Mexico City vs Medellín
In short
Calculated from the figures below, with no overall “who wins” score.
Rent
✓in Mexico City cheaper — −23%
Family budget
✓in Medellín cheaper — −33%
Internet
✓in Medellín cheaper — −49%
In numbers
Exchange rate as of the date each figure was checked.
House or apartment rent
per month✓Mexico City≈ $854–1,470MX$15,386–26,435cheaper by 23%Medellín≈ $939–2,090COP 3.1–6.9MFamily groceries
per monthMexico City≈ $569MX$10,250✓Medellín≈ $292COP 962,912cheaper by 49%Family budget
per monthMexico City≈ $1,090MX$19,621✓Medellín≈ $728COP 2,403,888cheaper by 33%Internet
per monthMexico City≈ $22–78MX$389–1,399✓Medellín≈ $23–27COP 75,900–90,321cheaper by 49%Private school
per month✓Mexico City≈ $222–832MX$4,000 – 15kcheaper by 60%Medellín≈ $1,300COP 4,298,719Winter
averageMexico City6–21 °C6–21 °CMedellín17–27 °C17–27 °CPrecipitation
per yearMexico City816 mm816 mmMedellín1,673 mm1,673 mmReady-made house
purchase✓Mexico City≈ $190kMX$3.42Mcheaper by 14%Medellín≈ $164–279kCOP 540–920M
By topic
A quick look at each city. Details and sources are on the city page.
Daily life
Mexico City
Nothing yet
Medellín
A housing stratum from 1 to 6 appears in the listing and in the tariffs. In 5–6 electricity is 20% more expensive than in 4, water 1.5–1.6 times. A three-bedroom in stratum 4 is about 3.3 million pesos, in 6 - 8 million.
OfficialEPM: electricity rates, regulated market, September 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026
Housing
Mexico City
Two-bedroom: Cuauhtémoc (Roma, Condesa) 26.4k pesos, Miguel Hidalgo (Polanco) 26.4k, Benito Juárez (Del Valle, Narvarte) 19.4k, Coyoacán 15.4k. Data from October 2025.
SpecialistInmuebles24: Mexico City sales and rental index, October 2025 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Two-bedroom, agency estimates: Condesa 18–28k pesos, Roma 16–25, Polanco 25–45, Del Valle 12–20, Narvarte 10–16, Coyoacán 11–18. The estimate is approximate.
SpecialistHolaNeo: best neighborhoods for renting in Mexico City, 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
A typical 65 m² two-bedroom in Mexico City costs 3.42 million pesos, a 100 m² three-bedroom 4.64 million. By alcaldía, a square metre runs from 37.8k (Coyoacán) to 68.5k (Polanco). October 2025.
SpecialistInmuebles24: Mexico City sales and rental index, October 2025 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Ready-built apartments in Del Valle are about 52.8k pesos per m², in Narvarte about 53.2k. One portal lists new builds in Del Valle Centro at 91k. Agency surveys.
SpecialistHome del Valle: prices per square meter in Del Valle, September 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Medellín
Three-bedroom apartment: Belén and Sabaneta 3.1–3.3 million pesos a month, Laureles and Envigado 4.5 million, El Poblado 6.9 million. Listing medians.
SpecialistFincaraíz: three-bedroom apartments for rent in El Poblado · checked 29 Sep 2026
Three-bedroom resale: Sabaneta about 540 million pesos, Laureles 725 million, El Poblado 873 million, Envigado 920 million. These are listing prices, not transaction prices.
SpecialistFincaraíz: three-bedroom apartments for sale in El Poblado · checked 29 Sep 2026
Money and prices
Mexico City
The INEGI food basket for cities is 2,562.58 pesos per person a month, 10,250 for a family of four (August 2026). It is a minimum of food, not an actual receipt.
OfficialINEGI: income poverty lines, August 2026 (bulletin 592/26) · checked 30 Sep 2026
The INEGI poverty line for cities is 4,905.33 pesos per person, 19,621 a month for a family of four (August 2026). It is a lower threshold without rent, not a real budget.
OfficialINEGI: income poverty lines, August 2026 (bulletin 592/26) · checked 30 Sep 2026
Medellín
The DANE minimum food basket for Medellín is 240,728 pesos per person per month, about 963k for a family of four. Figures for 2025.
OfficialDANE: monetary poverty 2025, presentation of results with poverty lines by city · checked 29 Sep 2026
A family of four in Medellín is considered poor with an income below 2.4 million pesos a month, about $730 (2025). The average income is 1.93 million per person.
OfficialDANE: monetary poverty 2025, presentation of results with poverty lines by city · checked 29 Sep 2026
Family and kids
Mexico City
A private school in Mexico City is most often 4,000–15,000 pesos a month, international ones from 25,000. One school as an example: kindergarten 3,620, primary 4,110 a month. Plus an entry fee.
SpecialistMicole: how much a private school costs in Mexico City · checked 30 Sep 2026
Medellín
The international The Columbus School in Envigado for 2026–27: 4.3 million pesos a month from August to May plus a 4.8 million fee in June. This is the upper bound.
SpecialistThe Columbus School: fees for the 2026-27 school year · checked 29 Sep 2026
Healthcare
Mexico City
Voluntary IMSS insurance costs 8,900–21,300 pesos a year per person (742 to 1,775 a month). These are 2025 rates; for 2026 the press reports 9,300–22,150.
OfficialIMSS: Seguro de Salud para la Familia, voluntary insurance · checked 30 Sep 2026
Medellín
In the Newsweek 2026 ranking for Colombia, Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe is 3rd, San Vicente Fundación 8th, and six more clinics of the metropolitan area are in the top 45. The ranking is commercial.
SpecialistNewsweek and Statista: World’s Best Hospitals 2026, Colombia · checked 29 Sep 2026
Transport
Mexico City
Metro 5 pesos, Metrobús 6, the Metrobús airport line 30. The authorities confirmed that in 2026 the metro stays at 5. Minibuses were allowed to raise their fare by 1.5 pesos in 2025.
OfficialMexico City portal: how to ride the Metro and Metrobús, fares · checked 30 Sep 2026
Medellín
A ride on the metro, tram, cable car or Metroplús with a personalized Cívica card costs 3,820 pesos, 4,400 with an anonymous card, 1,600 for students.
OfficialMetro de Medellín: fares by Cívica card profile · checked 29 Sep 2026
The main airport, José María Córdova, is in Rionegro, about 35 km from the city. In 2025 it handled 14.6 million passengers, 4.2 million of them international.
SpecialistLadevi: José María Córdova airport, passenger record in 2025 · checked 29 Sep 2026
Climate
Mexico City
January, the coldest month: on average 5.8 degrees at night, 21.2 in the day. No snow, but the nights are cold, and homes usually have no heating.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals for Mexico City · checked 30 Sep 2026
About 816 mm a year, almost all of it from June to September (135–175 mm a month). From November to March it is nearly dry: 4–12 mm a month. Series 1951–1980.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals for Mexico City · checked 30 Sep 2026
Medellín
No winter: the average monthly temperature is 21–22.5 degrees all year round. Coolest in October: on average from 16.6 at night to 26.8 during the day.
OfficialIDEAM: climate table, Olaya Herrera airport (Medellín) · checked 29 Sep 2026
About 1,670 mm a year and 224 days with rain. Two wet seasons, April–May and September–November; driest in December–February.
OfficialIDEAM: climate table, Olaya Herrera airport (Medellín) · checked 29 Sep 2026
Nature
Mexico City
In 2023 there were 120 clean days out of 365 (all substances within the norm); the other 245 had poor air. Worst from March to June. The 2025 dry season had five ozone alerts.
OfficialSEDEMA: annual air quality report for Mexico City for 2023 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Medellín
Nothing yet
Safety
Mexico City
Serious crimes per 100k residents, 2025: Cuauhtémoc 616, Miguel Hidalgo 324, Benito Juárez 311, Coyoacán 295. City-wide 274, nationwide 221.
SpecialistConsejo Ciudadano CDMX: high-impact crimes by alcaldía, 2025 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Roma, Condesa and Centro stand on lake-bed ground: shaking there can be up to 50 times stronger. The 2017 earthquake (magnitude 7.1): 228 dead according to Expansión.
OfficialSSN: report on the earthquake of 19 September 2017, Puebla-Morelos, magnitude 7.1 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Medellín
In 2025 there were 326 murders, about 13 per 100k residents; for the country in 2024 it was 25.4. In El Poblado and Laureles there are few murders, the most are in the center.
SpecialistQue Pasa Medallo: homicides in Medellín in 2025 according to SISC · checked 29 Sep 2026
Internet and phone
Mexico City
Telmex sells home internet from 120 to 1000 Mbps. Up to 350 Mbps download and upload are the same; on the higher plans upload is lower. Totalplay starts at 100 Mbps.
SpecialistTelmex: Infinitum home packages, valid until 30 September 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
From 389 pesos for 120 Mbps to 1399 for a gigabit at Telmex, taxes included. Totalplay is 390 for 100 Mbps. The plan includes calls within Mexico, the US and Canada.
SpecialistTelmex: Infinitum home packages, valid until 30 September 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Medellín
Tigo gives 500 Mbit/s for 75,900 pesos a month in strata 1–3 and for 90,321 in strata 4–6, VAT included. On the cable network the upload is only 15 Mbit/s.
SpecialistTigo: terms of the Full Tigo package for Medellín and the metropolitan area, January 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026
Services
Mexico City
Tariff 1 for June 2026: 1.125 pesos per kWh up to 75 kWh, 1.369 for the next 65, then 4.004. Above 140 kWh the price almost quadruples. Plus 16% VAT.
SpecialistUnoTV: CFE home tariffs for June 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
The Cutzamala system supplies about a quarter of the valley's water. As of 23 September 2026 it is 86% full; in April it was 52%. The shortfall by city district has not been established.
SpecialistExpansión: Cutzamala System fill level as of 17 September 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Price cap for liquefied LP gas (CNE) in Mexico City for 27.09–3.10.2026: 20.10 pesos per kg, 10.85 per litre. A 20 kg cylinder at the cap is about 402 pesos.
OfficialComisión Nacional de Energía: maximum LP gas prices from 27 September to 3 October 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
The water bill comes once every two months, the price per m³ rises in steps and depends on the neighbourhood's development index: a subsidy of up to 91% in poor areas, about 60% in rich ones. We did not find the price in pesos.
SpecialistGrupo Animal: water tariffs and payment in Mexico City, how the tariff works under the Código Fiscal · checked 30 Sep 2026
Medellín
Electricity for 200 kWh and water for 15 m³ at EPM tariffs: stratum 4 about 342k pesos a month, strata 5–6 - 455–470k, stratum 3 - 306k. Gas and garbage are extra.
OfficialEPM: electricity rates, regulated market, September 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026
EPM network gas in strata 3–4: 3,560 pesos per m³ plus a fixed charge of 4,390 a month. For 30 m³ it comes to about 111k pesos ($34). In stratum 6 the price is 4,272 per m³.
OfficialEPM: piped gas tariffs, Valle de Aburrá, September 2026 consumption (October bills) · checked 29 Sep 2026
EPM electricity for 300 kWh a month: stratum 4 about 288k pesos ($87), stratum 6 about 345k, stratum 3 about 269k. September 2026 tariff, excluding fees.
OfficialEPM: electricity tariffs, regulated market, September 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026

