Cost of living comparison

compared to

Barranquilla vs. Cartagena Cost of Living Summary

Barranquilla is 12.7% cheaper than Cartagena.

Restaurants: pay 7.7% less in Barranquilla
Groceries: pay 18.6% less in Barranquilla
Transportation: pay 14.7% more in Barranquilla
Housing: pay 32.3% less in Barranquilla
Childcare: pay 67.9% less in Barranquilla
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.4% more in Barranquilla
Clothing: pay 1.7% less in Barranquilla

The cost of entertainment and sports and transportation in Barranquilla are more expensive than in Cartagena. Expenses including childcare, housing, groceries, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Barranquilla.

Barranquilla vs. Cartagena Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Barranquilla instead of Cartagena, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.7% less for restaurants

	Cartagena	Barranquilla
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.08 COP23,106.09	$5.18 COP19,664.76	-14.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.99 COP37,949.89	$8.77 COP33,331.76	-12.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 COP3,360.84	$0.94 COP3,576.53	+6.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 COP2,670.02	$0.63 COP2,403.47	-10.0%
Average			-7.7%

Cartagena vs. Barranquilla - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.6% less for groceries

	Cartagena	Barranquilla
Bread 1 loaf	$2.01 COP7,651.68	$1.39 COP5,262.37	-31.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.71 COP14,093.07	$2.45 COP9,322.38	-33.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.75 COP18,051.51	$3.94 COP14,966.75	-17.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.30 COP8,750.82	$2.06 COP7,810.45	-10.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.95 COP11,194.34	$2.48 COP9,421.72	-15.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.56 COP5,942.07	$1.36 COP5,184.63	-12.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.94 COP3,567.92	$0.64 COP2,428.25	-31.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 COP2,720.54	$0.75 COP2,844.47	+4.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 COP2,973.26	$0.39 COP1,494.07	-49.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 COP2,898.93	$0.45 COP1,704.45	-41.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 COP2,006.95	$0.71 COP2,708.45	+35.0%
Average			-18.6%

Cartagena vs. Barranquilla - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.7% more for transportation

	Cartagena	Barranquilla
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.99 COP15,160.48	$3.94 COP14,984.10	-1.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.54 COP116,022.06	$34.94 COP132,737.10	+14.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,645.31 COP86,033,306.54	$16,175.22 COP61,452,361.81	-28.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.45 COP58,708.83	$26.92 COP102,256.73	+74.2%
Average			+14.7%

Cartagena vs. Barranquilla - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.3% less for housing

	Cartagena	Barranquilla
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.66 COP101,273.49	$22.99 COP87,344.29	-13.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$776.41 COP2,949,713.37	$258.80 COP983,237.79	-66.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$451.77 COP1,716,359.12	$235.51 COP894,746.39	-47.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.21 COP437,706.07	$114.30 COP434,245.00	-0.8%
Average			-32.3%

Cartagena vs. Barranquilla - Cost of housing

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pay 67.9% less for childcare

	Cartagena	Barranquilla
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$151.40 COP575,194.11	$64.70 COP245,809.45	-57.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,058.12 COP34,413,322.61	$1,941.03 COP7,374,283.42	-78.6%
Average			-67.9%

Cartagena vs. Barranquilla - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Cartagena	Barranquilla
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.91 COP3,441.33	$1.55 COP5,899.43	+71.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.68 COP6,391.05	$2.07 COP7,865.90	+23.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.46 COP9,340.76	$2.98 COP11,307.23	+21.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.46 COP142,323.67	$22.65 COP86,033.31	-39.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.11 COP11,798.85	$4.53 COP17,206.66	+45.8%
Average			+24.4%

Cartagena vs. Barranquilla - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.7% less for clothing

	Cartagena	Barranquilla
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.76 COP196,647.56	$65.99 COP250,725.64	+27.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.41 COP157,318.05	$56.94 COP216,312.31	+37.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$133.72 COP508,006.19	$85.41 COP324,468.47	-36.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$120.77 COP458,844.30	$77.64 COP294,971.34	-35.7%
Average			-1.7%

Cartagena vs. Barranquilla - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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