Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Fukushima

For one person, living is cheaper in Fukushima: $1,179 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Fukushima
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Fukushima Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Fukushima

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,179

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Fukushima

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 Fukushima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,179 in Fukushima.

Barcelona $2,443
Fukushima $1,179

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,896 in Fukushima.

Barcelona $3,519
Fukushima $1,896

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,613 in Fukushima.

Barcelona $4,595
Fukushima $2,613

Living in Barcelona is roughly 107% more expensive than in Fukushima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Fukushima is 13% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.72

$5.97 ¥940

195.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.1

$29.63 ¥4,667

127.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$4.37 ¥688

211.44%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$2.47 ¥389

25.51%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$0.97 ¥153

209.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.67 ¥105

188.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$2.58 ¥407

48.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$3.18 ¥501

37.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.51 ¥238

-17.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.53 ¥242

38.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$4.10 ¥646

-51.95%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$2.09 ¥329

127.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.20

$10.23 ¥1,611

66.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$6.50 ¥1,023

37.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.39

$17.13 ¥2,698

20.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$3.71 ¥585

-14.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$2.23 ¥351

-11.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.95 ¥464

-10.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$4.09 ¥644

-29.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$2.38 ¥374

-13.45%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$2.48 ¥390

-12.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.32 ¥209

15.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.83 ¥131

16.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$3.99 ¥629

74.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

$6.55 ¥1,031

20.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.88 ¥296

-24.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.15 ¥339

25.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$1.52 ¥239

117.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.80

$58.4 ¥9,199

-56.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$3.56 ¥561

-13.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.96 ¥466

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.27

$23.07 ¥3,633

42.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.21 ¥191

54.55%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$22.4K ¥3.5M

47.37%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$15.0K ¥2.4M

113.53%

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

$183 €163

$125 ¥19.6K

46.64%

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

$14.24 €12.68

$21.80 ¥3,433

-34.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.78

$32.57 ¥5,129

6.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.79

$51.2 ¥8,060

0.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.59

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$11.50 ¥1,811

-3.83%

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

$944 €840

$692 ¥109.0K

36.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$18.2K ¥2.9M

22.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.1

$52.5 ¥8,267

67.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.52

$34.18 ¥5,383

13.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.1

$67.4 ¥10.6K

55.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$77.2 ¥12.2K

52.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,511

$556 ¥87.5K

205.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

$334 ¥52.6K

300.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,397

$973 ¥153.2K

176.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,849

$808 ¥127.3K

157.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,371

$4,329 ¥681.8K

65.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,522

$2,479 ¥390.5K

104.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,996

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

2.21

44.34%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Fukushima: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Fukushima

$334 28.3% 75% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Fukushima

$288 24.5% 12.1% $40

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Fukushima

$116 9.9% 56.4% $151

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Fukushima

$179 15.2% 22.7% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Fukushima

$104 8.8% 33.7% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Fukushima

$74 6.3% 0.8% $0.6

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Fukushima

$83 7% 67.9% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $556 in Fukushima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $30 in Fukushima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $288 per month, with Fukushima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇯🇵 Fukushima

🕒 Local time

10:57 10:57 AM

18:57 6:57 PM

8 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

282,693

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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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 Fukushima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,179 in Fukushima, so Fukushima is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $1,768 in Fukushima 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $556 in Fukushima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $692 in Fukushima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,179 in Fukushima versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Fukushima but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Fukushima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Fukushima are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.