Cost of Living inMedan, Sumatra, Indonesia
Image credit: Gunawan Kartapranata
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Indonesia: $14,470/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 74% 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
5.6 / 10
#78 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-school quality + expat access, alongside international and private school cost — the two paths a relocating family weighs.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Indonesia; Medan, Sumatra-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Limited public-school fit
Expat access
Possible, rarely the expat choice
hardInstruction
Indonesian
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Indonesia's public system is not the route most expat families choose when they have alternatives.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident access may be possible, but Indonesian-medium instruction and uneven quality make the public path a hard sell for foreign families.
📋 Homeschooling
Legal (recognized alternative)Homeschooling is recognized under the Indonesian National Education System. Must register with the local education office. Students can take national exams (Paket A/B/C equivalency exams) to receive official certificates. Growing community in Bali and Jakarta.
Homeschool legality in Indonesia — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
International & private schools
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Indonesia.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$350-$675
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$610-$1,150
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Medan, Sumatra is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Indonesia.
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
LimitedDoctor staffing is lighter, hospital capacity looks tighter, and maternal outcomes are weaker weigh on this rating.
Public care
LimitedCountry-level outcomes are weaker weigh on this rating.
Private care
GoodA meaningful tracked hospital and clinic network and a clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
67/100
2023
Physicians
0.52/1k
2023
Hospital beds
1.37/1k
2023
Out of pocket
31%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
71.3 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
140/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
9.2/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedA visible private hospital base and multiple facilities have websites help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedMultiple facilities have crawlable websites help, but published self-pay prices are scarce.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Indonesia yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
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 | — |
2023 annual wages in Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia · Source: BPS Sakernas (region-adjusted)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival.
Long-Term Visa Programs
digital nomad
B211A Remote Worker Visa
Migrated from legacy digital_nomad_visas row 32
retirement
Retirement KITASQuick 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 Medan compared with the US?
Your money goes about 4.1x further in Medan than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Indonesia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Medan cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Medan is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 74% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Medan. We are using the country-level cost index for Indonesia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Medan compare with New York City?
Rent in Medan is about 91% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Indonesia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Medan?
Groceries in Medan are about 66% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 85% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Indonesia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Medan, Sumatra
Medan is the capital of North Sumatra and Indonesia's largest city outside Java, serving as the gateway to Lake Toba and the commercial hub for the surrounding palm oil, rubber, and tobacco economy. It has a distinct demographic mix with significant Batak, Javanese, Malay, Indian, and Chinese-Indonesian communities, and the food scene reflects that layering. Kualanamu International Airport gives the city direct connections to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and other regional hubs, which makes Medan a practical base for anyone working across Sumatra or northern ASEAN. For relocators, the main trade-offs are heavy traffic, limited rail infrastructure, and air quality that drops sharply during the regional haze season tied to land clearing fires across Sumatra and Kalimantan.
See the full breakdown — free
No password needed. Takes ~30 seconds.