q 373
$86.3 COP 280.0K
-43.35%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$46.72 Q 357
$59.3 COP 192.2K
-21.16%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$119 Q 910
$138 COP 448.7K
-13.86%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$115 Q 874
$98.8 COP 320.5K
15.88%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
Medellin
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,341 COP 4.3M
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$667 COP 2.2M
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,976 COP 6.4M
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,033 COP 3.3M
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$4,098 COP 13.3M
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$1,940 COP 6.3M
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
Medellin
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$646 COP 2.1M
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.62
10.94
6.22%

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

Last update for Santa Lucía Milpas Altas: November 3, 2026

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
–
Medellin
$667
Groceries & Markets
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
–
Medellin
$307
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
–
Medellin
$222
Eating Out
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
–
Medellin
$173
Clothing & Footwear
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
–
Medellin
$172
Getting Around
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
–
Medellin
$93
Sport & Entertainment
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
–
Medellin
$57

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $49 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas versus $47 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $279 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas vs $307 in Medellin – so Santa Lucía Milpas Altas wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know
🇬🇹 Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
🇨🇴 Medellin
🕒 Local time
03:43 3:43 AM
04:43 4:43 AM
1 h ahead of Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
12,234
2,486,723
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to GTQ – Guatemalan Quetzal Converter

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.56 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3,243 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,636 COP (10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Santa Lucía Milpas Altas Medellin 1,890 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Santa Lucía Milpas Altas
  • 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
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Santa Lucía Milpas Altas cheaper than Medellin?
Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 127%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,119 per month in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas and $2,538 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Is eating out cheaper in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas or in Medellin?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $49 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
How do food prices compare in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas and in Medellin?
Groceries cost about 10% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.
Is $1,200 a realistic budget for living in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas or in Medellin?
A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas, where all-in costs run around $746, than in Medellin at $1,692. In Santa Lucía Milpas Altas it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is it better to live in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas or in Medellin?
It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $746 in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas to $1,692 in Medellin. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Santa Lucía Milpas Altas vs other spots: cost of living compared

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