Colombia vs Mexico

Compare PPP-adjusted average wages, long-term wage trends and consumer price levels using consistent OECD data.

Country A

Country B

Colombia wage data: 2024 · Mexico wage data: 2025 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

Colombia

Average wage (2024)

$30,133

1-year change: +1.9%
5-year change: −3.9%

Overall price level (2024)

32.6 (United States = 100)

Colombia's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 23.2% higher than Mexico's.

Latest available wage years differ.

Mexico

Average wage (2025)

$24,463

1-year change: +1.3%
5-year change: +8.9%

Overall price level (2024)

50.9 (United States = 100)

Colombia has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 23.2% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Mexico shows the stronger change (+8.9% against −3.9%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Mexico, at 50.9 against 32.6 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +18.3 index points. The wage figures come from different years (2024 and 2025) and the price levels from 2024, so each economy is shown at its own latest available point.

Wage History

See how PPP-adjusted average annual wages have changed in both economies.

PPP-adjusted annual wage (USD)

ColombiaMexico

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Colombia	Mexico
Latest wage	$30,133	$24,463
Latest year	2024	2025
1-year change	+1.9%	+1.3%
5-year change	−3.9%	+8.9%
10-year change	+2.4%	+9.7%
Historical peak	$35,659	$27,014
Peak year	2020	1994
Change from peak	−15.5%	−9.4%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Colombia records the higher figure: $30,133 against $24,463, a gap of 23.2%. The gap is clear enough to rank the two, though it says nothing about how the figure is distributed within either economy.

The two are measured in different years — Colombia in 2024, Mexico in 2025 — so this compares each economy's latest available point rather than a single common year. Where a strict same-year ranking is needed, the all-countries table uses the latest year for which every economy reports.

Both use the same basis: PPP-adjusted US dollars at constant prices. That conversion strips out the price level differences between the two economies, which is what makes the two figures comparable at all — neither is a local-currency salary, and neither is what an employer in that country would write on a contract.

Recent Momentum

Colombia had the stronger latest year (+1.9% against +1.3%).

Both moved up in the latest year, which leaves the ordering between them unchanged.

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is Mexico: +8.9% against −3.9%.

This is where the two separate: Colombia's latest year runs against its own five-year direction, while Mexico's does not. Short-term and medium-term signals agree for one and conflict for the other.

Long-Term Direction

Across ten years both series are up — +2.4% for Colombia and +9.7% for Mexico. Over this horizon the two share a direction, and the difference between them is one of pace.

Neither is at its peak: Colombia is 15.5% from its 2020 high and Mexico 9.4% from its 1994 high. Both series have retreated from an earlier maximum.

The long view and the recent one point differently here — the lower-paid of the two has been closing ground over the five-year window, so the current gap understates how the two have been moving relative to each other.

Consumer Price Level Comparison

Compare eight consumer price categories with the United States benchmark of 100.

United States = 100
Missing values are shown as -

All differences are shown in index points. United States = 100.

Category	Colombia	Mexico	Difference (COL − MEX)	COL vs U.S.	MEX vs U.S.
Overall	32.6	50.9	−18.3	−67.4	−49.1
Food	65.4	88.3	−22.9	−34.6	−11.7
Clothing	60.4	72	−11.6	−39.6	−28.0
Housing	26.6	42.7	−16.1	−73.4	−57.3
Health	18.6	46	−27.4	−81.4	−54.0
Transport	49.8	80.6	−30.8	−50.2	−19.4
Recreation	47.8	63.3	−15.5	−52.2	−36.7
Restaurants & Accommodation	40.5	65.1	−24.6	−59.5	−34.9

Overall
Colombia32.6
Mexico50.9
Difference−18.3
COL vs U.S.−67.4
MEX vs U.S.−49.1
Food
Colombia65.4
Mexico88.3
Difference−22.9
COL vs U.S.−34.6
MEX vs U.S.−11.7
Clothing
Colombia60.4
Mexico72
Difference−11.6
COL vs U.S.−39.6
MEX vs U.S.−28.0
Housing
Colombia26.6
Mexico42.7
Difference−16.1
COL vs U.S.−73.4
MEX vs U.S.−57.3
Health
Colombia18.6
Mexico46
Difference−27.4
COL vs U.S.−81.4
MEX vs U.S.−54.0
Transport
Colombia49.8
Mexico80.6
Difference−30.8
COL vs U.S.−50.2
MEX vs U.S.−19.4
Recreation
Colombia47.8
Mexico63.3
Difference−15.5
COL vs U.S.−52.2
MEX vs U.S.−36.7
Restaurants & Accommodation
Colombia40.5
Mexico65.1
Difference−24.6
COL vs U.S.−59.5
MEX vs U.S.−34.9

Colombia and Mexico in Detail

Current Wage Position

Colombia reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $30,133 for 2024, and Mexico $24,463 for 2025. That puts Colombia ahead by 23.2%.

Both figures are PPP-adjusted: converted using purchasing power parities rather than market exchange rates, and expressed in constant prices so different years stay comparable.

This matters for reading the gap. A market-rate conversion would move with currency markets and would not reflect what the money buys in each economy. These figures are built to compare purchasing power, not to tell you what a currency transfer would be worth.

Recent Wage Momentum

In the latest reported year Colombia changed by +1.9% and Mexico by +1.3%. A single year is a narrow window, so it is worth reading alongside the five-year figure rather than on its own.

Over five years, Mexico records the larger change at +8.9%, against −3.9% for Colombia. That is the difference in how far each series has travelled over the medium term, in real PPP-adjusted terms.

Short-term and five-year movement point the same way for both economies, so neither is currently being pulled against its own medium-term direction.

Long-Term Wage Direction

Across ten years the changes are +2.4% for Colombia and +9.7% for Mexico. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Colombia reached its highest recorded value of $35,659 in 2020, and the latest figure sits 15.5% from that high.

Mexico peaked at $27,014 in 1994, leaving its latest value 9.4% away from that point.

Both long-term series move the same way, so the difference between these two economies is one of degree over ten years rather than of direction.

Consumer Price Profile

Against the United States benchmark of 100, overall consumption sits at 32.6 in Colombia and 50.9 in Mexico — −18.3 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Transport (−30.8) and Health (−27.4).

Clothing is where they are nearest, at 60.4 and 72.

Across the categories with data, Mexico is the more expensive of the two more often than not.

How to Interpret the Comparison

These are average wages, not median wages, and not take-home pay. An average is pulled by the whole distribution, so it does not describe a typical individual, occupation, city or employer in either economy.

The wage figures are already PPP-adjusted and in constant prices. They are not local-currency salaries and not amounts convertible at a market exchange rate.

The price levels are relative indices against United States = 100. They describe how price levels compare, not what a household actually spends.

Wages and price levels should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better. This page is for understanding how the two wage trends and price structures differ — nothing further follows from it.