Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Taiyuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Taiyuan: $589 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Taiyuan
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Taiyuan Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Taiyuan

🇨🇳 China

$589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Taiyuan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $589 in Taiyuan.

Barcelona $2,399
Taiyuan $589

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $913 in Taiyuan.

Barcelona $3,410
Taiyuan $913

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,238 in Taiyuan.

Barcelona $4,421
Taiyuan $1,238

Living in Barcelona is roughly 307% more expensive than in Taiyuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Taiyuan is 56% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$2.28 ¥15.21

686.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$14.73 ¥98.4

362.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$4.40 ¥29.37

201.82%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$2.64 ¥17.60

23.11%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$0.47 ¥3.11

540.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.29 ¥1.92

544.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$1.22 ¥8.12

215.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$2.15 ¥14.36

108.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.83 ¥5.51

107.23%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$1.01 ¥6.75

372.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$13.02 ¥86.9

52.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$1.87 ¥12.50

59.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.38 ¥9.20

47.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$0.81 ¥5.40

237.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.16 ¥7.76

131.03%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.48 ¥3.20

337.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$0.29 ¥1.91

617.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.46 ¥3.07

93.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$2.95 ¥19.72

135.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$7.56 ¥50.5

2.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.87 ¥5.80

66.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.45 ¥9.71

77.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.31 ¥2.08

864.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$13.65 ¥91.1

84.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$1.18 ¥7.89

164.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.23 ¥1.53

526.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$3.73 ¥24.88

798.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.25 ¥8.32

43.20%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$20.0K ¥133.4K

73.33%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$17.5K ¥117.1K

71.46%

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

$178 €158

$94.3 ¥630

88.56%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$10.27 ¥68.6

29.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$12.74 ¥85.1

173.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$45.17 ¥302

17.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$8.76 ¥58.5

82.76%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$6.64 ¥44.31

66.57%

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

$957 €851

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$27.60 ¥184

219.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$67.2 ¥449

-41.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$74.0 ¥494

38.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$59.4 ¥397

104.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$223 ¥1,488

641.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$114 ¥759

1044.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$556 ¥3,714

359.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$259 ¥1,730

638.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$2,629 ¥17.6K

177.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$1,252 ¥8,356

305.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$928 ¥6,194

145.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.83

-14.36%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Taiyuan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Taiyuan

$114 19.3% 91.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Taiyuan

$103 * 17.5% 67.8% $217

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Taiyuan

$76 13% 71.7% $194

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Taiyuan

$117 19.9% 48.1% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Taiyuan

$103 17.4% 35.2% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Taiyuan

$58 9.9% 22.5% $17

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Taiyuan

$17 2.9% 63.7% $30

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $223 in Taiyuan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 146% 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: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $15.00 in Taiyuan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $103 per month, with Taiyuan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Taiyuan

🕒 Local time

14:43 2:43 PM

20:43 8:43 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

3,525,300

💱 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 Taiyuan 8,730 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Taiyuan

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 Taiyuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Taiyuan differ by about 307% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $589 including rent). Taiyuan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 146% 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $223 in Taiyuan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Taiyuan – a meal for two runs $15.00 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Taiyuan runs roughly 85% less than in Barcelona. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $589 in Taiyuan versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Taiyuan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Taiyuan 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 Taiyuan 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 Taiyuan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 307% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.