Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Wakefield

For one person, living is cheaper in Wakefield: $2,025 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
98

Cost of Living Index in Wakefield
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Wakefield Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Wakefield

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,025

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Wakefield

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $2,025 in Wakefield.

Barcelona $2,399
Wakefield $2,025

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $3,205 in Wakefield.

Barcelona $3,410
Wakefield $3,205

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $4,384 in Wakefield.

Barcelona $4,421
Wakefield $4,384

Living in Barcelona is roughly 18% more expensive than in Wakefield, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 78% above, Wakefield 50% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$20.01 £15.01

-10.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$80.5 £60.4

-15.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$10.04 £7.53

32.27%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$4.30 £3.22

-24.42%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$2.32 £1.74

29.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.35 £1.01

38.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$6.09 £4.57

-36.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$5.37 £4.03

-16.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.48 £1.11

-12.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.91 £1.44

6.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$2.61 £1.96

-34.10%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$4.06 £3.05

17.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$7.43 £5.58

125.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$8.33 £6.25

7.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$13.99 £10.50

42.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$3.03 £2.27

-1.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.44 £1.08

40.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.55 £1.91

7.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$2.92 £2.19

-8.22%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.74 £1.30

20.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.67 £1.25

24.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.18 £0.89

22.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$1.40 £1.05

-36.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$22.05 £16.54

-68.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$10.44 £7.83

-25.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$3.32 £2.49

-56.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$3.14 £2.35

-18.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$3.40 £2.55

-12.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$103 £77.0

-75.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$5.36 £4.02

-41.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.43 £1.07

0.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$15.72 £11.80

113.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.99 £1.49

-10.05%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$37.5K £28.1K

-7.53%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$40.8K £30.6K

-26.31%

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

$178 €158

$350 £262

-49.11%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$15.43 £11.58

-13.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$42.92 £32.20

-18.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$34.79 £26.10

53.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$26.16 £19.63

-38.80%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$14.10 £10.58

-21.56%

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

$957 €851

$1,193 £895

-19.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$23.9K £17.9K

-30.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$86.2 £64.6

2.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$53.7 £40.27

-26.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$92.6 £69.4

11.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$88.8 £66.6

36.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$984 £738

67.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$694 £521

87.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$2,076 £1,557

23.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$1,555 £1,167

23.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$3,959 £2,970

84.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$2,683 £2,013

89.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$2,455 £1,842

-7.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.77

-31.24%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Wakefield: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Wakefield

$694 34.3% 46.7% $607

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Wakefield

$289 14.3% 9.7% $31

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Wakefield

$298 14.7% 10.2% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Wakefield

$408 20.1% 80.4% $182

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Wakefield

$145 7.1% 8.7% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Wakefield

$63 3.1% 16.4% $12

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Wakefield

$129 6.4% 171% $81

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $984 in Wakefield. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wakefield pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $81.0 in Wakefield. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $289, with Wakefield cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇬🇧 Wakefield

🕒 Local time

07:33 7:33 AM

06:33 6:33 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

322,300

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Wakefield 1,390 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Wakefield

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 Wakefield: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Wakefield differ by about 18% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $2,025 including rent). Wakefield is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Wakefield. 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $984 in Wakefield. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $1,193 in Wakefield. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,025 in Wakefield versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Wakefield but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Wakefield 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 Wakefield 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 Wakefield gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.