Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Blackburn

For one person, living is cheaper in Blackburn: $2,051 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
98

Cost of Living Index in Blackburn
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Blackburn Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Blackburn

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,051

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Blackburn

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Barcelona and in Blackburn actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,051 in Blackburn.

Barcelona $2,453
Blackburn $2,051

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,022 in Blackburn.

Barcelona $3,509
Blackburn $3,022

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,994 in Blackburn.

Barcelona $4,564
Blackburn $3,994

Living in Barcelona is roughly 20% more expensive than in Blackburn, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Blackburn 51% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$14.47 £10.89

21.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$55.6 £41.88

21.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$8.49 £6.39

59.36%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$4.07 £3.07

-21.62%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 €2.62

$2.62 £1.97

11.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.46 £1.10

29.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$4.25 £3.20

-5.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$5.21 £3.92

-13.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.67 £1.26

-21.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.50 £1.13

34.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.38 £1.79

-22.27%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$3.65 £2.75

32.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$10.77 £8.10

55.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$8.57 £6.45

6.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$15.73 £11.84

24.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.65 £1.24

80.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.64 £1.23

23.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.33 £1.75

15.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$3.03 £2.28

-7.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.48 £1.12

41.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.51 £1.14

37.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.45 £0.34

224.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.70 £0.53

34.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$20.06 £15.10

-65.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$9.40 £7.07

-16.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.26 £1.70

-37.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$2.05 £1.54

23.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$2.73 £2.06

15.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$74.4 £56.0

-65.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$2.72 £2.05

9.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.07 £1.56

-28.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$18.21 £13.71

83.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.02 £1.52

-10.89%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$33.2K €29.8K

$38.9K £29.3K

-14.64%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$31.7K €28.5K

$40.6K £30.6K

-21.97%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$180 €162

$246 £185

-26.56%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$13.84 €12.43

$16.94 £12.75

-18.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$29.45 £22.16

14.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$44.49 £33.48

15.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$12.03 £9.06

32.67%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$9.57 £7.20

14.84%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$917 €823

$1,052 £792

-12.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$21.7K £16.4K

-24.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$89.5 £67.4

-2.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$46.85 £35.26

-17.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$88.9 £66.9

18.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$69.1 £52.0

73.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$1,213 £913

40.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$954 £718

42.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,873 £1,410

38.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$1,655 £1,245

24.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$5,107 £3,844

35.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$3,845 £2,894

33.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$2,155 £1,622

2.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.99

-34.27%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Blackburn: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Blackburn

$954 46.5% 29.6% $402

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Blackburn

$273 13.3% 15.3% $49

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Blackburn

$238 11.6% 11.1% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Blackburn

$292 14.2% 28.1% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Blackburn

$132 6.5% 16.1% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Blackburn

$64 3.1% 13.4% $9.9

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Blackburn

$98 4.8% 103% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,213 in Blackburn. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 3% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $56 in Blackburn for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $273 per month, with Blackburn cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Blackburn

🕒 Local time

05:02 5:02 AM

04:02 4:02 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

105,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Blackburn 1,420 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Blackburn

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Barcelona vs Blackburn: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,051 in Blackburn, so Blackburn is about 16% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $3,076 in Blackburn to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $1,213 in Blackburn. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,052 in Blackburn. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Blackburn gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Blackburn wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.