Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Carlton and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Carlton: $2,253 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

110

Cost of Living Index in Carlton
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Carlton Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Carlton

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,253

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Carlton and in Barcelona

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Carlton and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,253 in Carlton versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Carlton $2,253
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,284 in Carlton versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Carlton $3,284
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,315 in Carlton versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Carlton $4,315
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Carlton costs roughly 5% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Carlton 66% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.35 A$24.96

$17.89 €15.92

-3.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.5 A$100.0

$66.2 €58.9

4.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 A$14.66

$13.69 €12.18

-25.57%

Cappuccino

$3.03 A$4.36

$3.06 €2.72

-0.98%

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

$2.63 A$3.78

$3.07 €2.73

-14.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 A$3.04

$1.94 €1.73

8.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.54 A$9.41

$3.87 €3.44

68.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.57 A$9.46

$4.61 €4.10

42.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 A$1.92

$1.30 €1.16

3.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 A$2.98

$2.10 €1.87

-1.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 A$1.92

$1.83 €1.62

-26.78%

Eggs

$3.27 A$4.70

$4.62 €4.11

-29.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.29 A$14.81

$17.36 €15.44

-40.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.98 A$14.37

$9.28 €8.25

7.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.85 A$21.37

$19.83 €17.64

-25.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$3.01 €2.68

8.97%

Banana (1kg)

$2.84 A$4.09

$2.03 €1.81

39.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.21 A$4.62

$2.65 €2.36

21.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.51 A$6.49

$2.87 €2.55

57.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$2.16 €1.92

14.35%

Onion (1kg)

$2.14 A$3.08

$2.15 €1.91

-0.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.17 A$3.13

$1.47 €1.31

47.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 A$1.30

$0.88 €0.79

2.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.29 A$36.39

$6.93 €6.16

264.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.37 A$14.92

$7.83 €6.96

32.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$1.39 €1.24

309.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.21 A$7.50

$2.63 €2.34

98.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.05 A$4.39

$2.91 €2.59

4.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.2 A$118

$25.46 €22.64

222.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.53 A$5.07

$3.00 €2.66

17.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 A$1.77

$1.44 €1.28

-14.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.49 A$38.12

$33.20 €29.53

-20.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 A$1.88

$1.86 €1.65

-30.11%

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

$18.1K A$26.1K

$32.3K €28.8K

-44.01%

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

$14.0K A$20.1K

$31.7K €28.2K

-55.95%

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

$92.2 A$133

$183 €163

-49.54%

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

$27.31 A$39.30

$13.61 €12.11

100.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.00 A$67.6

$32.93 €29.29

42.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.64 A$45.53

$54.7 €48.65

-42.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.38 A$25.01

$16.52 €14.70

5.21%

Cinema Ticket

$13.20 A$19.00

$11.23 €9.99

17.54%

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

$2,076 A$2,987

$954 €849

117.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K A$17.8K

$16.6K €14.8K

-25.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.3 A$114

$86.0 €76.5

-7.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.34 A$71.0

$39.11 €34.78

26.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.7 A$100

$104 €92.2

-32.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$119 €106

13.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,395 A$2,007

$1,695 €1,508

-17.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 A$1,679

$1,276 €1,135

-8.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,121 A$3,052

$2,576 €2,291

-17.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,784 A$2,568

$1,922 €1,710

-7.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,783 A$8,322

$7,281 €6,477

-20.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,967 A$7,148

$5,010 €4,456

-0.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,754 A$8,280

$2,227 €1,981

158.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.28

79.88%

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

Last update for Carlton: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Carlton

$1.2K 51.8%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 9.4% $109

Groceries & Markets

Carlton

$338 15%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 3.7% $12

Eating Out

Carlton

$271 12%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 0.4% $1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Carlton

$167 7.4%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 37.7% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Carlton

$150 6.6%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 4.5% $6.8

Getting Around

Carlton

$104 4.6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 54.5% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Carlton

$58 2.6%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 32.9% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,395 in Carlton and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Carlton pays 158% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $69.0 in Carlton vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $338 vs $325 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Carlton

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

01:23 1:23 AM

16:23 4:23 PM

9 h behind Carlton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,001

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Carlton Barcelona 16,830 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Carlton
Barcelona

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

Carlton vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Carlton and Barcelona differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($2,253 vs $2,381 including rent). Carlton is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 158% higher in Carlton, 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: $1,395 in Carlton versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,076 in Carlton versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,253 in Carlton versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Carlton but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Carlton 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, Carlton and Barcelona 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 Carlton gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.