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Cost of living in Colombia

A single person living in Colombia spends around $705/month excluding rent. Per-city numbers below, every figure with its source; rent is shown separately in the Housing sections, by apartment type.

Verified

At a glance

What the tags meanofficial — live figure from a government or authorityopen data — open dataset (Eurostat, EEA, M-Lab, UdSC…)survey — survey or index estimatecurated — SettleMetric-assembled estimate — open the source for the method
Cost of living
i

DANE — línea de pobreza y clasificación por ingreso 2025 (basket anchor), CPI-consistent

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2025
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Curated single-person non-rent basket (food, utilities, urban transport, mobile+internet, modest leisure and misc.) for a foreign remote worker in a major Colombian city, anchored on DANE 2025 income bands (national poverty line 482,041 COP/mo; middle-class per-capita spending 853,608–4,596,352 COP/mo) and typical published utility/transport/mobile tariffs. Estimated ≈ 2,360,000 COP/mo ÷ 3,349.7 COP/USD (ECB EUR/COP 3,817.83 ÷ EUR/USD 1.1399, fx-rates 2026-07-02) ≈ 705 USD. Curated estimate — DANE has not published a 2025/2026 one-person-household consumption line comparable to Poland's GUS figure; to be refined from ENPH microdata.
$705/mo
2025curated
Rent: 1-bedroom (city avg)
i

Colombian listing portals (Fincaraíz / Metrocuadrado) market asking rents, mid-2026

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jun 30, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
City-wide average asking rent for a long-term 1-bedroom apartment across the two covered cities (Bogotá and Medellín), from major listing portals mid-2026. Small/1-bedroom units broadly ≈ 1,700,000–2,800,000 COP/mo depending on city and stratum (Medellín ~15–20% below Bogotá); midpoint ≈ 2,060,000 COP ÷ 3,349.7 COP/USD ≈ 615 USD. Curated estimate — portal aggregate averages skew toward larger/high-stratum units, so this is a considered 1BR figure, not a raw portal mean.
Notes
Asking prices, furnished/short-term rents (common for nomads) run higher. To be refined against DANE housing indices and portal room-level reports next cycle.
$615/mo
2026curated
Private health
i

Colombian prepaid-medicine and voluntary health insurers (Sura, Colsanitas, Coomeva/medicina prepagada) — comprehensive plans; insurers quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 4, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Comprehensive private cover in Colombia layers on top of the mandatory contributory system (EPS): a 'medicina prepagada' or voluntary health plan (Sura, Colsanitas, Coomeva) with outpatient + inpatient access for a healthy 35-year-old runs roughly 250,000–450,000 COP/month; midpoint ≈ 350,000 COP/mo ≈ 4,200,000 COP/yr ≈ 1,254 USD at 3,349.7 COP/USD (range ≈ $895–$1,610). Curated market midpoint — Colombian prepaid-medicine premiums are age/plan-banded and quoted on request, not from a public engine.
Notes
Residents affiliated to an EPS already have universal contributory cover; prepaid medicine buys faster access, private hospitals and broader networks. Premiums exclude the mandatory 12.5% health contribution (counted in the tax burden), not an insurance premium. International (IPMI) plans cost several times more.
$1,250/yr
2026curated
What a single person spends each month (excl. rent)
i

DANE income/spending bands 2025 (basket anchor)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2025
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Illustrative split of the ≈$705/mo single-person non-rent basket into typical urban categories, anchored on DANE 2025 income bands and published utility/transport/mobile tariffs, converted at 3,349.7 COP/USD. Categories sum to ≈$705. Curated estimate, not a DANE household-budget survey line; national/major-city average — El Poblado-tier neighbourhoods run higher.
total 705 USD/mo
Food & groceries230 USD
Restaurants & eating out110 USD
Recreation & culture90 USD
Household & personal care85 USD
Utilities (electricity, water, gas)75 USD
Transport (urban)70 USD
Mobile & home internet45 USD

National household-budget-survey basket. Rent is shown separately below.

Details

CriterionValueScore
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)705USD/month, single person, excluding rent
i

DANE — línea de pobreza y clasificación por ingreso 2025 (basket anchor), CPI-consistent

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2025
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Curated single-person non-rent basket (food, utilities, urban transport, mobile+internet, modest leisure and misc.) for a foreign remote worker in a major Colombian city, anchored on DANE 2025 income bands (national poverty line 482,041 COP/mo; middle-class per-capita spending 853,608–4,596,352 COP/mo) and typical published utility/transport/mobile tariffs. Estimated ≈ 2,360,000 COP/mo ÷ 3,349.7 COP/USD (ECB EUR/COP 3,817.83 ÷ EUR/USD 1.1399, fx-rates 2026-07-02) ≈ 705 USD. Curated estimate — DANE has not published a 2025/2026 one-person-household consumption line comparable to Poland's GUS figure; to be refined from ENPH microdata.
9.0
Private healthcare cost1,250USD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-old
i

Colombian prepaid-medicine and voluntary health insurers (Sura, Colsanitas, Coomeva/medicina prepagada) — comprehensive plans; insurers quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 4, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Comprehensive private cover in Colombia layers on top of the mandatory contributory system (EPS): a 'medicina prepagada' or voluntary health plan (Sura, Colsanitas, Coomeva) with outpatient + inpatient access for a healthy 35-year-old runs roughly 250,000–450,000 COP/month; midpoint ≈ 350,000 COP/mo ≈ 4,200,000 COP/yr ≈ 1,254 USD at 3,349.7 COP/USD (range ≈ $895–$1,610). Curated market midpoint — Colombian prepaid-medicine premiums are age/plan-banded and quoted on request, not from a public engine.
Notes
Residents affiliated to an EPS already have universal contributory cover; prepaid medicine buys faster access, private hospitals and broader networks. Premiums exclude the mandatory 12.5% health contribution (counted in the tax burden), not an insurance premium. International (IPMI) plans cost several times more.
7.9

City detail pages: Bogotá · Medellín