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City comparison

Viña del Mar vs Cartagena

In short

Calculated from the figures below, with no overall “who wins” score.

  • Rent

    in Viña del Mar cheaper — −54%

  • Family budget

    in Cartagena cheaper — −8%

  • Ready-made house

    in Cartagena cheaper — −49%

In numbers

Exchange rate as of the date each figure was checked.

  • House or apartment rent

    per month
    Viña del Mar≈ $585–897CLP 562,371–862,029
    cheaper by 54%
    Cartagena≈ $1,070–2,140COP 3.5–7.04M
  • Piped gas

    Viña del Mar≈ $1.72 per m³CLP 1,665 per m³
    Cartagena≈ $0.77 per m³COP 2,539 per m³
    cheaper by 55%
  • Family groceries

    per month
    Viña del Mar≈ $384CLP 369,308
    Cartagena≈ $290COP 953,232
    cheaper by 24%
  • Family budget

    per month
    Viña del Mar≈ $698CLP 671,031
    Cartagena≈ $639COP 2,099,220
    cheaper by 8%
  • Winter

    average
    Viña del Mar12 °C12 °C
    Cartagena24–31 °C24–31 °C
  • Precipitation

    per year
    Viña del Mar371.8 mm371.8 mm
    Cartagena1,017 mm1,017 mm
  • Ready-made house

    purchase
    Viña del Mar≈ $499–840kCLP 480,109,221–807,885,566
    Cartagena≈ $228–453kCOP 750–1,487.5M
    cheaper by 49%

By topic

A quick look at each city. Details and sources are on the city page.

Daily life

Viña del Mar

City size

According to the 2024 census, the commune of Viña del Mar has 334,871 people and neighboring Valparaíso 284,938. The region's aging index is 98.6 versus 79 for the country.

OfficialINE: first results of the 2024 census for the Valparaíso region · checked 29 Sep 2026

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Cartagena

Nothing yet

Housing

Viña del Mar

Rent in Reñaca

An apartment in Reñaca is 13.7–21 UF a month, that is 562–862k pesos ($580–890). A house for a family is from 1.3 million pesos. Building maintenance fees are on top.

SpecialistLas Últimas Noticias (lunmas.cl): rent and sale prices by Reñaca neighborhood, table based on Inciti.com data · checked 29 Sep 2026

Buying a house

A house in Reñaca costs 11.7–19.7k UF, that is 480–808 million pesos ($0.5–0.84 million). An apartment there is 4.2–7.2k UF.

SpecialistLas Últimas Noticias (lunmas.cl): rent and sale prices by Reñaca neighborhood, table based on Inciti.com data · checked 29 Sep 2026

Viña versus Valparaíso

By actual transactions, a meter of housing costs 66.1 UF in Viña, 59.7 in Concón and 23.7 in Valparaíso. The neighboring city is almost three times cheaper.

SpecialistGrupo Colibrí: median price per m² from property registry transactions, Viña del Mar, Concón, Valparaíso · checked 29 Sep 2026

Rent in the center and Recreo

A two-bedroom with two bathrooms in February 2024: Santa Julia 426k pesos, Recreo 511k, Viña center 585k a month. Data as of February 2024.

SpecialistPuranoticia: rent by sector in Viña del Mar and Valparaíso, Portal Inmobiliario study · checked 29 Sep 2026

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Cartagena

Three-bedroom rent

A three-bedroom apartment by listings: median 5.5 million pesos a month (about 1,640 dollars), half within 3.5-7 million. In stratum 6 the median is 6.8 million.

SpecialistFincaraíz: three-bedroom apartments for rent in Cartagena · checked 6 Oct 2026

Buying an apartment

A resale three-bedroom by listings: median 975 million pesos (about 290 thousand dollars), half within 750 million - 1.49 billion. Mostly Bocagrande and Castillogrande.

SpecialistFincaraíz: three-bedroom apartments for sale in Cartagena · checked 6 Oct 2026

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Money and prices

Viña del Mar

Groceries for a family

The minimum food basket is 92,327 pesos per person per month, about 369k for four ($382). The figure is for the whole country.

OfficialChile's Ministry of Social Development: cost of the basic food basket and poverty lines, August 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026

Budget for a family of four

The poverty line for a family of four without rent is 671,031 pesos a month. With an apartment in Reñaca, food, water and internet, it comes to 1–1.3 million.

OfficialChile's Ministry of Social Development: cost of the basic food basket and poverty lines, August 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026

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Cartagena

Groceries for a family

The DANE minimum food basket for Cartagena is 238,308 pesos per person a month, about 953 thousand (285 dollars) for a family of four. Figures for 2025.

OfficialDANE: monetary poverty 2025, presentation of results with poverty lines by city · checked 6 Oct 2026

Family budget per month

A family of four in Cartagena counts as poor with income below 2.1 million pesos a month, about 630 dollars (2025). 34.6% of residents are poor, more than in Medellín and Cali.

OfficialDANE: monetary poverty 2025, presentation of results with poverty lines by city · checked 6 Oct 2026

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Family and kids

Viña del Mar

Schools and fees

The Sagrados Corazones school in Viña: 340–415k pesos a month. The German school of Valparaíso (located in Viña): 14.28 UF, about 586k pesos.

SpecialistColegio Sagrados Corazones Monjas Francesas, Viña del Mar: enrollment circular for 2026 · checked 29 Sep 2026

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Cartagena

Nothing yet

Healthcare

Viña del Mar

Healthcare on the ground

The region has 16 accredited high-complexity inpatient facilities, at least seven of them in Viña: the Fricke hospital, and the Reñaca and Ciudad del Mar clinics.

OfficialSuperintendencia de Salud: register of accredited health facilities in the Valparaíso region · checked 29 Sep 2026

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Cartagena

The city's main hospital

Hospital Serena del Mar of the Santa Fe de Bogotá foundation: in Colombia's top 20 in the Newsweek 2026 ranking and first in Cartagena and the Caribbean region. Over 60 specialties.

SpecialistEl Universal: Hospital Serena del Mar, first in Cartagena in the Newsweek 2026 ranking · checked 6 Oct 2026

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Transport

Viña del Mar

The road to Santiago

To Santiago it is about two hours by bus. About 400 departures a day from seven companies, tickets from 4,130 pesos (about $4).

SpecialistCheckMyBus: Santiago - Viña del Mar buses, schedules and prices · checked 29 Sep 2026

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Cartagena

Rafael Núñez Airport

In 2025 about 7.2 million passengers passed through Cartagena airport, 1.7 million of them international. The most popular destinations are Lima, New York, Mexico City, Madrid and Miami.

OfficialAerocivil, open data: commercial air traffic by origin-destination, 2020-2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026

Everything about transport in Cartagena →

Climate

Viña del Mar

Winter

The average temperature in July 2026 at the Viña del Mar station was 11.7 °C: about 16 in the daytime and about 8 at night. Frost is rare: the month's minimum was 1.0 °C.

OfficialChilean Meteorological Service: July 2026 temperature, Viña del Mar Ad. (Torquemada) station, code 320041 · checked 29 Sep 2026

Annual rainfall

In 2025 the Viña del Mar station recorded 371.8 mm, 91% of it from May to August. The summer is almost without rain: 0.7 mm in January.

OfficialChilean Meteorological Service: 2025 rainfall, Viña del Mar Ad. (Torquemada) station · checked 29 Sep 2026

Everything about climate in Viña del Mar →

Cartagena

Hot all year round

There is no winter: even in the coolest month, January, it averages 23.6 degrees at night and 30.5 during the day. In June-July, 25.7 at night and 31.6 during the day.

OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Cartagena 1971-2000 · checked 6 Oct 2026

Precipitation and seasonality

About 1,020 mm a year. From December to April it is almost dry (1-35 mm a month), rains from May to November, most of all in October: 235 mm and 16 rainy days.

OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Cartagena 1971-2000 · checked 6 Oct 2026

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Safety

Viña del Mar

The fire of February 2024

The fire of 2–3 February 2024 in Viña, Quilpué and Villa Alemana: 136 dead according to MINVU (135–137 in other documents), more than 7 thousand homes destroyed.

OfficialChile's Ministry of Housing (MINVU): minister's report on the reconstruction of Viña del Mar, Quilpué and Villa Alemana, data as of 31 July 2025 · checked 29 Sep 2026

Homicides

In the first half of 2025 there were 9 homicides in Viña, 11 in Valparaíso and 5 in Quilpué. Per 100k inhabitants, Viña is calmer than neighboring Valparaíso.

OfficialHomicide victims report for the first half of 2025, with figures by commune · checked 29 Sep 2026

Earthquake and tsunami

The coast of Viña falls in a possible tsunami zone: SHOA has an inundation map and SENAPRED an evacuation plan. A strong tremor near the sea means going uphill immediately.

OfficialSHOA: tsunami inundation maps (CITSU), including Valparaíso - Viña del Mar · checked 29 Sep 2026

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Cartagena

Homicides

According to Ministry of Defense open data, Cartagena had 360 homicides in 2025 and 381 in 2024. In January-August 2026 there were 191, against 244 in the same period of 2025.

OfficialColombian Ministry of Defense, open data: homicides by municipality (HOMICIDIO) · checked 6 Oct 2026

Everything about safety in Cartagena →

Internet and phone

Viña del Mar

Internet

Fiber from 12,990 pesos a month on promotion, and the median price after the promotion is 26,990 (about $28). Tariffs are nationwide; availability is checked by address.

SpecialistRedify: catalog of home fiber internet plans in Chile · checked 29 Sep 2026

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Cartagena

Nothing yet

Services

Viña del Mar

Water

The average bill for water and sewerage at 13 m³ a month in Greater Valparaíso is 30,314 pesos (about $31) under the ESVAL 2025–2030 tariff.

SpecialistPortal Innova: new ESVAL tariff decree, average water bill in Greater Valparaíso · checked 29 Sep 2026

Electricity (Chilquinta)

Chilquinta electricity: about 292 pesos per kWh and 1,245 a month, IVA not shown in the table. For 300 kWh, about 89k pesos, or about 106k with 19% IVA ($110).

OfficialChilquinta: electricity tariffs for residential customers, table by commune, September 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026

Piped gas (Gasvalpo)

Gasvalpo piped gas: 1,665 pesos per m³ in the 60–100 m³ band. A winter month with gas heating is about 100 m³, which is roughly 176k pesos ($183).

OfficialGasvalpo: list of services and natural gas tariffs, updated 1 September 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026

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Cartagena

Water and sewerage

Water with sewerage for 15 m³ at the Aguas de Cartagena tariff: stratum 4 about 136 thousand pesos a month (41 dollars), stratum 5 about 241 thousand, stratum 6 about 289 thousand.

OfficialAguas de Cartagena: water and sewerage tariffs, second half of 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026

Piped gas from Surtigas

Surtigas piped gas for homes: 2,539 pesos per m³ plus 3,942 pesos a month per bill. 30 m³ comes to about 80 thousand pesos (24 dollars). Strata 5-6 pay 20% more.

OfficialSurtigas: piped gas tariffs for regulated users, September 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026

Electricity from Afinia

Since September 2026 a kWh from Afinia costs 1,033 pesos, the price for stratum 4. 300 kWh a month is about 310 thousand pesos (93 dollars), a typical amount for a family with air conditioning.

SpecialistEl Universal: Afinia's price per kWh rose from 950 to 1,033 pesos from September 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026

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