Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tromso and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $3,272 in Tromso, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

158

Cost of Living Index in Tromso
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Tromso Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Tromso

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,272

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,272 per month in Tromso vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Tromso $3,272
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $4,928 per month in Tromso vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Tromso $4,928
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $6,584 per month in Tromso vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Tromso $6,584
Medellin $3,186

Tromso costs about 100% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Tromso and Medellin sit above the global median – Tromso by 140%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$34.84 NOK 320

$8.09 COP 26.1K

330.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 NOK 980

$47.05 COP 151.7K

126.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.13 NOK 148

$9.50 COP 30.6K

69.79%

Cappuccino

$6.87 NOK 63.1

$3.01 COP 9,722

128.24%

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

$5.02 NOK 46.11

$1.80 COP 5,801

178.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 NOK 34.88

$1.41 COP 4,554

169.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.79 NOK 118

$3.18 COP 10.2K

302.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.94 NOK 128

$5.75 COP 18.5K

142.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.61 NOK 23.97

$1.51 COP 4,869

72.85%

White Bread (500g)

$3.47 NOK 31.92

$2.38 COP 7,667

45.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.95 NOK 36.32

$1.77 COP 5,712

123.16%

Eggs

$5.42 NOK 49.75

$2.89 COP 9,320

87.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.93 NOK 110

$10.19 COP 32.9K

17.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.18 NOK 139

$9.87 COP 31.8K

53.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$42.51 NOK 391

$13.99 COP 45.1K

203.86%

Apples (1kg)

$4.23 NOK 38.82

$3.97 COP 12.8K

6.55%

Banana (1kg)

$3.03 NOK 27.85

$1.55 COP 5,005

95.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.42 NOK 49.81

$2.18 COP 7,039

148.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.08 NOK 55.9

$2.18 COP 7,041

178.90%

Potato (1kg)

$3.53 NOK 32.42

$1.96 COP 6,328

80.10%

Onion (1kg)

$4.89 NOK 44.93

$1.59 COP 5,125

207.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.97 NOK 27.30

$1.15 COP 3,694

158.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.14 NOK 19.63

$1.24 COP 4,009

72.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$16.48 NOK 151

$3.96 COP 12.8K

316.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.78 NOK 163

$13.68 COP 44.1K

29.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.04 NOK 37.14

$1.66 COP 5,352

143.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.95 NOK 45.46

$2.26 COP 7,281

119.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.07 NOK 46.59

$1.17 COP 3,766

333.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.8 NOK 623

$77.4 COP 249.5K

-12.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$16.35 NOK 150

$1.27 COP 4,089

1187.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.16 NOK 19.86

$2.05 COP 6,603

5.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.4 NOK 527

$8.55 COP 27.6K

570.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.38 NOK 21.84

$1.35 COP 4,343

76.30%

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

$50.0K NOK 459.5K

$34.1K COP 109.8M

46.81%

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

$44.5K NOK 408.4K

$34.7K COP 111.8M

28.21%

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

$266 NOK 2,440

$170 COP 547.0K

56.53%

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

$50.7 NOK 466

$13.55 COP 43.7K

274.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$85.0 NOK 781

$28.07 COP 90.5K

202.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.89 NOK 449

$43.70 COP 140.9K

11.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$48.46 NOK 445

$17.19 COP 55.4K

181.91%

Cinema Ticket

$17.45 NOK 160

$6.91 COP 22.3K

152.53%

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

$324 NOK 2,979

$797 COP 2.6M

-59.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,850 NOK 72.1K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-13.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.8 NOK 632

$84.7 COP 273.2K

-18.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.13 NOK 323

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-39.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$153 NOK 1,407

$135 COP 435.2K

13.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$166 NOK 1,522

$97.9 COP 315.6K

69.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,780 NOK 16.4K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

47.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,392 NOK 12.8K

$642 COP 2.1M

116.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,215 NOK 29.5K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

58.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,341 NOK 21.5K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

131.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,342 NOK 76.6K

$4,170 COP 13.4M

100.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,634 NOK 51.8K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

194.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,302 NOK 39.5K

$657 COP 2.1M

554.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.01

10.94

-54.20%

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

Last update for Tromso: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tromso

$1.4K 42.6%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 53.9% $751

Groceries & Markets

Tromso

$553 16.9%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 46.3% $256

Eating Out

Tromso

$537 16.4%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 68.4% $367

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tromso

$401 12.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 47.3% $190

Clothing & Footwear

Tromso

$190 5.8%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 11.2% $21

Getting Around

Tromso

$115 3.5%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 18.8% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Tromso

$84 2.6%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 31.3% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,780 in Tromso 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 Tromso are about 6.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in Tromso versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $553 vs $297 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Tromso

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

15:08 3:08 PM

09:08 9:08 AM

6 h behind Tromso

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,908

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.88 USD

100 NOK = 9.75 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.19 NOK (1 NOK = 0.109 USD). 1 EUR = 10.26 NOK (100 NOK = 9.75 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Tromso Medellin 9,530 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Tromso
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

Tromso vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Tromso is pricier by about 100%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,908 per month in Tromso 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 Medellin, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,208 there versus $1,780 in Tromso.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in Tromso 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 $3,272 in Tromso and $1,639 in Medellin. That makes Medellin about 50% cheaper.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Medellin, where all-in costs run around $1,639, than in Tromso at $3,272. In Medellin it covers expenses comfortably, while in Tromso it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Medellin costs $1,639 versus $3,272 in Tromso. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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