Cost of Living in Cartagena in 2026

What does it really cost to live in Cartagena in 2026? Rent: $650/mo. Food: $260/mo. Total: ~$1,243/mo. Budgets for singles, couples & families.

Day-to-day living in Cartagena adds up to about $1,243 per month for one person, with $650 of that going to a one-bedroom rental.

Indexed against New York City (=100), Cartagena scores 20, putting it in the low-cost bracket among tracked global cities.

What sets Cartagena apart: Rent runs about 40% above the South America average ($650 vs $463/month).

Cartagena Monthly Cost Breakdown (Single Person)

Where Cartagena Ranks

Among 15 Colombia cities in our dataset, Cartagena is the 15th cheapest, sitting $311 above the country mean.

Globally, Cartagena is the 148th cheapest of 744 tracked cities, and the 50th cheapest of 61 in South America (regional average: $972/month).

Rent: The Number That Matters Most

Expect to spend approximately $650/month on a one-bed apartment. That is 52% of the typical monthly spend, so where you choose to live drives almost everything else.

Household Cost Estimates

How to Interpret Cartagena's Cost Profile

For relocation planning, Cartagena should be treated as a structured budget rather than a simple cheap-or-expensive label. Rent takes 52% of the total, essentials account for $1,083, and the remaining flexible spend is about $160 per month before personal upgrades.

Against the New York City baseline of 100, Cartagena scores 20. The annual single-person cost is about $14,916, while a couple should expect around $1,740/month and a family of four around $2,540/month. Those household figures are important because shared rent can make a city look far more affordable for couples than for solo movers.

Budget Pressure Points

The largest monthly line item is Rent at $650, equal to 52% of the total. The second-largest is Food & groceries at $260. Rent is usually the largest swing factor between neighborhoods and household types, while food & groceries is the daily spending category most affected by cooking habits and dining out. Together they explain why the same salary can feel comfortable in one city and tight in another.

• Fixed monthly floor: rent, utilities, healthcare, transport, and groceries total about $1,083 before leisure or discretionary spending.
• Flexible monthly room: leisure and optional lifestyle spending are roughly $160, which is the first place to adjust if your real costs run high.
• Rent sensitivity: every 10% change in rent moves the total budget by about $65/month.
• Income comfort line: modest living starts near $2,000/month gross, while comfortable living is closer to $3,167/month gross.

Local and Regional Ranking Context

Within Colombia, Cartagena ranks 15th cheapest out of 15 tracked cities. It is 33% above the country average of $932/month. Regionally, it ranks 50th of 61 in South America and sits 28% above the regional average of $972.

This ranking context is often more useful than the raw total. A city can be expensive globally but reasonable for its country, or cheap globally but still one of the higher-cost places in its local market. Cartagena should therefore be compared both against nearby alternatives and against your personal income target.

Cities to Compare Before Deciding

Before treating Cartagena as a final choice, compare it with cities that sit close to the same monthly budget. Similar totals reveal whether you are paying for housing, transport convenience, food prices, or a broader lifestyle premium.

• Lima, Peru — $1,255/month, very close to Cartagena.
• Manaus, Brazil — $1,212/month, very close to Cartagena.
• Belo Horizonte, Brazil — $1,285/month, very close to Cartagena.
• Buenos Aires, Argentina — $1,195/month, very close to Cartagena.

Who Cartagena Fits Best

Cartagena works best for people whose income clears the fixed-cost floor with enough margin for savings. If your net income only matches the $1,243 monthly estimate, the city is technically possible but fragile: one rent increase, medical bill, or travel month can erase the buffer. If your net income is at least 25–35% above the estimate, the city becomes easier to manage because food, transport, and leisure choices stop competing with rent.

Use this page as a planning snapshot, not a guarantee. Neighborhood choice, lease terms, household size, insurance, commuting patterns, and how often you eat out can move the final number meaningfully. The safest next step is to compare Cartagena with at least two nearby alternatives, then test your salary or budget against the full monthly breakdown rather than relying on the headline total alone.

Cartagena Cost Fingerprint

Cartagena is one of the more affordable cities we track, with no single category standing out, offset by transport that runs 57% below the world median. A single person needs roughly $1,243/mo to live here comfortably; a couple $1,740/mo. Rent stays a manageable 21% of a comfortable local salary.

What keeps costs down: transport, utilities, rent come in below the global median, which is where most of the savings in Cartagena come from.

Rent Bands by Area Type

What the Numbers Mean in Practice

On a comfortable local income, rent absorbs about 21% of gross pay, leaving roughly $2,139/month after essentials. Measured in working time, a month's rent costs about 33 hours of work, a monthly transit pass about 1 hours, a café coffee about 3 minutes, and a fast-food combo about 4 minutes. A remote worker on a $4,000/month contract would keep about $2,757 per month here, and a retired couple should plan for roughly $1,914/month.

Cartagena ranks 148 of 744 tracked cities by monthly cost for a single person, placing it in the 20th percentile globally.

Who Cartagena Works Well For

• Remote workers on USD income — A $4,000/mo remote salary leaves roughly $2,757/mo after essentials — real savings, not survival.
• First-time movers on a local salary — Rent takes only 21% of a comfortable local income — the healthy threshold most planners recommend.
• Retirees and families budgeting for healthcare — Healthcare here averages $55/mo out of pocket — a minor line item rather than a major cost worry.
• Car-free lifestyles — Public transport costs about $28/mo — most residents genuinely don't need a car.
• Cost-of-living optimisers and long-stay travellers — Cheaper than roughly 80% of cities we track — one of the best value markets globally.

Costs Newcomers Underestimate

• transport is 57% below the world median — many newcomers over-budget here and are pleasantly surprised.
• Healthcare barely moves the monthly budget here — either a public system, heavy subsidies, or genuinely low private-pay prices.

What Things Actually Cost in Cartagena — 34+ Everyday Prices

Prices are shown in USD so they can be compared across cities, with a realistic low–high range instead of false point precision. Each item is anchored to a mid-2026 New York City price and scaled by Cartagena's cost index of 20 (NYC = 100). Treat them as planning estimates, not receipts.

Groceries in Cartagena

Restaurants & drinks in Cartagena

Transport in Cartagena

Personal care & health in Cartagena

Lifestyle & entertainment in Cartagena

Home services in Cartagena

Researched and written by The SnapCol Team — we maintain the SnapCostOfLiving dataset and review every Cartagena figure against our own category model before publishing.