Cartagena Cost of Living 2026Estimated

Cartagena scores 38/100 on the Anchor Cost Index, making it an affordable city by global standards. It ranks #94 of 160 cities worldwide — more expensive than 42% of the cities in our dataset — and #6 of 14 in South America.

The headline numbers: a one-bedroom apartment averages $549/month, a Big Mac costs $3.61, a 5 km Uber ride is $2.88, and a Starbucks latte runs $2.81. Together these anchor prices place Cartagena below the global midpoint for day-to-day living costs.

Depending on lifestyle, a single person needs between $1,221 and $1,643 per month in Cartagena. A backpacker staying in hostels and eating locally gets by on about $1,221, a digital nomad with coliving and coworking spends around $1,240, and an expat professional living centrally should plan for $1,643. A small family of three needs roughly $2,159/month.

For the typical digital nomad budget, housing absorbs about 33% ($409) and food about 43% ($536), with transport, utilities and entertainment making up the rest. That means the fastest way to cut costs in Cartagena is on accommodation — the other categories offer far less room to economize.