Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Mianyang, Sichuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Mianyang, Sichuan: $646 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,000 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Mianyang, Sichuan
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Mianyang, Sichuan Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Mianyang, Sichuan

🇨🇳 China

$646

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Mianyang, Sichuan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $646 in Mianyang, Sichuan.

Barcelona $2,399
Mianyang, Sichuan $646

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $998 in Mianyang, Sichuan.

Barcelona $3,410
Mianyang, Sichuan $998

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,350 in Mianyang, Sichuan.

Barcelona $4,421
Mianyang, Sichuan $1,350

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Mianyang, Sichuan is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €16.00

$2.92 ¥19.51

514.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.7

$17.81 ¥119

282.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.84

$4.89 ¥32.70

171.57%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.90

$2.97 ¥19.86

9.43%

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

$3.01 €2.68

$0.43 ¥2.89

600.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.28 ¥1.89

567.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.43

$1.46 ¥9.74

163.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.99

$2.26 ¥15.09

98.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.52 ¥10.13

-15.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.55 ¥10.33

31.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.99 ¥6.63

73.74%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.25

$1.62 ¥10.83

194.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.95

$14.56 ¥97.3

15.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.96

$3.66 ¥24.42

143.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.72

$10.95 ¥73.2

81.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$1.79 ¥11.93

66.48%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.31 ¥8.77

54.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.06 ¥7.07

157.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.39

$1.15 ¥7.66

133.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.71 ¥4.73

195.77%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.86

$0.72 ¥4.83

188.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.58 ¥3.88

150.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.58 ¥3.88

53.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.19

$3.71 ¥24.76

87.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.94

$4.56 ¥30.46

70.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.30

$0.83 ¥5.57

74.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.30 ¥8.68

97.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.67

$0.29 ¥1.91

931.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.47

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.78

$1.07 ¥7.14

191.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.26 ¥1.74

453.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.87

$4.58 ¥30.57

631.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.25 ¥8.38

43.20%

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

$34.6K €30.9K

$19.6K ¥131.2K

76.39%

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

$30.1K €26.8K

$17.4K ¥116.3K

72.74%

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

$178 €159

$47.71 ¥319

272.77%

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

$13.32 €11.88

$6.41 ¥42.80

107.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.10

$12.51 ¥83.6

178.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.48

$17.89 ¥120

197.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.27

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.86

$5.82 ¥38.89

90.03%

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

$957 €853

$366 ¥2,446

161.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$14.8K ¥98.9K

11.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.6

$24.80 ¥166

255.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.21

$27.86 ¥186

41.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.7

$58.0 ¥388

77.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$53.2 ¥356

128.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,474

$226 ¥1,508

632.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,161

$193 ¥1,291

573.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,280

$411 ¥2,747

521.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,707

$333 ¥2,226

474.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,496

$2,710 ¥18.1K

168.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,529

$1,816 ¥12.1K

179.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,033

$732 ¥4,890

211.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.1

5.81%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mianyang, Sichuan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$193 29.9% 85.2% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$191 29.6% 40.2% $129

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$88 13.7% 67.3% $182

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$67 10.3% 70.5% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$74 11.4% 53.4% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$30 4.6% 60.8% $46

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Mianyang, Sichuan

$3.5 * 0.5% 92.6% $44

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $226 in Mianyang, Sichuan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 212% 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 $18.00 in Mianyang, Sichuan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $191 per month, with Mianyang, Sichuan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Mianyang, Sichuan

🕒 Local time

14:23 2:23 PM

20:23 8:23 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

4,868,243

💱 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

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Mianyang, Sichuan 8,690 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Mianyang, Sichuan

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 Mianyang, Sichuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Mianyang, Sichuan differ by about 271% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $646 including rent). Mianyang, Sichuan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 212% 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 $226 in Mianyang, Sichuan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $366 in Mianyang, Sichuan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mianyang, Sichuan – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $646 in Mianyang, Sichuan versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mianyang, Sichuan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Mianyang, Sichuan 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 Mianyang, Sichuan 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 Mianyang, Sichuan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 271% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.