Cost of living comparison

compared to

Columbia vs. Skopje Cost of Living Summary

Columbia is 2.5 times more expensive than Skopje.

Restaurants
pay 86.4% more in Columbia
Groceries
pay 2.7 times more in Columbia
Transportation
pay 4.3% more in Columbia
Housing
pay 4.3 times more in Columbia
Childcare
pay 5.9 times more in Columbia
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.2 times more in Columbia
Clothing
pay 0.8% more in Columbia

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and transportation in Columbia are more expensive than in Skopje. Notably, childcare, housing, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Columbia.

Columbia vs. Skopje Cost Breakdown

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

pay 86.4% more for restaurants

 
Skopje
Columbia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $9.58
MKD526.37
$18.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.45
MKD354.41
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.83
MKD100.60
$3.17
 

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pay 2.7 times more for groceries

 
Skopje
Columbia
Bread
1 loaf
$0.77
MKD42.29
$4.11
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.98
MKD218.39
$6.61
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.76
MKD261.47
$4.95
 

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pay 4.3% more for transportation

 
Skopje
Columbia
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.00
MKD329.56
$4.01
 
Monthly public transit pass $27.26
MKD1,497.51
$40.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,440.15
MKD2M
$36,375.00
 

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pay 4.3 times more for housing

 
Skopje
Columbia
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$19.00
MKD1,043.72
$77.77
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $418.20
MKD22,971.99
$2,100.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $324.42
MKD17,820.55
$1,850.00
 

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pay 5.9 times more for childcare

 
Skopje
Columbia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $355.23
MKD19,513.04
$2,000.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $5,681.18
MKD312K
$34,903.57
 

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pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Skopje
Columbia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.73
MKD149.75
$7.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.09
MKD115.08
$5.27
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.45
MKD189.68
$13.94
 

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pay 0.8% more for clothing

 
Skopje
Columbia
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$84.15
MKD4,622.32
$52.30
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.88
MKD2,025.63
$63.14
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$101.78
MKD5,590.71
$100.00
 

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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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