Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Waterloo, Canada and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,234 in Waterloo, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Waterloo
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Waterloo Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Waterloo

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,234

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,234 per month in Waterloo vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Waterloo $2,234
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $3,295 per month in Waterloo vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Waterloo $3,295
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $4,356 per month in Waterloo vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Waterloo $4,356
Medellin $3,186

Waterloo costs about 36% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Waterloo and Medellin sit above the global median – Waterloo by 64%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.55 CA$24.52

$8.09 COP 26.1K

116.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.2 CA$79.9

$47.05 COP 151.9K

21.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 CA$14.97

$9.50 COP 30.7K

12.74%

Cappuccino

$3.18 CA$4.45

$3.01 COP 9,735

5.65%

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

$1.95 CA$2.73

$1.80 COP 5,809

8.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 CA$1.73

$1.41 COP 4,561

-12.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.13 CA$7.17

$3.18 COP 10.3K

61.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.76 CA$8.05

$5.75 COP 18.6K

0.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.04 CA$2.85

$1.51 COP 4,876

35.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.49 CA$3.48

$2.38 COP 7,678

4.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.47 CA$3.44

$1.77 COP 5,720

39.55%

Eggs

$2.92 CA$4.08

$2.89 COP 9,333

1.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.35 CA$15.86

$10.19 COP 32.9K

11.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.00 CA$20.96

$9.87 COP 31.9K

51.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.02 CA$22.38

$13.99 COP 45.2K

14.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.46 CA$4.83

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-12.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 CA$1.81

$1.55 COP 5,012

-16.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.19 CA$4.46

$2.18 COP 7,048

46.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.42 CA$4.78

$2.18 COP 7,051

56.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.39 CA$1.94

$1.96 COP 6,337

-29.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.92 CA$2.68

$1.59 COP 5,132

20.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.66 CA$2.32

$1.15 COP 3,699

44.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 CA$1.71

$1.24 COP 4,014

-1.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.80 CA$17.88

$3.96 COP 12.8K

223.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.80 CA$13.69

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-28.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.61 CA$3.64

$1.66 COP 5,359

57.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 CA$3.76

$2.26 COP 7,291

19.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.88 CA$4.03

$1.17 COP 3,771

146.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.6 CA$106

$77.4 COP 249.8K

-2.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.47 CA$3.45

$1.27 COP 4,094

94.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.81 CA$2.54

$2.05 COP 6,612

-11.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.17 CA$39.36

$8.55 COP 27.6K

229.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 CA$1.67

$1.35 COP 4,349

-11.85%

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

$26.9K CA$37.6K

$34.1K COP 110.0M

-21.03%

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

$20.6K CA$28.7K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-40.66%

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

$147 CA$205

$170 COP 547.8K

-13.63%

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

$27.82 CA$38.86

$13.55 COP 43.8K

105.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.76 CA$59.7

$28.07 COP 90.6K

52.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.77 CA$47.19

$43.70 COP 141.1K

-22.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.23 CA$26.86

$17.19 COP 55.5K

11.87%

Cinema Ticket

$10.90 CA$15.22

$6.91 COP 22.3K

57.74%

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

$444 CA$620

$797 COP 2.6M

-44.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.7K CA$21.9K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

71.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.4 CA$90.0

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-23.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.79 CA$45.82

$58.0 COP 187.2K

-43.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.9 CA$114

$135 COP 435.8K

-39.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.6 CA$107

$97.9 COP 316.0K

-21.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,443 CA$2,016

$1,208 COP 3.9M

19.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,141 CA$1,594

$642 COP 2.1M

77.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,161 CA$3,019

$2,028 COP 6.5M

6.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,905 CA$2,661

$1,012 COP 3.3M

88.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,280 CA$7,377

$4,170 COP 13.5M

26.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,609 CA$6,440

$1,910 COP 6.2M

141.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,129 CA$4,371

$657 COP 2.1M

376.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.22

10.94

-52.29%

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

Last update for Waterloo: October 27, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Waterloo

$1.1K 51.1%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 43.8% $500

Groceries & Markets

Waterloo

$346 15.5%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 14.2% $49

Eating Out

Waterloo

$261 11.7%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 34.9% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Waterloo

$217 9.7%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 2.7% $5.8

Clothing & Footwear

Waterloo

$115 5.2%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 46.8% $54

Getting Around

Waterloo

$99 4.4%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 5.2% $5.1

Sport & Entertainment

Waterloo

$56 2.5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 3.5% $2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,443 in Waterloo 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 Waterloo are about 4.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $57 in Waterloo versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $346 vs $297 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Waterloo

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

03:48 3:48 AM

Same time as Waterloo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,436

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Waterloo Medellin 4,160 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Waterloo
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

Waterloo vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Waterloo is pricier by about 36%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,352 per month in Waterloo 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 $1,443 in Waterloo.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $57 in Waterloo and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 17% more in Waterloo, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$2,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $2,234 in Waterloo and $1,639 in Medellin, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,639 in Medellin to $2,234 in Waterloo. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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