Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taiyuan and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Taiyuan: $589 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Taiyuan
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Taiyuan Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

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Taiyuan

🇨🇳 China

$589

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $589 per month in Taiyuan vs $1,614 in Medellin, rent included.

Taiyuan $589
Medellin $1,614

A couple spends around $913 per month in Taiyuan vs $2,402 in Medellin, rent included.

Taiyuan $913
Medellin $2,402

A family of three spends $1,238 per month in Taiyuan vs $3,190 in Medellin, rent included.

Taiyuan $1,238
Medellin $3,190

Taiyuan is about 64% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Taiyuan sits 56% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ¥15.21

$7.93 COP 25.2K

-71.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.73 ¥98.4

$46.13 COP 146.3K

-68.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.40 ¥29.37

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-53.68%

Cappuccino

$2.64 ¥17.60

$3.11 COP 9,866

-15.11%

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

$0.47 ¥3.11

$1.83 COP 5,800

-74.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.92

$1.38 COP 4,360

-78.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ¥8.12

$3.05 COP 9,672

-60.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 ¥14.36

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-60.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.51

$1.68 COP 5,328

-50.60%

Eggs

$1.01 ¥6.75

$2.86 COP 9,077

-64.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.02 ¥86.9

$14.04 COP 44.5K

-7.26%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 ¥12.50

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-54.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 ¥9.20

$1.50 COP 4,742

-8.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.81 ¥5.40

$2.17 COP 6,891

-62.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.16 ¥7.76

$2.31 COP 7,310

-49.78%

Potato (1kg)

$0.48 ¥3.20

$1.93 COP 6,113

-75.13%

Onion (1kg)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$1.64 COP 5,196

-82.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 ¥3.07

$1.25 COP 3,954

-63.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.95 ¥19.72

$3.99 COP 12.6K

-26.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.56 ¥50.5

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-43.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 ¥5.80

$1.70 COP 5,384

-48.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 ¥9.71

$2.37 COP 7,525

-38.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$1.21 COP 3,827

-74.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.65 ¥91.1

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-82.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ¥7.89

$1.32 COP 4,179

-10.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ¥1.53

$2.14 COP 6,774

-89.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.73 ¥24.88

$8.47 COP 26.8K

-55.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ¥8.32

$1.30 COP 4,114

-3.85%

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

$20.0K ¥133.4K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

-28.62%

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

$17.5K ¥117.1K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-50.48%

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

$94.3 ¥630

$172 COP 545.6K

-45.19%

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

$10.27 ¥68.6

$13.37 COP 42.4K

-23.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.74 ¥85.1

$28.73 COP 91.1K

-55.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.17 ¥302

$45.24 COP 143.5K

-0.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.76 ¥58.5

$17.04 COP 54.0K

-48.59%

Cinema Ticket

$6.64 ¥44.31

$6.28 COP 19.9K

5.73%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.60 ¥184

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-68.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$67.2 ¥449

$57.1 COP 181.1K

17.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.0 ¥494

$137 COP 432.9K

-45.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.4 ¥397

$97.9 COP 310.4K

-39.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$223 ¥1,488

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-78.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$114 ¥759

$616 COP 2.0M

-81.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$556 ¥3,714

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-70.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$259 ¥1,730

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-74.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,629 ¥17.6K

$4,059 COP 12.9M

-35.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,252 ¥8,356

$1,678 COP 5.3M

-25.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$928 ¥6,194

$652 COP 2.1M

42.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.83

10.94

-64.99%

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

Last update for Taiyuan: October 12, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taiyuan

$117 19.9%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 82.5% $97

Accommodation & Living

Taiyuan

$114 19.3%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 442% $502

Groceries & Markets

Taiyuan

$103 * 17.5%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 186% $192

Clothing & Footwear

Taiyuan

$103 17.4%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 65.7% $67

Eating Out

Taiyuan

$76 13%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 120% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Taiyuan

$58 9.9%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 1.1% $0.6

Getting Around

Taiyuan

$17 2.9%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 442% $76

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $223 in Taiyuan 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 42% higher in Taiyuan, 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 $15.00 in Taiyuan versus $46.00 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $103 vs $295 – making Taiyuan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Taiyuan

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

14:09 2:09 PM

01:09 1:09 AM

13 h behind Taiyuan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,525,300

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

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Between locations

Taiyuan Medellin 15,030 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Taiyuan
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

Taiyuan vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 174%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $883 per month in Taiyuan 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 Taiyuan, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 460% less in Taiyuan. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Groceries cost about 186% more in Medellin, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Taiyuan, where all-in costs run around $589, than in Medellin at $1,614. In Taiyuan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Taiyuan – 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 Taiyuan. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.