Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Zacatecas

For one person, living is cheaper in Zacatecas: $730 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,700 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Zacatecas
Learn more

Zacatecas Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Zacatecas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$730

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Zacatecas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $730 in Zacatecas.

Barcelona $2,453
Zacatecas $730

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,155 in Zacatecas.

Barcelona $3,509
Zacatecas $1,155

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,580 in Zacatecas.

Barcelona $4,564
Zacatecas $1,580

Living in Barcelona is roughly 236% more expensive than in Zacatecas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Zacatecas is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$6.06 MX$114

190.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$31.91 MX$600

111.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$7.17 MX$135

88.70%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.01 MX$56.6

5.98%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.25 MX$23.52

132.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.72 MX$13.48

162.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.84 MX$34.51

117.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$4.13 MX$77.6

9.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.35 MX$25.38

-2.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.15 MX$40.31

-6.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.53 MX$28.66

20.92%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.21 MX$41.49

118.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$7.28 MX$137

129.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$5.96 MX$112

53.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$9.62 MX$181

104.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.78 MX$33.41

67.42%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.59 MX$29.89

27.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.93 MX$36.19

39.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.46 MX$27.39

91.78%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.99 MX$37.31

5.03%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.77 MX$33.27

16.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.58 MX$29.72

-7.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.80 MX$15.01

17.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$4.25 MX$79.8

61.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$10.27 MX$193

-23.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.60 MX$30.03

-11.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.35 MX$63.0

-24.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.53 MX$9.91

492.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$16.07 MX$302

58.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.13 MX$40.07

40.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.11 MX$20.84

34.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$9.49 MX$178

251.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.46 MX$27.42

23.29%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$20.9K MX$393.1K

58.69%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$23.8K MX$446.9K

33.31%

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

$180 €162

$22.72 MX$427

694.06%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$7.97 MX$150

73.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$24.73 MX$465

36.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$24.23 MX$455

112.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$7.96 MX$150

100.50%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$4.24 MX$79.8

159.20%

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

$917 €821

$235 MX$4,415

290.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$3,243 MX$61.0K

408.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$44.83 MX$842

94.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$40.16 MX$755

-4.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$90.7 MX$1,704

16.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$42.77 MX$804

179.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$241 MX$4,534

604.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$162 MX$3,049

735.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$381 MX$7,154

583.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$241 MX$4,526

756.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$563 MX$10.6K

810.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$408 MX$7,665

442.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

10.8

-69.63%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Zacatecas: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Zacatecas

$162 22.2% 88% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Zacatecas

$224 30.7% 30.3% $97

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Zacatecas

$131 18% 50.9% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Zacatecas

$55 7.6% 75.7% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Zacatecas

$98 13.5% 37.8% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Zacatecas

$33 4.5% 55.5% $41

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Zacatecas

$26 3.5% 46.7% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $241 in Zacatecas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 5.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $32 in Zacatecas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $224 per month, with Zacatecas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇽 Zacatecas

🕒 Local time

05:47 5:47 AM

22:47 10:47 PM

7 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

138,444

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Zacatecas 9,500 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Zacatecas

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 Zacatecas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $730 in Zacatecas, so Zacatecas is about 70% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 5.4 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 $241 in Zacatecas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $235 in Zacatecas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $730 in Zacatecas versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Zacatecas but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Zacatecas 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 Zacatecas are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Zacatecas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.