Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Umea and Medellin

For one person, living costs are similar in Umea and in Medellin: $1,608 and $1,589 a month, rent and utilities included.

80

Cost of Living Index in Umea
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Umea Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Umea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,608

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Umea vs $1,589 in Medellin, rent included.

Umea $1,608
Medellin $1,589

A couple spends around $2,579 per month in Umea vs $2,364 in Medellin, rent included.

Umea $2,579
Medellin $2,364

A family of three spends $3,550 per month in Umea vs $3,139 in Medellin, rent included.

Umea $3,550
Medellin $3,139

Umea costs about 1% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Umea and Medellin sit above the global median – Umea by 20%, Medellin by 19%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.02 SEK 150

$8.01 COP 25.8K

87.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.3 SEK 791

$46.55 COP 149.9K

70.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.00 SEK 120

$9.43 COP 30.4K

27.25%

Cappuccino

$3.99 SEK 39.80

$2.91 COP 9,374

37.11%

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

$3.20 SEK 31.91

$1.75 COP 5,643

82.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 SEK 23.53

$1.32 COP 4,263

78.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.30 SEK 82.8

$3.13 COP 10.1K

165.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.40 SEK 73.8

$5.55 COP 17.9K

33.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 SEK 16.25

$1.41 COP 4,542

15.60%

White Bread (500g)

$3.44 SEK 34.33

$2.44 COP 7,858

40.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.07 SEK 40.58

$1.63 COP 5,245

149.69%

Eggs

$3.90 SEK 38.85

$2.82 COP 9,084

38.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.24 SEK 112

$9.69 COP 31.2K

16.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.73 SEK 107

$9.32 COP 30.0K

15.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.23 SEK 172

$13.46 COP 43.3K

28.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.46 SEK 24.50

$4.00 COP 12.9K

-38.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.26 SEK 22.57

$1.48 COP 4,768

52.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 SEK 28.09

$2.12 COP 6,839

33.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.30 SEK 42.89

$2.25 COP 7,253

91.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 SEK 16.31

$1.91 COP 6,155

-14.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 SEK 16.56

$1.62 COP 5,214

2.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.49 SEK 24.84

$1.15 COP 3,696

116.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 SEK 12.80

$1.26 COP 4,063

1.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.89 SEK 68.7

$3.82 COP 12.3K

80.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.89 SEK 98.6

$13.11 COP 42.2K

-24.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 SEK 22.61

$1.60 COP 5,136

41.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 SEK 24.34

$2.26 COP 7,263

7.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.92 SEK 29.09

$1.17 COP 3,770

149.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.9 SEK 567

$75.0 COP 241.5K

-24.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.80 SEK 67.8

$1.27 COP 4,098

435.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.02 SEK 50.1

$2.05 COP 6,600

144.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.20 COP 26.4K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 SEK 17.33

$1.27 COP 4,088

37.01%

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

$33.0K SEK 329.2K

$26.8K COP 86.2M

23.33%

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

$33.6K SEK 335.4K

$34.4K COP 110.8M

-2.20%

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

$86.0 SEK 858

$162 COP 522.3K

-46.96%

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

$32.39 SEK 323

$13.12 COP 42.3K

146.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.15 SEK 271

$28.09 COP 90.5K

-3.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.96 SEK 488

$44.33 COP 142.7K

10.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.34 SEK 352

$16.33 COP 52.6K

116.41%

Cinema Ticket

$16.17 SEK 161

$6.09 COP 19.6K

165.52%

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

$137 SEK 1,364

$764 COP 2.5M

-82.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,904 COP 28.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.5 SEK 992

$85.0 COP 273.6K

17.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.44 SEK 363

$57.5 COP 185.1K

-36.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 SEK 1,163

$132 COP 424.2K

-11.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 SEK 1,402

$95.8 COP 308.3K

46.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$736 SEK 7,338

$1,028 COP 3.3M

-28.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$504 SEK 5,028

$604 COP 1.9M

-16.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,105 SEK 11.0K

$1,802 COP 5.8M

-38.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$823 SEK 8,207

$993 COP 3.2M

-17.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,542 SEK 45.3K

$3,921 COP 12.6M

15.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,043 SEK 30.3K

$1,639 COP 5.3M

85.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,674 SEK 26.7K

$626 COP 2.0M

327.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.65

10.94

-66.64%

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

Last update for Umea: October 4, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Umea

$504 30.7%

Medellin

$604 38.3% 19.9% $100

Groceries & Markets

Umea

$350 21.3%

Medellin

$288 18.3% 17.6% $62

Eating Out

Umea

$283 17.2%

Medellin

$166 10.6% 41.1% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Umea

$177 10.8%

Medellin

$166 10.6% 5.9% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Umea

$146 8.9%

Medellin

$203 12.9% 39.7% $58

Getting Around

Umea

$100 6.1%

Medellin

$91 5.8% 9.2% $9.3

Sport & Entertainment

Umea

$81 5%

Medellin

$57 3.6% 30.5% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $736 in Umea versus $1,028 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 327% higher in Umea, 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 $79.0 in Umea versus $47.00 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $350 vs $288 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Umea

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

08:22 8:22 AM

01:22 1:22 AM

7 h behind Umea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,594

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.03 USD

100 SEK = 8.94 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.11 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.97 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.18 SEK (100 SEK = 8.94 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,220 COP (10,000 COP = 3.11 USD). 1 EUR = 3,611 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Umea Medellin 9,670 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Umea
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

Umea vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Umea is pricier by about 1%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,413 per month in Umea and $2,384 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 $79.0 in Umea and $47.00 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 $1,608 in Umea and $1,589 in Medellin. That's a gap of about 1%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Medellin, where all-in costs run around $1,589, than in Umea at $1,608. In Medellin it covers expenses comfortably, while in Umea 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.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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