Colombia
Latest Average Wage
−3.9% · 5 years
$30,133
Country Comparison
Colombia vs Mexico
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Colombia
vs
Mexico
$30,1332024
Latest Average Wage
Colombia +23.2%
(vs Mexico)
$24,4632025
−3.9%2024
5-Year Wage Change
Mexico +12.7 pts
(vs Colombia)
+8.9%2025
+2.4%2024
10-Year Wage Change
Mexico +7.3 pts
(vs Colombia)
+9.7%2025
32.62024
Overall Price Level
Mexico +18.3 index points
(vs Colombia)
50.92024
Wages are PPP-adjusted average annual wages; price levels use the United States reference of 100. Years shown are each country's latest reported observation.
How Wages Have Changed
Follow PPP-adjusted average annual wages in constant prices across both economies.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
Mexico
Latest Average Wage
+8.9% · 5 years
$24,463
Wage Milestones
Colombia
10 Years Ago
$29,443 (2014)
Historical Peak
$35,659 (2020)
Latest Wage
$30,133 (2024)
Mexico
10 Years Ago
$22,304 (2015)
Historical Peak
$27,014 (1994)
Latest Wage
$24,463 (2025)
Compare Everyday Price Levels
See how eight consumer price categories compare with the United States reference value of 100.
United States = 100 · Differences shown in index points
Colombia (COL)Mexico (MEX)
Overall
−18.3 index points
100
32.6vs50.9
Food
−22.9 index points
100
65.4vs88.3
Clothing
−11.6 index points
100
60.4vs72
Housing
−16.1 index points
100
26.6vs42.7
Health
−27.4 index points
100
18.6vs46
Transport
−30.8 index points
100
49.8vs80.6
Recreation
−15.5 index points
100
47.8vs63.3
Restaurants & Accommodation
−24.6 index points
100
40.5vs65.1
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Colombia's latest average wage is $30,133 for 2024, about 23.2% higher than Mexico's $24,463 for 2025 — computed straight from the two reported values. Per year, that works out to roughly $5,670 on the shared purchasing-power basis. The two figures come from different reference years.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Colombia shows the stronger movement at +1.9%, against +1.3% for Mexico. The five-year horizon reverses the ordering — Colombia at −3.9% and Mexico at +8.9% — so the latest year is not the whole story. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Transport shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 49.8 for Colombia against 80.6 for Mexico. Mexico sits on the higher side of that 30.8-point spread; Colombia reads 30.8 index points lower on the US=100 scale. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Clothing: Colombia reads 60.4 and Mexico 72 for 2024, just 11.6 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Recreation at 15.5 index points apart. Two readings this close mean the category sits at nearly the same point of the US=100 scale for both.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
A clear separation shows in the latest wage figures — Colombia at $30,133 for 2024, and Mexico at $24,463 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 23.2% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $5,670 a year. No extra conversion is needed here: each figure is already a purchasing-power-adjusted annual amount in constant prices. For scale, neither series has moved by that much within any single reported year, so the gap is structural rather than the product of one unusual observation. Over ten years Colombia recorded +2.4% and Mexico +9.7%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction.
Wage Direction
The two wage series are moving in opposite directions — and the gap between them is narrowing as a result. Colombia is partway through a recovery: the latest year added +1.9%, though the level remains 15.5% below its peak. Mexico is partway through a recovery: the latest year added +1.3%, though the level remains 9.4% below its peak. Because Mexico — the lower of the two latest wage levels — is the side currently gaining in real terms (+8.9% over five years against −3.9%), the distance between the two is shrinking on these measures rather than growing. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
Colombia's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 32.6, and Mexico's reads 50.9, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Mexico reads higher in 8 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Transport: 49.8 for Colombia against 80.6 for Mexico, a gap of 30.8 index points. At the other end, Clothing brings the two closest — 60.4 versus 72, a gap of just 11.6 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Colombia reads above 100 in 0 of its 8 reported categories, and Mexico in 0 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
