Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Stafford

For one person, living is cheaper in Stafford: $2,241 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 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
107

Cost of Living Index in Stafford
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Stafford Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Stafford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,241

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Stafford

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,241 in Stafford.

Barcelona $2,453
Stafford $2,241

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,310 in Stafford.

Barcelona $3,509
Stafford $3,310

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $4,379 in Stafford.

Barcelona $4,564
Stafford $4,379

Living in Barcelona is roughly 9% more expensive than in Stafford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Stafford 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$19.91 £14.98

-11.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$73.5 £55.3

-8.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$10.48 £7.89

29.10%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$4.54 £3.42

-29.74%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$2.09 £1.57

39.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.71 £1.28

10.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$6.59 £4.96

-39.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$5.20 £3.91

-12.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.75 £1.32

-25.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.52 £1.14

32.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.13 £1.60

-13.15%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$3.46 £2.60

39.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$9.97 £7.50

67.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$9.13 £6.87

-0.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$12.81 £9.64

53.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.98 £2.24

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.78 £1.34

13.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$3.69 £2.78

-26.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$3.53 £2.66

-20.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.06 £1.55

1.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.74 £1.31

18.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.19 £0.90

22.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.72 £1.30

-45.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$21.68 £16.31

-68.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$9.49 £7.14

-16.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.49 £2.62

-59.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$3.81 £2.86

-33.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$4.62 £3.48

-32.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$93.9 £70.6

-72.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$2.74 £2.06

9.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.36 £1.02

9.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$25.18 £18.95

32.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.06 £1.55

-12.62%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$37.9K £28.5K

-12.50%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$40.1K £30.1K

-20.87%

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

$180 €162

$296 £223

-39.02%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$20.06 £15.10

-31.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$41.85 £31.50

-19.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$40.70 £30.63

26.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$19.31 £14.53

-17.35%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$15.75 £11.85

-30.22%

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

$917 €823

$1,246 £938

-26.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$27.7K £20.8K

-40.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$75.2 £56.6

15.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$46.72 £35.16

-17.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$84.2 £63.4

25.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$98.5 £74.2

21.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$1,134 £853

49.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$942 £709

43.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,620 £1,219

60.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$1,596 £1,202

29.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$3,987 £3,001

73.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$3,432 £2,583

49.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$2,991 £2,251

-26.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.37

-38.92%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Stafford: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Stafford

$942 42% 30.5% $413

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Stafford

$306 13.7% 4.9% $16

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Stafford

$304 13.6% 13.4% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Stafford

$358 16% 57% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Stafford

$137 6.1% 13.2% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Stafford

$72 3.2% 1.8% $1.3

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Stafford

$122 5.4% 151% $73

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,134 in Stafford. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stafford pays 35% 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 $74 in Stafford. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $306, with Stafford cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Stafford

🕒 Local time

18:59 6:59 PM

17:59 5:59 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

71,673

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Stafford 1,310 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Stafford

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 Stafford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Stafford differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $2,241 including rent). Stafford is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 26% 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 $1,134 in Stafford. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,246 in Stafford. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 5% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Stafford is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Stafford are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.