Cost of Living inCartagena, Colombia
Image credit: Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz)
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Colombia: $18,477/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 68% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
Happiness
5.7 / 10
#75 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public Education
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Colombia; Cartagena-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Mixed public-school option
Expat access
Available to residents
conditionalInstruction
Spanish
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Colombia’s public schools can work locally, but expat families usually view them as a compromise versus bilingual private options.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families can usually enroll, but Spanish-medium instruction and uneven school quality make the public route more situational.
✅ Homeschooling
Legal, well-establishedColombia's constitution guarantees educational freedom. Homeschooling is legal and well-established, particularly in Medellín and Bogotá. Students can validate their learning through ICFES exams. No registration or curriculum requirements. Growing worldschooling community.
Homeschool legality in Colombia — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Current nanny and household-help pricing snapshot for Cartagena, Colombia.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$725-$975
monthly · confidence 0.65
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$1,400-$1,900
monthly · confidence 0.65
Source: curated family relocation research
Getting Around
The concrete mobility picture for Cartagena: airport access, urban transit, and rideshare practicality.
Airport
International airport
Rafael Núñez keeps Cartagena practical for domestic trips and a useful set of Caribbean and regional international routes.
Urban transit
BRT and bus
Cartagena is still road-led, but TransCaribe gives the city a more structured backbone than a purely informal beach-town shuttle mix.
Rideshare
App-hailed rides available
App-hailed rides and taxis are a normal fallback for airport trips, resort transfers, and gaps beyond the strongest BRT corridors.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Colombia.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
StrongGood national coverage and low out-of-pocket burden support this rating.
Public care
GoodBroad public coverage and relatively low patient cost-sharing help, but the tracked facility mix leans away from public providers.
Private care
MixedA meaningful tracked hospital and clinic network and a clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
82/100
2023
Physicians
2.54/1k
2023
Hospital beds
1.70/1k
2020
Out of pocket
15%
2024
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
77.9 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
59/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
6.3/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedA visible private hospital base and there is visible specialty depth help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Colombia yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-05-18
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2025 annual wages in Cartagena, Colombia · Source: DANE GEIH (region-adjusted)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can enter without a visa.
Long-Term Visa Programs
digital nomad
Digital Nomad Visa
Migrated from legacy digital_nomad_visas row 18
retirement
Retirement Visa Colombia
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Cartagena compared with the US?
Your money goes about 2.3x further in Cartagena than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Colombia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Cartagena cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Cartagena is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 68% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Cartagena. We are using the country-level cost index for Colombia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Cartagena compare with New York City?
Rent in Cartagena is about 89% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Colombia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Cartagena?
Groceries in Cartagena are about 67% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 73% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Colombia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Cartagena
Cartagena de Indias sits on Colombia's Caribbean coast, a city of roughly 915,000 anchored by a UNESCO-listed walled colonial center built during the Spanish silver-fleet era. The modern economy mixes container port operations, petrochemicals at Mamonal, and concentrated tourism that drives high seasonal volatility in restaurant and short-term rental pricing. Climate is consistently hot and humid year-round with a wet season from August to November. Relocators should weigh a meaningful and growing North American and European retiree and remote-worker community in Bocagrande and Getsemani, costs well above Medellin or Bogota for comparable expat housing, basic Spanish requirements outside tourist zones, and direct flights to Miami and Panama.
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