Cost of Living Guide

City comparison

Cost of living in Medellín vs Valencia

One person needs about €968 a month in Medellín and €1,489 in Valencia, rent included — Medellín is 54% cheaper overall.

🇨🇴
Medellín
Colombia · 2.5M pop
vs
🇪🇸
Valencia
Spain · 800K pop
Monthly rent (1BR)
€600€950
58% pricier
Groceries / mo
€220€265
20% pricier
Eating out (meal)
€6€12
100% pricier
Internet (100mbps)
€20€30
50% pricier
Avg salary (tech)
€1,300€2,200
69% higher
Coworking / mo
€120€140
17% pricier
MedellínValencia
Rent€600€950
Groceries€220€265
Transport€25€50
Utilities€55€98

Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle

Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.

To live in Valencia the way you live in Medellín on €3,000, you need

€4,615/ month net

54% more than today (+€1,615)

Medellín today
Basket €968 · left over €2,032 (68%)
Valencia at the matched salary
Basket €1,489 · left over €3,126 (68%)

Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 148% over in Valencia (adequate) vs 134% in Medellín. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this

🇨🇴 Medellín

Spring weather year-round and the cheapest nomad hub in the Americas.

Monthly budget: €968

Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports

🇪🇸 Valencia

Flat, cyclable and cheap for a coastal capital-grade city with real infrastructure.

Monthly budget: €1,489

Sources: INE Spain + Eurostat, HICP & provincial rent index (2025) · 198 community reports

Should you move to Medellín or Valencia?

On salary, Valencia pays more for tech roles (€2,200 versus €1,300 a month), so the money left over after costs is €711 in Valencia at the top end.

Rent drives most of the gap: €600 in Medellín against €950 in Valencia. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.

For remote workers, the nomad index scores Medellín at 76 and Valencia at 79 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.

More Medellín comparisons

More Valencia comparisons