Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Targu Jiu

For one person, living is cheaper in Targu Jiu: $966 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Targu Jiu
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Targu Jiu Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Targu Jiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$966

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Targu Jiu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $966 in Targu Jiu.

Barcelona $2,453
Targu Jiu $966

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,502 in Targu Jiu.

Barcelona $3,509
Targu Jiu $1,502

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,038 in Targu Jiu.

Barcelona $4,564
Targu Jiu $2,038

Living in Barcelona is roughly 154% more expensive than in Targu Jiu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Targu Jiu is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$14.60 RON 70.2

20.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$57.6 RON 277

17.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$7.24 RON 34.80

86.88%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$3.56 RON 17.10

-10.39%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$1.02 RON 4.93

185.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$2.21 RON 10.64

-14.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$3.67 RON 17.66

9.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$4.23 RON 20.32

7.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.67 RON 8.03

-21.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.28 RON 6.17

57.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.77 RON 8.49

4.52%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$2.75 RON 13.21

75.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$7.41 RON 35.63

125.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$2.91 RON 13.99

213.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$6.95 RON 33.40

182.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$0.91 RON 4.38

227.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.49 RON 7.17

35.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.17 RON 5.60

130.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$1.22 RON 5.84

129.51%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.83 RON 3.97

151.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$0.74 RON 3.54

179.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.61 RON 2.92

139.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.50 RON 2.40

88.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$5.21 RON 25.02

31.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$3.00 RON 14.42

163.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.82 RON 3.93

71.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.07 RON 5.16

137.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$0.65 RON 3.12

360.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.61 RON 2.93

144.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$6.39 RON 30.69

422.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.93 RON 9.30

-6.74%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$28.8K RON 138.4K

15.30%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$25.9K RON 124.3K

22.58%

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

$180 €162

$196 RON 943

-8.10%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$6.01 RON 28.87

130.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$9.32 RON 44.78

261.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$31.49 RON 151

63.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$8.34 RON 40.08

31.77%

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

$917 €823

$676 RON 3,247

35.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$14.3K RON 68.8K

15.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$49.38 RON 237

76.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$25.42 RON 122

51.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$51.7 RON 248

104.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$84.2 RON 405

42.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$353 RON 1,698

381.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$233 RON 1,119

482.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$478 RON 2,295

445.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$403 RON 1,937

411.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$2,555 RON 12.3K

170.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$518 RON 2,490

326.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.75

-51.41%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Targu Jiu: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Targu Jiu

$233 24.1% 82.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Targu Jiu

$154 16% 52.1% $168

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Targu Jiu

$221 22.9% 17.5% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Targu Jiu

$212 21.9% 7.2% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Targu Jiu

$95 9.8% 40% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Targu Jiu

$48 5% 34.5% $25

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Targu Jiu

$3.7 * 0.4% 92.4% $45

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $353 in Targu Jiu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $58 in Targu Jiu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $154 per month, with Targu Jiu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇷🇴 Targu Jiu

🕒 Local time

21:37 9:37 PM

22:37 10:37 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

82,504

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Targu Jiu 1,750 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Targu Jiu

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 Targu Jiu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $966 in Targu Jiu, so Targu Jiu is about 61% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 4.3 times higher, 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $353 in Targu Jiu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $676 in Targu Jiu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Targu Jiu – a meal for two runs $58 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Targu Jiu 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.

It comes down to priorities – Targu Jiu wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.