Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Thomas and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,614 a month against $4,408 in St Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $33,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

213

Cost of Living Index in St Thomas
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St Thomas Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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St Thomas

🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands

$4,408

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $4,408 per month in St Thomas vs $1,614 in Medellin, rent included.

St Thomas $4,408
Medellin $1,614

A couple spends around $7,220 per month in St Thomas vs $2,402 in Medellin, rent included.

St Thomas $7,220
Medellin $2,402

A family of three spends $10.0K per month in St Thomas vs $3,190 in Medellin, rent included.

St Thomas $10.0K
Medellin $3,190

St Thomas costs about 173% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both St Thomas and Medellin sit above the global median – St Thomas by 227%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.30 $22.30

$7.93 COP 25.2K

181.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$170 $170

$46.13 COP 146.3K

268.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.55 $13.55

$9.50 COP 30.1K

42.63%

Cappuccino

$5.90 $5.90

$3.11 COP 9,866

89.71%

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

$3.95 $3.95

$1.83 COP 5,800

115.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 $3.39

$1.38 COP 4,360

145.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.12 $5.12

$3.05 COP 9,672

67.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.81 $6.81

$5.50 COP 17.4K

23.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.88 $2.88

$1.45 COP 4,600

98.62%

White Bread (500g)

$6.67 $6.67

$2.36 COP 7,496

182.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$18.54 $18.54

$1.68 COP 5,328

1003.57%

Eggs

$8.87 $8.87

$2.86 COP 9,077

210.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.12 $11.12

$10.19 COP 32.3K

9.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.44 $28.44

$9.53 COP 30.2K

198.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.72 $39.72

$14.04 COP 44.5K

182.91%

Apples (1kg)

$11.91 $11.91

$4.07 COP 12.9K

192.63%

Banana (1kg)

$10.89 $10.89

$1.50 COP 4,742

626.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$12.30 $12.30

$2.17 COP 6,891

466.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$19.99 $19.99

$2.31 COP 7,310

765.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 $1.95

$1.93 COP 6,113

1.04%

Onion (1kg)

$8.76 $8.76

$1.64 COP 5,196

434.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$8.18 $8.18

$1.13 COP 3,571

623.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$5.39 $5.39

$1.25 COP 3,954

331.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

Wine (Bottle)

$24.57 $24.57

$13.35 COP 42.3K

84.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.18 $6.18

$2.37 COP 7,525

160.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.98 $1.98

$1.21 COP 3,827

63.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.7 $60.7

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-20.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$19.61 $19.61

$1.32 COP 4,179

1385.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 $3.08

$2.14 COP 6,774

43.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 $1.39

$1.30 COP 4,114

6.92%

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

$55.2K $55.2K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

97.15%

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

$49.0K $49.0K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

38.33%

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

$451 $451

$172 COP 545.6K

161.93%

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

$100 $100

$13.37 COP 42.4K

650.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$151 $151

$28.73 COP 91.1K

426.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$164 $164

$45.24 COP 143.5K

262.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$10.04 $10.04

$6.28 COP 19.9K

59.87%

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

$1,487 $1,487

$770 COP 2.4M

93.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.9K $21.9K

$9,011 COP 28.6M

142.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 $113

$86.4 COP 274.0K

30.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$148 $148

$57.1 COP 181.1K

158.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$202 $202

$137 COP 432.9K

48.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 $151

$97.9 COP 310.4K

54.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,586 $1,586

$1,055 COP 3.3M

50.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,827 $1,827

$616 COP 2.0M

196.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,187 $3,187

$1,892 COP 6.0M

68.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,229 $4,229

$1,023 COP 3.2M

313.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,896 $4,896

$4,059 COP 12.9M

20.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.9K $10.9K

$1,678 COP 5.3M

549.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,726 $2,726

$652 COP 2.1M

317.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

10.94

-13.62%

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

Last update for St Thomas: October 11, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Thomas

$1.8K 41.5%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 66.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

St Thomas

$956 * 21.7%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 69.2% $662

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Thomas

$702 15.9%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 69.5% $488

Eating Out

St Thomas

$358 8.1%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 53% $190

Clothing & Footwear

St Thomas

$276 6.3%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 38.5% $106

Sport & Entertainment

St Thomas

$184 4.2%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 68.6% $126

Getting Around

St Thomas

$104 2.4%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 9.9% $10

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,586 in St Thomas versus $1,055 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 run about 318% higher in St Thomas, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $170 in St Thomas versus $46.00 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $956 vs $295 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇻🇮 St Thomas

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

01:05 1:05 AM

00:05 12:05 AM

1 h behind St Thomas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

2,486,723

💱 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 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

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).

COP to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St Thomas Medellin 1,770 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

St Thomas
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 Thomas vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – St Thomas is pricier by about 173%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,612 per month in St Thomas and $2,421 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Medellin, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $170 in St Thomas and $46.00 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 $4,408 in St Thomas and $1,614 in Medellin. That's a gap of about 173%.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Medellin, where all-in costs run around $1,614, than in St Thomas at $4,408. In Medellin it covers expenses comfortably, while in St Thomas it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Medellin. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, St Thomas makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.