Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Oldham

For one person, living is cheaper in Oldham: $1,982 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
96

Cost of Living Index in Oldham
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Oldham Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Oldham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,982

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Oldham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,982 in Oldham.

Barcelona $2,381
Oldham $1,982

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $2,932 in Oldham.

Barcelona $3,406
Oldham $2,932

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $3,883 in Oldham.

Barcelona $4,431
Oldham $3,883

Living in Barcelona is roughly 20% more expensive than in Oldham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Oldham 46% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$19.67 £14.75

-9.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$88.1 £66.1

-24.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$9.56 £7.17

43.20%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.79 £3.59

-36.12%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.93 £2.20

4.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.99 £1.49

-2.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$7.24 £5.43

-46.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$6.74 £5.06

-31.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.46 £1.10

-10.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.69 £1.27

24.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.95 £2.21

-37.97%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$4.05 £3.04

14.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$9.83 £7.37

76.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$8.81 £6.61

5.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$15.54 £11.66

27.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$3.15 £2.36

-4.44%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.86 £1.40

9.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.85 £2.14

-7.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.46 £2.59

-17.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.49 £1.11

44.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.60 £1.20

34.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.20 £0.90

22.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.23 £0.92

-28.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$23.63 £17.73

-70.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$10.86 £8.15

-27.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.76 £2.07

-49.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$3.12 £2.34

-15.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$2.61 £1.96

11.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$95.7 £71.8

-73.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$3.21 £2.41

-6.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.02 £1.52

-28.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$30.03 £22.53

10.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.12 £1.59

-12.26%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$38.2K £28.7K

-15.37%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$39.8K £29.8K

-20.31%

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

$183 €163

$251 £188

-27.21%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$16.94 £12.71

-19.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$40.55 £30.43

-18.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$43.14 £32.36

26.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$13.18 £9.89

-14.80%

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

$954 €849

$1,290 £968

-26.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$19.7K £14.8K

-15.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$87.1 £65.3

-1.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$41.43 £31.08

-5.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$93.5 £70.2

10.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$87.3 £65.5

35.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$1,222 £917

38.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$728 £546

75.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,368 £1,026

88.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,093 £820

75.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$5,063 £3,798

43.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$3,336 £2,503

50.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$2,483 £1,863

-10.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.82

-31.95%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Oldham: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Oldham

$728 36.7% 43% $548

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Oldham

$304 15.4% 6.4% $21

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Oldham

$313 15.8% 16% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Oldham

$309 15.6% 34.6% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Oldham

$139 7% 11% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Oldham

$70 3.5% 9.9% $7.7

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Oldham

$119 6% 152% $72

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,222 in Oldham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oldham pays 12% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $88.0 in Oldham. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $304, with Oldham cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Oldham

🕒 Local time

12:42 12:42 PM

11:42 11:42 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

110,718

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Oldham 1,390 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Oldham

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 Oldham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Oldham differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,982 including rent). Oldham is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 12% lower in Oldham. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $1,222 in Oldham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $1,290 in Oldham. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 7% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,982 in Oldham versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Oldham but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Oldham 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 Oldham 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 Oldham gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.