Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Shijiazhuang

For one person, living is cheaper in Shijiazhuang: $682 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Shijiazhuang
Learn more

Shijiazhuang Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Shijiazhuang

🇨🇳 China

$682

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Shijiazhuang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $682 in Shijiazhuang.

Barcelona $2,381
Shijiazhuang $682

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,021 in Shijiazhuang.

Barcelona $3,406
Shijiazhuang $1,021

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $1,359 in Shijiazhuang.

Barcelona $4,431
Shijiazhuang $1,359

Living in Barcelona is roughly 249% more expensive than in Shijiazhuang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Shijiazhuang is 50% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$1.76 ¥11.80

916.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$18.64 ¥125

254.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$5.68 ¥37.97

141.02%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.27 ¥21.89

-6.42%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.48 ¥3.19

539.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.27 ¥1.82

618.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$0.78 ¥5.23

396.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$1.71 ¥11.42

169.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.26 ¥8.44

3.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.16 ¥7.78

81.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$0.68 ¥4.53

169.12%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$1.29 ¥8.61

258.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$16.50 ¥110

5.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$2.63 ¥17.58

252.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$9.67 ¥64.7

105.07%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$1.66 ¥11.10

81.33%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.23 ¥8.24

65.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$0.77 ¥5.17

244.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$1.19 ¥7.95

141.18%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.63 ¥4.21

242.86%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$0.62 ¥4.16

246.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.68 ¥4.56

116.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.43 ¥2.88

104.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$3.80 ¥25.39

82.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$3.83 ¥25.58

104.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$0.71 ¥4.78

95.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$0.77 ¥5.17

241.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.31 ¥2.08

838.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$17.67 ¥118

44.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$1.23 ¥8.20

143.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.37 ¥2.50

289.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$3.56 ¥23.81

832.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.24 ¥8.30

50.00%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$19.7K ¥131.4K

64.54%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$17.3K ¥116.0K

82.77%

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

$183 €163

$95.2 ¥637

91.91%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$4.40 ¥29.42

209.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$6.60 ¥44.16

398.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$13.69 ¥91.5

299.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$15.08 ¥101

9.55%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$5.56 ¥37.19

101.98%

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

$954 €849

$369 ¥2,467

158.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$5,270 ¥35.2K

215.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$50.8 ¥339

69.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$26.12 ¥175

49.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$74.6 ¥499

39.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$52.8 ¥353

124.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$300 ¥2,006

465.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$184 ¥1,231

593.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$419 ¥2,802

514.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$279 ¥1,864

589.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$2,534 ¥16.9K

187.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,709 ¥11.4K

193.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$808 ¥5,400

175.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.31

-0.91%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Shijiazhuang: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Shijiazhuang

$184 27% 85.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Shijiazhuang

$172 25.3% 47% $153

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Shijiazhuang

$81 11.8% 70% $189

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Shijiazhuang

$106 15.6% 53.7% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Shijiazhuang

$92 13.5% 41.2% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Shijiazhuang

$25 3.6% 67.8% $52

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Shijiazhuang

$22 3.2% 53.5% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $300 in Shijiazhuang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 176% 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: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $19.00 in Shijiazhuang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $172 per month, with Shijiazhuang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Shijiazhuang

🕒 Local time

13:41 1:41 PM

19:41 7:41 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

11,235,086

💱 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

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Between locations

Barcelona Shijiazhuang 8,840 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Shijiazhuang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Shijiazhuang differ by about 249% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $682 including rent). Shijiazhuang is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 176% 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $300 in Shijiazhuang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $369 in Shijiazhuang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 89% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $682 in Shijiazhuang versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Shijiazhuang but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Shijiazhuang 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 Shijiazhuang 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 Shijiazhuang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 249% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.