Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Ibaraki

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibaraki: $1,142 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Ibaraki
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Ibaraki Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Ibaraki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,142

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Ibaraki

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,142 in Ibaraki.

Barcelona $2,443
Ibaraki $1,142

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,768 in Ibaraki.

Barcelona $3,519
Ibaraki $1,768

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,395 in Ibaraki.

Barcelona $4,595
Ibaraki $2,395

Living in Barcelona is roughly 114% more expensive than in Ibaraki, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Ibaraki is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.73

$6.20 ¥983

184.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.1

$31.03 ¥4,915

117.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.13

$5.22 ¥827

160.73%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$3.15 ¥499

-1.59%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$1.15 ¥182

160.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.79 ¥125

144.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$2.65 ¥419

44.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$3.12 ¥494

39.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$2.73 ¥432

-54.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.57 ¥248

35.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$4.10 ¥650

-51.95%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$2.03 ¥321

134.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.20

$10.34 ¥1,637

65.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.98

$6.54 ¥1,037

37.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.39

$16.75 ¥2,652

23.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.82

$3.71 ¥588

-14.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$2.28 ¥361

-13.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.95 ¥467

-10.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$4.16 ¥659

-30.77%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$2.47 ¥392

-16.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$2.60 ¥412

-16.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.32 ¥209

15.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.85 ¥134

14.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.21

$4.29 ¥680

62.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.03

$6.57 ¥1,040

20.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.86 ¥295

-23.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.08 ¥329

29.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$1.64 ¥260

101.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.81

$57.8 ¥9,160

-55.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$4.75 ¥753

-35.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.93 ¥464

-49.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.28

$25.58 ¥4,051

28.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.09 ¥173

71.56%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$21.7K ¥3.4M

51.85%

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

$31.9K €28.5K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

107.75%

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

$183 €163

$138 ¥21.8K

32.89%

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

$14.24 €12.69

$24.35 ¥3,857

-41.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.79

$31.52 ¥4,991

9.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.81

$50.6 ¥8,017

1.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.60

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.86

$12.49 ¥1,978

-11.45%

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

$944 €841

$626 ¥99.2K

50.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

44.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.1

$26.34 ¥4,171

232.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.54

$31.99 ¥5,067

21.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.1

$67.6 ¥10.7K

54.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$81.0 ¥12.8K

45.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,512

$403 ¥63.8K

321.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,191

$264 ¥41.9K

405.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,398

$1,028 ¥162.8K

161.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,850

$527 ¥83.5K

294.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,373

$4,712 ¥746.3K

51.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,524

$2,384 ¥377.6K

113.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,997

$2,498 ¥395.6K

-10.27%

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 Ibaraki: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Ibaraki

$264 23.2% 80.2% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Ibaraki

$301 26.4% 8.2% $27

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Ibaraki

$130 11.4% 51.2% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Ibaraki

$193 17% 16.5% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Ibaraki

$93 8.2% 40.7% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Ibaraki

$76 6.6% 2.8% $2

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Ibaraki

$84 7.3% 69.9% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $403 in Ibaraki. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ibaraki pays 11% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $31 in Ibaraki for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $301 per month, with Ibaraki cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇯🇵 Ibaraki

🕒 Local time

00:52 12:52 AM

08:52 8:52 AM

8 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

287,730

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.62 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.62 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Ibaraki 10,300 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Ibaraki

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 Ibaraki: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,142 in Ibaraki, so Ibaraki is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 10% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $403 in Ibaraki. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $626 in Ibaraki. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,142 in Ibaraki versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ibaraki but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ibaraki 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 Ibaraki are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.