Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St.James and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in St.James: $917 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in St.James
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St.James Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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St.James

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$917

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $917 per month in St.James vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

St.James $917
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $1,593 per month in St.James vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

St.James $1,593
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $2,270 per month in St.James vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

St.James $2,270
Medellin $3,186

St.James is about 44% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

St.James sits 33% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.13 TTD 68.0

$8.09 COP 26.1K

25.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.4 TTD 593

$47.05 COP 151.9K

87.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.03 TTD 60.6

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-4.95%

Cappuccino

$3.65 TTD 24.49

$3.01 COP 9,735

21.26%

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

$0.99 TTD 6.67

$1.80 COP 5,809

-45.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 TTD 5.15

$1.41 COP 4,561

-45.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 TTD 15.06

$3.18 COP 10.3K

-29.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 TTD 24.62

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-36.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.51 TTD 16.85

$1.51 COP 4,876

66.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.48 TTD 16.67

$2.38 COP 7,678

4.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 TTD 18.82

$1.77 COP 5,720

58.19%

Eggs

$4.43 TTD 29.73

$2.89 COP 9,333

53.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.57 TTD 44.06

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-35.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.90 TTD 66.4

$9.87 COP 31.9K

0.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.79 TTD 79.1

$13.99 COP 45.2K

-15.73%

Apples (1kg)

$5.66 TTD 37.97

$3.97 COP 12.8K

42.57%

Banana (1kg)

$2.97 TTD 19.90

$1.55 COP 5,012

91.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.75 TTD 25.19

$2.18 COP 7,048

72.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 TTD 28.70

$2.18 COP 7,051

96.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.21 TTD 14.84

$1.96 COP 6,337

12.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 TTD 12.54

$1.59 COP 5,132

17.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.91 TTD 12.84

$1.15 COP 3,699

66.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 TTD 9.08

$1.24 COP 4,014

8.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.73 TTD 38.48

$3.96 COP 12.8K

44.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.28 TTD 129

$13.68 COP 44.2K

40.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.21 TTD 14.82

$1.66 COP 5,359

33.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 TTD 20.13

$2.26 COP 7,291

32.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.01 TTD 6.78

$1.27 COP 4,094

-20.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 TTD 8.26

$2.05 COP 6,612

-40.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.65 TTD 98.3

$8.55 COP 27.6K

71.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 TTD 7.83

$1.35 COP 4,349

-13.33%

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

$37.2K TTD 249.9K

$34.1K COP 110.0M

9.34%

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

$40.7K TTD 273.4K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

17.53%

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

$90.2 TTD 605

$170 COP 547.8K

-46.81%

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

$50.9 TTD 341

$13.55 COP 43.8K

275.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.0 TTD 376

$28.07 COP 90.6K

99.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 TTD 60.8

$6.91 COP 22.3K

31.11%

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

$398 TTD 2,669

$797 COP 2.6M

-50.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K TTD 73.1K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

19.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.3 TTD 364

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-35.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.3 TTD 344

$58.0 COP 187.2K

-11.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$148 TTD 996

$135 COP 435.8K

9.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 TTD 693

$97.9 COP 316.0K

5.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.75

10.94

-47.44%

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

Last update for St.James: October 24, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

St.James

$356 38.8%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 16.5% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St.James

$197 21.5%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 7.2% $14

Eating Out

St.James

$178 19.4%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 4.5% $7.9

Clothing & Footwear

St.James

$161 17.5%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 5.1% $8.2

Sport & Entertainment

St.James

$18 * 2%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 218% $39

Getting Around

St.James

$7.2 * 0.8%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 1207% $86

Accommodation & Living

St.James

- * 0%

Medellin

$642 39.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88 in St.James versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $356 vs $297 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇹 St.James

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

22:38 10:38 PM

21:38 9:38 PM

1 h behind St.James

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,342

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.133 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to TTD – Trinidad and Tobago Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago Dollar ($)

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 TTD (1 TTD = 0.133 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,605 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to TTD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St.James Medellin 1,620 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

St.James
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

St.James vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 79%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,375 per month in St.James and $2,459 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88 in St.James and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 17% cheaper in Medellin – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in St.James, where all-in costs run around $917, than in Medellin at $1,639. In St.James it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $917 in St.James to $1,639 in Medellin. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.