Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Jining

For one person, living is cheaper in Jining: $675 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Jining
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Jining Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Jining

🇨🇳 China

$675

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Jining

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $675 in Jining.

Barcelona $2,399
Jining $675

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,012 in Jining.

Barcelona $3,410
Jining $1,012

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,349 in Jining.

Barcelona $4,421
Jining $1,349

Living in Barcelona is roughly 255% more expensive than in Jining, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Jining is 50% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$2.19 ¥14.62

719.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$16.48 ¥110

312.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$4.37 ¥29.21

203.89%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$2.51 ¥16.75

29.48%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$0.51 ¥3.41

490.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.31 ¥2.08

503.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$0.93 ¥6.21

313.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$1.61 ¥10.80

178.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.70 ¥11.35

-24.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.18 ¥7.89

72.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.94 ¥6.27

82.98%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$0.96 ¥6.43

396.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$8.16 ¥54.5

105.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$2.87 ¥19.17

211.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$10.26 ¥68.6

93.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$1.45 ¥9.68

105.52%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$0.99 ¥6.61

105.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.06 ¥7.06

157.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.17 ¥7.84

129.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.61 ¥4.09

244.26%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$0.73 ¥4.89

184.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.66 ¥4.42

119.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.76 ¥5.08

17.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$5.31 ¥35.50

30.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$9.86 ¥65.9

-21.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.95 ¥6.32

52.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.61 ¥10.74

59.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.31 ¥2.08

864.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$18.21 ¥122

38.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$1.04 ¥6.94

200.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.29 ¥1.93

396.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$3.60 ¥24.10

830.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.31 ¥8.77

36.64%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$19.3K ¥129.0K

79.45%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$17.6K ¥117.7K

70.87%

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

$178 €158

$60.8 ¥407

192.42%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$6.92 ¥46.30

92.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$10.47 ¥70.0

233.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$42.31 ¥283

25.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$15.20 ¥102

5.33%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$4.43 ¥29.64

149.66%

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

$957 €851

$386 ¥2,578

148.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$7,427 ¥49.7K

123.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$43.12 ¥288

104.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$33.56 ¥224

17.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$72.6 ¥485

41.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$69.8 ¥466

74.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$281 ¥1,880

487.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$182 ¥1,214

616.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$391 ¥2,615

553.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$269 ¥1,796

612.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$3,524 ¥23.6K

106.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$1,958 ¥13.1K

159.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$592 ¥3,957

285.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.29

-0.30%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Jining: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Jining

$182 26.9% 86% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Jining

$172 25.5% 46.3% $148

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Jining

$72 10.6% 73.4% $198

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Jining

$78 11.6% 65.4% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Jining

$99 14.6% 37.8% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Jining

$51 7.6% 32.1% $24

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Jining

$22 3.3% 53.8% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $281 in Jining. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 285% 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: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $16.00 in Jining for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $172 per month, with Jining cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Jining

🕒 Local time

11:02 11:02 AM

17:02 5:02 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

8,357,897

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Jining 9,170 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Jining: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Jining differ by about 255% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $675 including rent). Jining is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 285% higher in Barcelona, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $281 in Jining. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $386 in Jining. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 86% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $675 in Jining versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Jining but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Jining 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 Jining are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Jining gentler on the wallet – expenses run 255% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.