Cost of living comparison
compared to
Columbia vs. Brussels Cost of Living Summary
Columbia is 9.3% more expensive than Brussels.
Columbia vs. Brussels Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Columbia instead of Brussels, you would:
pay 19.1% less for restaurants
|
Brussels
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.39
€20.00
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.12
€13.50
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.73
€3.33
|
$3.17
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.11
€2.78
|
$2.64
|
|
Brussels vs. Columbia - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.4% more for groceries
|
Brussels
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.75
€2.45
|
$4.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.91
€7.96
|
$6.61
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.00
€4.46
|
$4.95
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.29
€4.73
|
$5.24
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.97
€5.33
|
$7.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.40
€1.25
|
$3.17
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.09
€0.97
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.27
€1.13
|
$2.58
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.87
€1.67
|
$2.64
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.14
€1.02
|
$1.25
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.00
€0.89
|
$1.73
|
|
Brussels vs. Columbia - Cost of groceries
pay 32.7% less for transportation
|
Brussels
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.99
€7.13
|
$4.01
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$62.71
€55.99
|
$40.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,462.03
€31,663.94
|
$36,375.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.27
€19.00
|
$12.79
|
|
Brussels vs. Columbia - Cost of transportation
pay 41.2% more for housing
|
Brussels
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$51.88
€46.32
|
$77.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,339.95
€1,196.44
|
$2,100.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,154.19
€1,030.57
|
$1,850.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$215.91
€192.79
|
$161.22
|
|
Brussels vs. Columbia - Cost of housing
pay 8.7% more for childcare
|
Brussels
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,603.72
€1,431.96
|
$2,000.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$36,825.21
€32,881.12
|
$34,903.57
|
|
Brussels vs. Columbia - Cost of childcare
pay 19.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Brussels
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.60
€5.00
|
$7.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.44
€3.97
|
$5.27
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.44
€12.00
|
$13.94
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$32.93
€29.40
|
$50.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.68
€14.90
|
$15.00
|
|
Brussels vs. Columbia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.4% less for clothing
|
Brussels
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$101.94
€91.02
|
$52.30
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.03
€41.10
|
$63.14
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$109.64
€97.90
|
$100.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.15
€130.50
|
$111.15
|
|
Brussels vs. Columbia - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Brussels vs. Columbia
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cost of living in Belgium vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Belgium and United States.
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