Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Tecla and Tunja

For one person, living costs are similar in Santa Tecla and in Tunja: $1,355 and $1,294 a month, rent and utilities included.

66

Cost of Living Index in Santa Tecla
Learn more

Santa Tecla Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Tunja
Learn more

Tunja Living Index

Jump to prices

Santa Tecla

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$1,355

/mo nomad

Tunja

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Tecla and in Tunja

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,355 in Santa Tecla versus $1,294 in Tunja.

Santa Tecla $1,355
Tunja $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,006 in Santa Tecla versus $1,992 in Tunja.

Santa Tecla $2,006
Tunja $1,992

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,657 in Santa Tecla versus $2,689 in Tunja.

Santa Tecla $2,657
Tunja $2,689

Living in Santa Tecla is roughly 5% more expensive than in Tunja, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santa Tecla is 0% above, Tunja is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.56 $6.56

$7.61 COP 24.1K

-13.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.20 $44.20

$41.83 COP 132.6K

5.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.82 $6.82

$10.53 COP 33.4K

-35.23%

Cappuccino

$3.50 $3.50

$2.56 COP 8,122

36.72%

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

$1.15 $1.15

$1.38 COP 4,380

-16.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 $0.86

$0.84 COP 2,661

2.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.98 $1.98

$2.09 COP 6,614

-5.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 $3.63

$3.81 COP 12.1K

-4.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 $1.75

$1.60 COP 5,075

9.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.14 $2.14

$2.48 COP 7,874

-13.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 $1.43

$1.63 COP 5,169

-12.27%

Eggs

$2.30 $2.30

$3.35 COP 10.6K

-31.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 $7.52

$7.90 COP 25.0K

-4.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.55 $5.55

$7.52 COP 23.9K

-26.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.23 $10.23

$9.94 COP 31.5K

2.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 $3.27

$3.48 COP 11.0K

-6.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 $1.37

$1.76 COP 5,590

-22.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.64 $2.64

$1.90 COP 6,028

38.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.54 $3.54

$1.74 COP 5,527

103.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 $2.98

$1.47 COP 4,673

102.72%

Onion (1kg)

$3.35 $3.35

$1.41 COP 4,471

137.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.96 $0.96

$1.31 COP 4,152

-26.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.15 COP 3,654

-14.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.94 $3.94

$4.36 COP 13.8K

-9.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.06 $12.06

$12.70 COP 40.3K

-5.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 $2.20

$1.44 COP 4,559

52.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 $2.95

$2.93 COP 9,295

0.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 COP 2,541

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.16 $6.16

$0.96 COP 3,042

541.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.06 $3.06

$2.32 COP 7,352

31.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.27 $20.27

$9.59 COP 30.4K

111.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 $1.24

$1.28 COP 4,067

-3.13%

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

$25.4K $25.4K

$23.8K COP 75.4M

7.02%

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

$27.0K $27.0K

$35.4K COP 112.4M

-23.89%

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

$132 $132

$123 COP 391.0K

6.93%

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

$20.92 $20.92

$16.02 COP 50.8K

30.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.31 $42.31

$30.03 COP 95.2K

40.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.72 $24.72

$36.92 COP 117.0K

-33.04%

Cinema Ticket

$5.03 $5.03

$7.75 COP 24.6K

-35.10%

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

$160 $160

$499 COP 1.6M

-67.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,809 $4,809

$7,621 COP 24.2M

-36.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 $67.0

$83.2 COP 263.8K

-19.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.85 $46.85

$47.16 COP 149.5K

-0.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 $116

$145 COP 458.5K

-19.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 $115

$105 COP 334.4K

9.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$765 $765

$642 COP 2.0M

19.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$548 $548

$475 COP 1.5M

15.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,200 $1,200

$1,022 COP 3.2M

17.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$887 $887

$882 COP 2.8M

0.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,682 COP 5.3M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,710 COP 5.4M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$406 $406

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.5

12.81

-33.65%

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

Last update for Santa Tecla: October 13, 2026

Last update for Tunja: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Tecla

$548 40.4%

Tunja

$475 36.7% 13.4% $73

Groceries & Markets

Santa Tecla

$260 19.2%

Tunja

$261 20.2% 0.4% $1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Tecla

$195 14.4%

Tunja

$169 13.1% 13.2% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Tecla

$155 11.5%

Tunja

$171 13.2% 10.2% $16

Eating Out

Santa Tecla

$140 10.4%

Tunja

$150 11.6% 7.1% $9.9

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Tecla

$35 2.6%

Tunja

$52 4.1% 50.8% $18

Getting Around

Santa Tecla

$21 * 1.6%

Tunja

$16 * 1.2% 26.6% $5.7

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 $765 in Santa Tecla and $642 in Tunja. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44.00 in Santa Tecla vs $42.00 in Tunja. Groceries flip the comparison at $260 vs $261, with Santa Tecla cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇻 Santa Tecla

🇨🇴 Tunja

🕒 Local time

02:03 2:03 AM

03:03 3:03 AM

1 h ahead of Santa Tecla

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

138,695

200,000

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 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).

COP to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santa Tecla Tunja 1,970 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Tecla
Tunja

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 Tecla vs Tunja: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tunja wins on cost – living expenses run 5% lower than in Santa Tecla. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Tunja the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,032 in Santa Tecla and $1,942 in Tunja to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $765 in Santa Tecla versus $642 in Tunja. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Santa Tecla pay roughly 0% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,355 per month in Santa Tecla versus $1,294 in Tunja – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,294 in Tunja versus $1,355 in Santa Tecla, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tunja but tight or insufficient in Santa Tecla. The gap between the two cities makes Tunja 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.

Safety-wise, Santa Tecla and Tunja are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Tunja gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Santa Tecla. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.