Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Marta and Gampaha

For one person, living is cheaper in Gampaha: $453 a month against $1,461 in Santa Marta, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Santa Marta
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Santa Marta Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Gampaha
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Gampaha Living Index

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Santa Marta

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,461

/mo nomad

Gampaha

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Marta and in Gampaha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,461 in Santa Marta versus $453 in Gampaha.

Santa Marta $1,461
Gampaha $453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,713 in Santa Marta versus $768 in Gampaha.

Santa Marta $1,713
Gampaha $768

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,965 in Santa Marta versus $1,083 in Gampaha.

Santa Marta $1,965
Gampaha $1,083

Living in Santa Marta is roughly 222% more expensive than in Gampaha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santa Marta is 8% above, Gampaha is 67% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.84 LKR 609

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.22 LKR 6,034

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.20 LKR 1,721

Cappuccino

$3.75 COP 11.9K

$1.24 LKR 410

202.42%

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

$0.53 LKR 176

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 LKR 82.1

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.12 LKR 701

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 LKR 1,010

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 COP 5,126

$1.63 LKR 539

-0.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.26 COP 7,170

$0.41 LKR 135

451.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 COP 3,716

$0.73 LKR 241

60.27%

Eggs

$2.57 COP 8,158

$1.65 LKR 548

55.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.22 COP 26.1K

$13.91 LKR 4,607

-40.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.98 COP 31.6K

$4.03 LKR 1,334

147.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.31 COP 35.9K

$7.43 LKR 2,460

52.22%

Apples (1kg)

$4.11 COP 13.0K

$5.95 LKR 1,972

-30.92%

Banana (1kg)

$0.99 COP 3,125

$0.82 LKR 270

20.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.13 COP 3,576

$4.51 LKR 1,493

-74.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.02 COP 6,414

$1.32 LKR 436

53.03%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 COP 3,076

$0.95 LKR 314

2.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.61 COP 5,114

$0.84 LKR 277

91.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.97 COP 3,087

$0.29 LKR 94.8

234.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 COP 1,953

$0.34 LKR 114

82.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.04 COP 12.8K

$9.88 LKR 3,273

-59.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.37 COP 55.1K

$13.04 LKR 4,319

33.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 COP 4,647

$1.35 LKR 447

8.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 COP 4,400

$2.44 LKR 808

-43.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 COP 3,140

$0.29 LKR 95.2

241.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 COP 9,752

$0.29 LKR 95.0

962.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 LKR 120

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.89 LKR 295

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,048

$1.17 LKR 388

9.40%

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

$24.0K COP 76.1M

$30.6K LKR 10.1M

-21.44%

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

$34.6K COP 109.6M

$39.9K LKR 13.2M

-13.39%

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

$158 COP 501.4K

$27.15 LKR 8,994

482.43%

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

$9.26 COP 29.4K

$2.99 LKR 991

209.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.01 COP 69.8K

$10.85 LKR 3,592

102.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.84 COP 100.9K

$7.73 LKR 2,561

311.90%

Cinema Ticket

$5.24 COP 16.6K

$4.55 LKR 1,508

15.16%

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

$14.93 LKR 4,944

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.2K COP 35.5M

$121 LKR 40.1K

9163.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.5 COP 274.3K

$18.28 LKR 6,054

373.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.0 COP 196.5K

$9.02 LKR 2,987

587.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.9 COP 300.8K

$59.9 LKR 19.8K

58.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.7 COP 274.9K

$23.95 LKR 7,933

262.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,090 COP 3.5M

$90.2 LKR 29.9K

1108.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$763 COP 2.4M

$56.4 LKR 18.7K

1251.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,118 COP 3.5M

$302 LKR 100.2K

269.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$639 COP 2.0M

$163 LKR 54.0K

292.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,092 COP 3.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,177 COP 3.7M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$534 COP 1.7M

$231 LKR 76.4K

131.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

19.54

95.40%

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

Last update for Santa Marta: October 18, 2026

Last update for Gampaha: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Marta

$763 52.2%

Gampaha

$56 12.5% 92.6% $706

Groceries & Markets

Santa Marta

$266 18.2%

Gampaha

$221 48.7% 16.9% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Marta

$189 13%

Gampaha

$41 9% 78.4% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Marta

$149 10.2%

Gampaha

$50 11% 66.3% $99

Eating Out

Santa Marta

$45 * 3.1%

Gampaha

$65 14.3% 44.3% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Marta

$42 2.9%

Gampaha

$17 3.7% 60.2% $25

Getting Around

Santa Marta

$7 * 0.5%

Gampaha

$3.2 * 0.7% 54% $3.8

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,090 in Santa Marta and $90.2 in Gampaha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Marta pays 131% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Santa Marta

🇱🇰 Gampaha

🕒 Local time

09:23 9:23 AM

19:53 7:53 PM

10 h 30 min ahead of Santa Marta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

500,000

20,000

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Santa Marta Gampaha 16,510 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Marta
Gampaha

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 Marta vs Gampaha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santa Marta and Gampaha differ by about 222% in total monthly costs ($1,461 vs $453 including rent). Gampaha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 131% higher in Santa Marta, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,090 in Santa Marta versus $90.2 in Gampaha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Santa Marta. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,461 per month in Santa Marta versus $453 in Gampaha – a 222% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $453 in Gampaha versus $1,461 in Santa Marta, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Gampaha but tight or insufficient in Santa Marta. The gap between the two cities makes Gampaha the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Gampaha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 222% less than in Santa Marta. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.