Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Saint John, New Brunswick

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint John, New Brunswick: $1,954 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 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
95

Cost of Living Index in Saint John, New Brunswick
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Saint John, New Brunswick Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Saint John, New Brunswick

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,954

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Saint John, New Brunswick

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 Saint John, New Brunswick actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,954 in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Barcelona $2,381
Saint John, New Brunswick $1,954

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $2,938 in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Barcelona $3,406
Saint John, New Brunswick $2,938

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $3,922 in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Barcelona $4,431
Saint John, New Brunswick $3,922

Living in Barcelona is roughly 22% more expensive than in Saint John, New Brunswick, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Saint John, New Brunswick 44% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$18.44 CA$26.08

-2.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$61.0 CA$86.2

8.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$10.83 CA$15.31

26.41%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.96 CA$4.18

3.38%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$1.77 CA$2.50

73.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.07 CA$1.52

81.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$4.49 CA$6.35

-13.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$5.00 CA$7.06

-7.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$2.23 CA$3.16

-41.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.81 CA$3.97

-25.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.99 CA$4.23

-38.80%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$3.56 CA$5.03

29.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$13.47 CA$19.05

28.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$12.04 CA$17.02

-22.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$12.83 CA$18.14

54.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$5.00 CA$7.07

-39.80%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.48 CA$2.10

37.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$4.16 CA$5.88

-36.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$4.03 CA$5.70

-28.78%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.03 CA$2.86

6.40%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$2.21 CA$3.12

-2.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$2.48 CA$3.50

-40.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.38 CA$1.95

-36.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$14.23 CA$20.12

-51.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$9.67 CA$13.67

-19.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.78 CA$2.52

-21.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.08 CA$2.93

26.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$2.09 CA$2.95

39.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$56.4 CA$79.8

-54.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$2.81 CA$3.97

6.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.05 CA$1.48

37.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$17.60 CA$24.89

88.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.28 CA$1.80

45.31%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$26.4K CA$37.3K

22.64%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$21.4K CA$30.3K

47.95%

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

$183 €163

$122 CA$173

49.71%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$42.20 CA$59.7

-67.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$64.5 CA$91.2

-48.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$53.3 CA$75.4

2.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$35.52 CA$50.2

-53.49%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$12.61 CA$17.83

-10.94%

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

$954 €849

$372 CA$526

156.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$11.3K CA$16.0K

46.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$50.5 CA$71.4

70.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$35.95 CA$50.8

8.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$101 CA$143

2.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$107 CA$151

11.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$966 CA$1,366

75.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$826 CA$1,168

54.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,609 CA$2,275

60.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,353 CA$1,913

42.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$2,035 CA$2,876

257.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$2,131 CA$3,013

135.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$2,596 CA$3,670

-14.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.69

-30.06%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Saint John, New Brunswick: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$826 42.3% 35.3% $450

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$356 18.2% 9.4% $31

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$259 13.3% 3.8% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$229 11.7% 0.2% $0.5

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$132 6.8% 15.4% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$79 4% 1.8% $1.4

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$73 3.7% 53.9% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $966 in Saint John, New Brunswick. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint John, New Brunswick pays 17% 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 $61.0 in Saint John, New Brunswick. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $356, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇦 Saint John, New Brunswick

🕒 Local time

13:40 1:40 PM

08:40 8:40 AM

5 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

70,063

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Saint John, New Brunswick 5,370 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Saint John, New Brunswick

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 Saint John, New Brunswick: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Saint John, New Brunswick differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,954 including rent). Saint John, New Brunswick is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 17% lower in Saint John, New Brunswick. 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 $966 in Saint John, New Brunswick. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $372 in Saint John, New Brunswick. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,954 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Saint John, New Brunswick but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Saint John, New Brunswick 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 Saint John, New Brunswick 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 Saint John, New Brunswick gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.