Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Luoyang

For one person, living is cheaper in Luoyang: $661 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,500 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Luoyang
Learn more

Luoyang Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Luoyang

🇨🇳 China

$661

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Luoyang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $661 in Luoyang.

Barcelona $2,453
Luoyang $661

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,068 in Luoyang.

Barcelona $3,509
Luoyang $1,068

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,476 in Luoyang.

Barcelona $4,564
Luoyang $1,476

Living in Barcelona is roughly 271% more expensive than in Luoyang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Luoyang is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$3.73 ¥24.81

371.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$30.26 ¥201

123.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.69 ¥37.87

137.79%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.57 ¥23.75

-10.64%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.47 ¥3.11

519.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.25 ¥1.66

656.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.31 ¥8.70

206.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.97 ¥19.79

52.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.87 ¥12.47

-29.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.30 ¥15.28

-12.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.02 ¥6.81

81.37%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.43 ¥9.51

237.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$13.09 ¥87.1

27.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.42 ¥22.78

166.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$8.85 ¥58.9

121.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$0.95 ¥6.30

213.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.36 ¥9.05

48.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.51 ¥10.02

78.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.33 ¥8.88

110.53%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.75 ¥5.02

178.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.97 ¥6.47

113.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.46 ¥3.08

217.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.84 ¥5.56

11.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$1.75 ¥11.66

292.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$13.66 ¥90.9

-42.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.43 ¥2.89

227.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.25 ¥15.00

12.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.31 ¥2.09

912.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$18.10 ¥120

40.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.18 ¥7.88

153.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.36 ¥2.37

313.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$7.26 ¥48.32

359.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.27 ¥8.45

41.73%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$19.6K ¥130.1K

69.75%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$18.0K ¥119.7K

76.27%

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

$180 €162

$42.16 ¥281

327.92%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$6.03 ¥40.10

129.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$10.44 ¥69.5

222.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$22.06 ¥147

133.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$12.20 ¥81.2

30.82%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$5.71 ¥37.98

92.47%

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

$917 €821

$191 ¥1,273

379.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$18.6K ¥123.5K

-11.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$49.85 ¥332

74.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$29.86 ¥199

28.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$66.3 ¥441

59.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$80.5 ¥536

48.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$192 ¥1,277

785.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$129 ¥861

947.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$441 ¥2,937

489.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$225 ¥1,495

818.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$2,135 ¥14.2K

223.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,390 ¥9,251

268.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$644 ¥4,288

243.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.45

-26.29%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Luoyang: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Luoyang

$129 19.6% 90.5% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Luoyang

$210 31.8% 34.7% $112

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Luoyang

$105 15.9% 60.8% $163

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Luoyang

$59 8.9% 74.3% $169

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Luoyang

$102 15.4% 35.5% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Luoyang

$33 5.1% 54.4% $40

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Luoyang

$22 3.4% 54% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $192 in Luoyang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.4 times 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 $30 in Luoyang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $210 per month, with Luoyang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Luoyang

🕒 Local time

09:59 9:59 AM

16:59 4:59 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,926,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Luoyang 8,970 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Luoyang

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 Luoyang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $661 in Luoyang, so Luoyang is about 73% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.4 times higher, 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $192 in Luoyang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $191 in Luoyang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 53% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $661 in Luoyang versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Luoyang but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Luoyang 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.

Expats usually find Luoyang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.