Cost of living comparison

compared to

Columbia vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Columbia is 8.4% more expensive than Rome.

Restaurants
pay 14.3% more in Columbia
Groceries
pay 29.4% more in Columbia
Transportation
pay 27.0% less in Columbia
Housing
pay 8.8% more in Columbia
Childcare
pay 76.2% more in Columbia
Entertainment and Sports
pay 14.0% more in Columbia
Clothing
pay 7.7% less in Columbia

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

Columbia vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Columbia instead of Rome, you would:

pay 14.3% more for restaurants

 
Rome
Columbia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.80
€15.07
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.20
€10.05
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.96
€2.66
$2.77
 

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pay 29.4% more for groceries

 
Rome
Columbia
Bread
1 loaf
$2.22
€2.00
$2.51
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.42
€6.66
$5.14
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.49
€5.82
$3.08
 

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pay 27.0% less for transportation

 
Rome
Columbia
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.04
€7.21
$3.59
 
Monthly public transit pass $39.19
€35.16
$40.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,551.60
€31,895.12
$35,112.00
 

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pay 8.8% more for housing

 
Rome
Columbia
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$31.87
€28.59
$64.17
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,208.81
€1,084.48
$1,254.83
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $873.39
€783.57
$853.00
 

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pay 76.2% more for childcare

 
Rome
Columbia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $487.21
€437.10
$1,133.33
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $16,862.20
€15,127.92
$22,500.00
 

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pay 14.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Rome
Columbia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.60
€5.02
$5.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.07
€1.86
$5.32
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.28
€6.53
$8.50
 

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pay 7.7% less for clothing

 
Rome
Columbia
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$71.31
€63.98
$52.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.31
€32.58
$39.75
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$83.63
€75.03
$82.25
 

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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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