---
title: "Cost of Living: Shanghai vs Medellín — Geo-Parity"
description: "Colombia is 17% cheaper than China for monthly essentials ($811 vs $981). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-colombia/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=CO"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · CN vs CO

# 🇨🇳 Shanghai vs 🇨🇴 Medellín: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$981** in China vs **$811** in Colombia — 17% cheaper.

- **Essentials, China**: $981/mo
- **Essentials, Colombia**: $811/mo
- **Difference**: -17%
- **1-bed city rent, Colombia**: $504/mo

## Biggest differences

Much cheaper in Colombia

- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -20%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -20%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -20%

Closest to China prices

- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: -5.6%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: -6%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): -6.1%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | China | Colombia | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $628 | $504 (2,042,699 COP) | -20% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $502 | $403 (1,634,184 COP) | -20% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,149 | $922 (3,735,249 COP) | -20% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $8.05 | $6.77 (27,440 COP) | -16% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $33.53 | $28.20 (114,298 COP) | -16% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $5.29 | $4.52 (18,320 COP) | -15% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.61 | $0.54 (2,189 COP) | -11% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $1.78 | $1.57 (6,363 COP) | -12% |
| Eggs, dozen | $1.89 | $1.67 (6,769 COP) | -12% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $5.57 | $4.91 (19,901 COP) | -12% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.23 | $1.96 (7,944 COP) | -12% |
| Apples, 1kg | $2.67 | $2.36 (9,565 COP) | -12% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $6.68 | $5.89 (23,873 COP) | -12% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.11 | $0.98 (3,972 COP) | -12% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $2.68 | $2.26 (9,160 COP) | -16% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $5.97 | $5.61 (22,738 COP) | -6% |
| Cappuccino | $2.24 | $1.88 (7,620 COP) | -16% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.28 | $1.13 (4,580 COP) | -12% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $31.27 | $26.72 (108,300 COP) | -15% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.32 | $1.13 (4,580 COP) | -14% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $1.79 | $1.50 (6,080 COP) | -16% |
| Taxi, per km | $0.80 | $0.68 (2,756 COP) | -15% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.71 | $0.67 (2,716 COP) | -5.6% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $96.20 | $82.20 (333,168 COP) | -15% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $33.67 | $28.77 (116,609 COP) | -15% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $21.65 | $18.49 (74,942 COP) | -15% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $22.35 | $18.80 (76,199 COP) | -16% |
| Cinema seat | $6.26 | $5.26 (21,320 COP) | -16% |
| Men's haircut | $13.41 | $11.28 (45,719 COP) | -16% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $41.04 | $38.54 (156,208 COP) | -6.1% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $67.16 | $63.06 (255,591 COP) | -6.1% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $112 | $94.01 (381,035 COP) | -16% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=CN&target=CO).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **14,790 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇨🇳 China | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $767 | $358 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | — | $448 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | — | 125.4% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $246 | $95.00 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 3.1 | 2.5 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Shanghai and Medellín. | 77 | 125 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | middling | weak |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 2.9 (low) | 5.2 (high) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 6 | 19 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 32.1 | 14.8 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 78 | 77.9 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.5 | 24.9 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 91.6% | 79.3% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 31.4 | 195.3 |

## The whole China → Colombia move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the China → Colombia report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/china-to-colombia/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: Colombia vs China](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/colombia-vs-china/)
- [Fair salary: China → Colombia](https://geo-parity.com/salary/china-to-colombia/)
- [How much to retire in Colombia?](https://geo-parity.com/fire/colombia/)
- [Cost of living in Colombia vs the US](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/colombia/)

## More comparisons

### China compared with

- [China vs South Africa](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-south-africa/)
- [China vs Türkiye](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-turkiye/)
- [China vs Argentina](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-argentina/)
- [China vs Brazil](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-brazil/)
- [China vs Saudi Arabia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-saudi-arabia/)

### Moving to Colombia from

- [Chile vs Colombia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/chile-vs-colombia/)
- [Saudi Arabia vs Colombia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/saudi-arabia-vs-colombia/)
- [Argentina vs Colombia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-colombia/)
- [Brazil vs Colombia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/brazil-vs-colombia/)
- [Poland vs Colombia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/poland-vs-colombia/)
- [Hungary vs Colombia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/hungary-vs-colombia/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much cheaper is Colombia than China?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $811 in Colombia versus $981 in China — 17% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in Colombia?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $2.26 in Colombia (≈ 9160.09 COP), versus about $2.68 in China.
- **How much is rent in Colombia compared to China?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $504/month in Colombia versus $628/month in China (-20%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=CO.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-colombia/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=CO