Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Jonkoping

For one person, living is cheaper in Jonkoping: $1,771 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Barcelona, Spain
Jonkoping, Sweden
Barcelona
🇪🇸 Spain
$2,453
/mo nomad
Jonkoping
🇸🇪 Sweden
$1,771
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Jonkoping

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,771 in Jonkoping.

  • Barcelona $2,453
  • Jonkoping $1,771

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,725 in Jonkoping.

  • Barcelona $3,509
  • Jonkoping $2,725

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,679 in Jonkoping.

  • Barcelona $4,564
  • Jonkoping $3,679

Living in Barcelona is roughly 39% more expensive than in Jonkoping, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Jonkoping 30% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Barcelona
Jonkoping
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.59 €15.76
$13.20 SEK 130
33.26%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$67.5 €60.5
$91.8 SEK 902
-26.51%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.53 €12.12
$11.93 SEK 117
13.41%
Cappuccino
$3.19 €2.86
$4.50 SEK 44.24
-29.11%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.91 €2.61
$2.11 SEK 20.70
37.91%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.89 €1.70
$2.14 SEK 20.98
-11.68%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.01 €3.59
$8.27 SEK 81.2
-51.51%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.53 €4.06
$6.98 SEK 68.6
-35.10%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
Jonkoping
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.31 €1.17
$1.54 SEK 15.07
-14.94%
White Bread (500g)
$2.02 €1.81
$2.13 SEK 20.94
-5.16%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.85 €1.66
$3.23 SEK 31.71
-42.72%
Eggs
$4.83 €4.33
$3.57 SEK 35.07
35.29%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$16.74 €15.00
$12.31 SEK 121
35.99%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.12 €8.17
$11.61 SEK 114
-21.45%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$19.64 €17.60
$15.69 SEK 154
25.18%
Apples (1kg)
$2.98 €2.67
$2.94 SEK 28.85
1.36%
Banana (1kg)
$2.02 €1.81
$2.37 SEK 23.28
-14.77%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.70 €2.42
$2.75 SEK 27.02
-1.82%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.80 €2.51
$4.20 SEK 41.28
-33.33%
Potato (1kg)
$2.09 €1.87
$1.56 SEK 15.29
33.97%
Onion (1kg)
$2.07 €1.85
$1.39 SEK 13.61
48.92%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.46 €1.31
$1.75 SEK 17.18
-16.57%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.94 €0.84
$0.97 SEK 9.48
-3.09%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.87 €6.16
$7.83 SEK 76.9
-12.26%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.89 €7.07
$10.92 SEK 107
-27.75%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.41 €1.26
$1.84 SEK 18.03
-23.37%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.54 €2.27
$2.23 SEK 21.85
13.90%
🚌 Getting Around
Barcelona
Jonkoping
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.14 €2.82
$3.96 SEK 38.87
-20.71%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$25.45 €22.80
$41.55 SEK 408
-38.75%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.99 €2.68
$5.14 SEK 50.5
-41.83%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.49 €1.34
$1.07 SEK 10.51
39.25%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$33.37 €29.91
$41.49 SEK 407
-19.57%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.80 €1.61
$1.76 SEK 17.32
2.27%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$33.2K €29.7K
$33.1K SEK 324.9K
0.32%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.7K €28.4K
$34.0K SEK 333.5K
-6.66%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
Jonkoping
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$180 €162
$77.4 SEK 760
133.00%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.84 €12.40
$27.57 SEK 271
-49.80%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$33.70 €30.20
$42.04 SEK 413
-19.84%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
Jonkoping
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.5 €46.16
$36.77 SEK 361
40.09%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.96 €14.30
$30.53 SEK 300
-47.72%
Cinema Ticket
$10.99 €9.85
$14.00 SEK 137
-21.50%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Barcelona
Jonkoping
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$917 €821
$156 SEK 1,537
485.74%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$16.5K €14.8K
-
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
Jonkoping
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$87.0 €78.0
$80.3 SEK 788
8.39%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.51 €34.51
$25.03 SEK 246
53.86%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$106 €94.8
$102 SEK 998
4.09%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$120 €107
$121 SEK 1,186
-0.89%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
Jonkoping
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,699 €1,523
$942 SEK 9,248
80.45%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,355 €1,214
$747 SEK 7,339
81.34%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,603 €2,332
$1,510 SEK 14.8K
72.35%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,062 €1,848
$1,126 SEK 11.1K
83.16%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$6,915 €6,196
$3,984 SEK 39.1K
73.58%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$5,128 €4,595
$2,763 SEK 27.1K
85.60%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Barcelona
Jonkoping
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,211 €1,981
$2,798 SEK 27.5K
-21.00%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.28
3.27
0.31%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Jonkoping: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
$1.4K
Jonkoping
$747 44.9% $608
Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
$322
Jonkoping
$328 2% $6.5
Eating Out
Barcelona
$268
Jonkoping
$268 0.1% $0.2
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
$228
Jonkoping
$147 35.5% $81
Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
$158
Jonkoping
$147 6.6% $10
Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
$74
Jonkoping
$65 11.9% $8.7
Getting Around
Barcelona
$48
Jonkoping
$68 40% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $942 in Jonkoping. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jonkoping pays 27% 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 $92 in Jonkoping for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $328 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇪🇸 Barcelona
🇸🇪 Jonkoping
🕒 Local time
02:42 2:42 AM
02:42 2:42 AM
Same time as Barcelona
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,660,122
84,423
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.82 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.12 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Barcelona Jonkoping 2,010 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Barcelona
  • Jonkoping

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 Jonkoping: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Barcelona and in Jonkoping?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,771 in Jonkoping, so Jonkoping is about 28% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city has better-paying jobs?
On paper, salaries run 21% 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.
How do apartment prices compare in Barcelona and in Jonkoping?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $942 in Jonkoping. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Barcelona and Jonkoping?
Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $156 in Jonkoping. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $67 versus $92 in Jonkoping. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
How does quality of life compare between Barcelona and Jonkoping?
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.
Is Barcelona or Jonkoping safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Barcelona and Jonkoping are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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