Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Tangshan

For one person, living is cheaper in Tangshan: $717 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,200 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Tangshan
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Tangshan Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Tangshan

🇨🇳 China

$717

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Tangshan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $717 in Tangshan.

Barcelona $2,399
Tangshan $717

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,135 in Tangshan.

Barcelona $3,410
Tangshan $1,135

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,553 in Tangshan.

Barcelona $4,421
Tangshan $1,553

Living in Barcelona is roughly 235% more expensive than in Tangshan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Tangshan is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$2.71 ¥18.12

561.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$21.35 ¥143

218.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$4.96 ¥33.17

167.74%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$2.98 ¥19.91

9.06%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$0.43 ¥2.86

600.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.27 ¥1.78

592.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$0.87 ¥5.85

342.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$2.06 ¥13.76

117.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.88 ¥12.58

-31.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.57 ¥10.47

29.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.90 ¥6.00

91.11%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$1.54 ¥10.31

209.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$12.69 ¥84.9

32.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$3.16 ¥21.16

182.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$10.13 ¥67.7

96.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$1.83 ¥12.23

62.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.25 ¥8.35

62.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.47 ¥9.81

85.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.11 ¥7.42

141.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.69 ¥4.64

204.35%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$0.97 ¥6.50

114.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.57 ¥3.78

154.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.52 ¥3.47

71.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$3.11 ¥20.82

123.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$10.46 ¥69.9

-25.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.78 ¥5.25

85.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.58 ¥10.56

62.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.27 ¥1.80

1007.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$16.81 ¥112

49.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$1.36 ¥9.07

129.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.35 ¥2.37

311.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$6.81 ¥45.55

391.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.16 ¥7.78

54.31%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$19.5K ¥130.4K

77.56%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$16.9K ¥113.2K

77.60%

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

$178 €158

$45.10 ¥302

294.35%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$10.08 ¥67.4

32.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$11.56 ¥77.3

201.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$42.01 ¥281

26.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$14.10 ¥94.3

13.55%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$5.98 ¥39.99

84.95%

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

$957 €851

$335 ¥2,241

185.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$16.8K ¥112.2K

-1.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$43.43 ¥290

103.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$30.18 ¥202

30.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$72.3 ¥484

42.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$72.6 ¥485

67.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$278 ¥1,855

495.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$196 ¥1,313

562.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$590 ¥3,948

333.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$367 ¥2,452

422.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$3,057 ¥20.4K

138.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$2,063 ¥13.8K

146.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.89

-15.68%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Tangshan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Tangshan

$196 27.4% 84.9% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Tangshan

$197 27.5% 38.4% $123

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Tangshan

$84 11.7% 69.1% $186

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Tangshan

$67 9.3% 70.5% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Tangshan

$98 13.7% 37.9% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Tangshan

$54 7.5% 28.4% $21

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Tangshan

$21 2.9% 55.7% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $278 in Tangshan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $21.00 in Tangshan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $197 per month, with Tangshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Tangshan

🕒 Local time

11:17 11:17 AM

17:17 5:17 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

7,717,983

💱 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 Tangshan 8,930 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Tangshan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Tangshan differ by about 235% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $717 including rent). Tangshan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,599 in Barcelona and $1,076 in Tangshan to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $278 in Tangshan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $335 in Tangshan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 62% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $717 in Tangshan versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tangshan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Tangshan 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 Tangshan 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 Tangshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 235% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.