Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sapporo and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Sapporo: $1,422 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Sapporo
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Sapporo Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Sapporo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,422

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,422 per month in Sapporo vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Sapporo $1,422
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $2,123 per month in Sapporo vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Sapporo $2,123
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $2,823 per month in Sapporo vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Sapporo $2,823
Medellin $3,186

Sapporo is about 13% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Sapporo and Medellin sit above the global median – Sapporo by 4%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.33 ¥997

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-21.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.34 ¥4,469

$47.05 COP 151.9K

-39.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.51 ¥869

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-42.00%

Cappuccino

$4.92 ¥776

$3.01 COP 9,735

63.46%

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

$1.74 ¥274

$1.80 COP 5,809

-3.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥138

$1.41 COP 4,561

-37.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.37 ¥689

$3.18 COP 10.3K

37.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 ¥898

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-0.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 ¥243

$1.51 COP 4,876

1.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ¥214

$2.38 COP 7,678

-42.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.97 ¥626

$1.77 COP 5,720

124.29%

Eggs

$1.78 ¥281

$2.89 COP 9,333

-38.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.44 ¥1,488

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-7.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.77 ¥1,068

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-31.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.65 ¥4,044

$13.99 COP 45.2K

83.35%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 ¥512

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-18.14%

Banana (1kg)

$3.03 ¥477

$1.55 COP 5,012

95.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.15 ¥497

$2.18 COP 7,048

44.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.35 ¥686

$2.18 COP 7,051

99.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.14 ¥338

$1.96 COP 6,337

9.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 ¥262

$1.59 COP 5,132

4.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.50 ¥236

$1.15 COP 3,699

30.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ¥77.2

$1.24 COP 4,014

-60.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 ¥625

$3.96 COP 12.8K

Wine (Bottle)

$8.19 ¥1,292

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-40.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 ¥293

$1.66 COP 5,359

12.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 ¥511

$2.26 COP 7,291

43.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.56 ¥246

$1.17 COP 3,771

33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.41 ¥7,633

$77.4 COP 249.8K

-37.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.12 ¥650

$1.27 COP 4,094

224.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ¥257

$2.05 COP 6,612

-20.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.09 ¥2,538

$8.55 COP 27.6K

88.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥175

$1.35 COP 4,349

-17.78%

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

$21.9K ¥3.5M

$34.1K COP 110.0M

-35.63%

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

$14.4K ¥2.3M

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-58.49%

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

$344 ¥54.2K

$170 COP 547.8K

102.48%

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

$25.82 ¥4,071

$13.55 COP 43.8K

90.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.90 ¥7,553

$28.07 COP 90.6K

70.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.4 ¥7,954

$43.70 COP 141.1K

15.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.20 ¥504

$17.19 COP 55.5K

-81.38%

Cinema Ticket

$12.08 ¥1,904

$6.91 COP 22.3K

74.82%

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

$312 ¥49.2K

$797 COP 2.6M

-60.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.1K ¥1.6M

$9,112 COP 29.4M

11.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.49 ¥6,069

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-54.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ¥3,979

$58.0 COP 187.2K

-56.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$48.43 ¥7,636

$135 COP 435.8K

-64.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 ¥18.7K

$97.9 COP 316.0K

21.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$463 ¥73.0K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-61.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$276 ¥43.5K

$642 COP 2.1M

-56.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$831 ¥131.1K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-59.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$644 ¥101.5K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-36.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,259 ¥356.2K

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-45.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,608 ¥253.5K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-15.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 ¥359.6K

$657 COP 2.1M

247.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.57

10.94

-76.51%

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

Last update for Sapporo: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sapporo

$417 29.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 49.4% $206

Groceries & Markets

Sapporo

$314 22.1%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 5.3% $17

Accommodation & Living

Sapporo

$276 19.4%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 132% $365

Eating Out

Sapporo

$170 11.9%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 0.2% $0.3

Clothing & Footwear

Sapporo

$104 7.3%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 62.7% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Sapporo

$75 5.3%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 22.9% $17

Getting Around

Sapporo

$67 4.7%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 39.8% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $463 in Sapporo 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.

Salaries in Sapporo are about 3.5 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28 in Sapporo versus $47 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $314 in Sapporo vs $297 in Medellin – so Medellin wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Sapporo

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

19:40 7:40 PM

05:40 5:40 AM

14 h behind Sapporo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,973,395

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Sapporo Medellin 13,390 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Sapporo
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

Sapporo vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 15%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,133 per month in Sapporo 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 Sapporo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $463 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28 in Sapporo and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,422 in Sapporo and $1,639 in Medellin. That makes Sapporo about 13% cheaper.

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