Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Oaxaca de Juarez

For one person, living is cheaper in Oaxaca de Juarez: $1,154 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Oaxaca de Juarez
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Oaxaca de Juarez Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Oaxaca de Juarez

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,154

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Oaxaca de Juarez

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 Oaxaca de Juarez actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

Barcelona $2,399
Oaxaca de Juarez $1,154

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,781 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

Barcelona $3,410
Oaxaca de Juarez $1,781

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $2,408 in Oaxaca de Juarez.

Barcelona $4,421
Oaxaca de Juarez $2,408

Living in Barcelona is roughly 108% more expensive than in Oaxaca de Juarez, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Oaxaca de Juarez is 15% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$6.48 MX$120

176.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$32.81 MX$606

107.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$8.33 MX$154

59.42%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$2.82 MX$52.1

15.25%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$1.51 MX$27.83

99.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.79 MX$14.59

136.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$2.48 MX$45.90

55.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$3.79 MX$70.0

18.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.33 MX$24.59

-3.01%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$3.13 MX$57.8

-34.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.12 MX$20.62

53.57%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$1.74 MX$32.21

174.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$6.44 MX$119

160.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$5.49 MX$101

62.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$11.27 MX$208

76.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.14 MX$39.46

39.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.23 MX$22.80

65.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.90 MX$35.14

43.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$0.53 MX$9.81

405.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.01 MX$37.18

4.48%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$2.00 MX$36.93

4.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.11 MX$20.58

30.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.94 MX$17.46

-5.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$4.24 MX$78.3

63.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$9.40 MX$174

-17.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.47 MX$27.11

-1.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$2.63 MX$48.64

-2.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.53 MX$9.81

464.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$3.89 MX$71.9

-19.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.95 MX$36.12

-26.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$10.89 MX$201

207.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.36 MX$25.17

31.62%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$21.4K MX$396.0K

61.62%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$24.4K MX$450.4K

23.35%

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

$178 €158

$62.5 MX$1,155

184.47%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$11.03 MX$204

20.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$24.19 MX$447

44.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$44.34 MX$819

20.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$5.58 MX$103

98.21%

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

$957 €851

$422 MX$7,795

126.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$20.0K MX$369.3K

-17.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$53.5 MX$988

64.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$61.6 MX$1,138

-35.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$102 MX$1,887

0.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$98.3 MX$1,816

23.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$696 MX$12.9K

137.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$481 MX$8,885

170.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$1,208 MX$22.3K

111.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$892 MX$16.5K

114.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

10.96

-70.07%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Oaxaca de Juarez: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$481 41.7% 63.1% $821

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$222 19.3% 30.6% $98

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$140 12.1% 48.2% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$98 8.5% 56.8% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$142 12.3% 10.4% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$56 4.8% 26.4% $20

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Oaxaca de Juarez

$16 * 1.4% 66.7% $32

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 $696 in Oaxaca de Juarez. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $33.00 in Oaxaca de Juarez for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $222 per month, with Oaxaca de Juarez cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇽 Oaxaca de Juarez

🕒 Local time

13:29 1:29 PM

05:29 5:29 AM

8 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

258,913

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Oaxaca de Juarez 9,480 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Oaxaca de Juarez

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 Oaxaca de Juarez: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Oaxaca de Juarez differ by about 108% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $1,154 including rent). Oaxaca de Juarez is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,599 in Barcelona and $1,731 in Oaxaca de Juarez to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $696 in Oaxaca de Juarez. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $422 in Oaxaca de Juarez. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Oaxaca de Juarez – a meal for two runs $33.00 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,154 in Oaxaca de Juarez versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Oaxaca de Juarez but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Oaxaca de Juarez 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 Oaxaca de Juarez 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 Oaxaca de Juarez gentler on the wallet – expenses run 108% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.