Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Skelleftea

For one person, living is cheaper in Skelleftea: $1,985 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
96

Cost of Living Index in Skelleftea
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Skelleftea Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Skelleftea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,985

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Skelleftea

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,985 in Skelleftea.

Barcelona $2,453
Skelleftea $1,985

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,004 in Skelleftea.

Barcelona $3,509
Skelleftea $3,004

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $4,022 in Skelleftea.

Barcelona $4,564
Skelleftea $4,022

Living in Barcelona is roughly 24% more expensive than in Skelleftea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Skelleftea 46% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$16.15 SEK 159

8.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$81.2 SEK 798

-16.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$13.15 SEK 129

2.89%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$4.66 SEK 45.72

-31.55%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$2.57 SEK 25.26

13.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$2.32 SEK 22.74

-18.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$8.25 SEK 81.0

-51.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$8.06 SEK 79.2

-43.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.58 SEK 15.51

-17.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.58 SEK 25.37

-21.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$4.81 SEK 47.23

-61.54%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$5.23 SEK 51.4

-7.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$11.26 SEK 111

48.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$10.82 SEK 106

-15.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$24.52 SEK 241

-19.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.33 SEK 32.66

-10.51%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.39 SEK 23.47

-15.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$3.23 SEK 31.69

-16.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.63 SEK 35.65

-22.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.28 SEK 22.38

-8.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.62 SEK 15.93

27.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$2.21 SEK 21.71

-33.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.52 SEK 14.89

-38.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$7.24 SEK 71.1

-5.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$15.13 SEK 149

-47.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.79 SEK 17.59

-21.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.68 SEK 16.48

51.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$2.89 SEK 28.37

8.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$52.5 SEK 515

-51.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$8.23 SEK 80.8

-63.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.72 SEK 16.88

-13.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$59.7 SEK 586

-44.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.76 SEK 17.26

2.27%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$32.8K SEK 321.6K

1.34%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$32.1K SEK 315.3K

-1.27%

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

$180 €162

$106 SEK 1,038

70.63%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$25.42 SEK 250

-45.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$50.9 SEK 500

-33.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$37.99 SEK 373

35.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$26.32 SEK 258

-39.36%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$14.82 SEK 146

-25.84%

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

$917 €821

$145 SEK 1,424

532.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$5,606 SEK 55.1K

193.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$95.9 SEK 941

-9.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$39.55 SEK 388

-2.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$81.4 SEK 800

29.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$155 SEK 1,518

-22.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$1,176 SEK 11.6K

44.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$801 SEK 7,865

69.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$1,579 SEK 15.5K

64.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$1,218 SEK 12.0K

69.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$4,014 SEK 39.4K

72.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$2,789 SEK 27.4K

83.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$2,595 SEK 25.5K

-14.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.9

-15.90%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Skelleftea: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Skelleftea

$801 40.4% 40.9% $554

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Skelleftea

$385 19.4% 19.6% $63

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Skelleftea

$301 15.2% 12.5% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Skelleftea

$182 9.2% 20.1% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Skelleftea

$167 8.4% 5.8% $9.2

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Skelleftea

$68 3.4% 8% $5.9

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Skelleftea

$81 4.1% 66.8% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,176 in Skelleftea. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Skelleftea 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: $67 in Barcelona vs $81 in Skelleftea for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $385 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇪 Skelleftea

🕒 Local time

11:52 11:52 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

32,775

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 SEK = 10.18 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Skelleftea 2,860 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Skelleftea

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 Skelleftea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,985 in Skelleftea, so Skelleftea is about 19% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 15% lower in Barcelona. 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $1,176 in Skelleftea. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $145 in Skelleftea. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 16% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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 Skelleftea are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.