Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santa Marta vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Santa Marta is 19.7% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants
pay 2.6% less in Santa Marta
Groceries
pay 16.6% more in Santa Marta
Transportation
pay 18.0% less in Santa Marta
Housing
pay 2.1 times more in Santa Marta
Childcare
pay 31.2% less in Santa Marta
Entertainment and Sports
pay 35.0% less in Santa Marta
Clothing
pay 98.4% more in Santa Marta

The cost of housing, clothing, and groceries in Santa Marta are more expensive than in Nairobi. Expenses including entertainment and sports, childcare, transportation, and restaurants are lower in Santa Marta. Notably, housing and clothing are significantly more expensive in Santa Marta.

Santa Marta vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santa Marta instead of Nairobi, you would:

pay 2.6% less for restaurants

 
Nairobi
Santa Marta
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.80
KES753.48
$3.88
COP14,160.52
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.97
KES904.18
$9.06
COP33,041.22
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.70
KES91.10
$0.72
COP2,643.30

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pay 16.6% more for groceries

 
Nairobi
Santa Marta
Bread
1 loaf
$0.55
KES70.93
$1.73
COP6,293.57
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.57
KES722.57
$2.67
COP9,755.03
Milk (1 gallon) $3.36
KES435.60
$4.60
COP16,795.74

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pay 18.0% less for transportation

 
Nairobi
Santa Marta
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.40
KES700.80
$3.91
COP14,251.61
Monthly public transit pass $30.96
KES4,018.58
$15.53
COP56,642.09
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $21,671.83
KES3M
$20,963.08
COP76M

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

 
Nairobi
Santa Marta
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$39.86
KES5,174.35
$20.70
COP75,522.79
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $476.96
KES61,908.84
$291.15
COP1M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $206.31
KES26,778.96
$381.17
COP1M

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pay 31.2% less for childcare

 
Nairobi
Santa Marta
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $224.14
KES29,092.81
$176.01
COP642K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,775.09
KES1M
$5,176.07
COP19M

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pay 35.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
Nairobi
Santa Marta
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.32
KES301.39
$1.04
COP3,776.14
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.37
KES307.61
$1.71
COP6,254.23
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.10
KES401.86
$2.85
COP10,384.38

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pay 98.4% more for clothing

 
Nairobi
Santa Marta
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$19.62
KES2,547.07
$55.21
COP201K
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$24.88
KES3,229.21
$56.76
COP207K
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$67.92
KES8,815.75
$123.76
COP451K

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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: April 2026
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