Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chenzhou and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Chenzhou: $721 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Chenzhou
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Chenzhou Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Chenzhou

🇨🇳 China

$721

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chenzhou 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 Chenzhou and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $721 in Chenzhou versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Chenzhou $721
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,197 in Chenzhou versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Chenzhou $1,197
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,674 in Chenzhou versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Chenzhou $1,674
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Chenzhou costs roughly 71% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chenzhou is 47% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ¥20.15

$17.59 €15.80

-82.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.13 ¥147

$67.5 €60.6

-67.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.86 ¥32.33

$13.53 €12.15

-64.08%

Cappuccino

$1.54 ¥10.24

$3.19 €2.87

-51.72%

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

$0.51 ¥3.41

$2.91 €2.62

-82.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.80

$1.89 €1.70

-85.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.29 ¥8.58

$4.01 €3.60

-67.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ¥12.59

$4.53 €4.07

-58.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 ¥13.09

$1.31 €1.17

50.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 ¥15.83

$2.02 €1.81

17.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.79 ¥5.23

$1.85 €1.66

-57.30%

Eggs

$1.72 ¥11.46

$4.83 €4.34

-64.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.15 ¥87.5

$16.74 €15.03

-21.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.13 ¥27.47

$9.12 €8.19

-54.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.57 ¥77.0

$19.64 €17.64

-41.09%

Apples (1kg)

$0.59 ¥3.92

$2.98 €2.68

-80.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 ¥7.82

$2.02 €1.81

-41.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.87

$2.70 €2.43

-72.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 ¥7.89

$2.80 €2.52

-57.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 ¥6.49

$2.09 €1.87

-53.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 ¥10.24

$2.07 €1.86

-25.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 ¥4.04

$1.46 €1.31

-58.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ¥3.23

$0.94 €0.84

-47.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.02 ¥20.08

$6.87 €6.17

-56.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.71 ¥84.6

$7.89 €7.08

61.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 ¥6.91

$1.41 €1.26

-26.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 ¥10.45

$2.54 €2.28

-38.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.05

$3.14 €2.82

-90.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.40 ¥103

$25.45 €22.86

-39.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 ¥10.09

$2.99 €2.69

-49.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$1.49 €1.34

-80.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.60 ¥30.59

$33.37 €29.98

-86.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 ¥8.59

$1.80 €1.61

-28.33%

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

$19.3K ¥128.3K

$33.2K €29.8K

-41.89%

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

$17.4K ¥115.6K

$31.7K €28.5K

-45.18%

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

$56.3 ¥375

$180 €162

-68.78%

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

$8.94 ¥59.5

$13.84 €12.43

-35.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.27 ¥75.0

$33.70 €30.27

-66.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.59 ¥283

$51.5 €46.27

-17.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.67 ¥97.6

$15.96 €14.34

-8.08%

Cinema Ticket

$6.48 ¥43.13

$10.99 €9.88

-41.04%

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

$329 ¥2,188

$917 €823

-64.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K ¥112.3K

$16.5K €14.8K

2.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.2 ¥561

$87.0 €78.2

-3.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.01 ¥233

$38.51 €34.59

-9.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 ¥593

$106 €95.1

-15.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 ¥392

$120 €108

-50.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$310 ¥2,061

$1,699 €1,527

-81.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$163 ¥1,086

$1,355 €1,217

-87.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$584 ¥3,885

$2,603 €2,338

-77.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$414 ¥2,753

$2,062 €1,853

-79.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,531 ¥23.5K

$6,915 €6,211

-48.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ¥12.8K

$5,128 €4,606

-62.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

3.28

5.49%

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

Last update for Chenzhou: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Chenzhou

$215 29.8%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 49.6% $107

Accommodation & Living

Chenzhou

$163 22.6%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 731% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Chenzhou

$120 16.7%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 31.4% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chenzhou

$77 10.6%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 198% $151

Eating Out

Chenzhou

$71 9.8%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 279% $197

Sport & Entertainment

Chenzhou

$56 7.7%

Barcelona

$74 3% 32.3% $18

Getting Around

Chenzhou

$20 2.7%

Barcelona

$48 2% 147% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $310 in Chenzhou and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $22 in Chenzhou vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $322 per month, with Chenzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Chenzhou

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

21:02 9:02 PM

14:02 2:02 PM

7 h behind Chenzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,667,134

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chenzhou Barcelona 9,710 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Chenzhou
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

Chenzhou vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chenzhou and Barcelona differ by about 240% in total monthly costs ($721 vs $2,453 including rent). Chenzhou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,081 in Chenzhou and $3,679 in Barcelona 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: $310 in Chenzhou versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $329 in Chenzhou versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 50% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $721 in Chenzhou versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Chenzhou but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Chenzhou 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.

Expats usually find Chenzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.