Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Datong and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Datong: $713 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Datong
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Datong Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Datong

🇨🇳 China

$713

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $713 in Datong versus $2,443 in Barcelona.

Datong $713
Barcelona $2,443

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,133 in Datong versus $3,519 in Barcelona.

Datong $1,133
Barcelona $3,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,553 in Datong versus $4,595 in Barcelona.

Datong $1,553
Barcelona $4,595

Living in Datong 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: Datong is 47% below, Barcelona is 81% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.75 ¥18.30

$17.66 €15.71

-84.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.93 ¥146

$67.5 €60.0

-67.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.79 ¥31.95

$13.61 €12.12

-64.81%

Cappuccino

$3.09 ¥20.58

$3.10 €2.76

-0.32%

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

$0.43 ¥2.90

$3.00 €2.67

-85.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.95

$1.93 €1.71

-84.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.90 ¥5.97

$3.84 €3.42

-76.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 ¥13.64

$4.36 €3.88

-52.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 ¥12.03

$1.25 €1.11

44.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 ¥10.26

$2.12 €1.89

-27.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.50

$1.97 €1.76

-50.25%

Eggs

$1.56 ¥10.38

$4.76 €4.24

-67.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.86 ¥85.7

$17.07 €15.19

-24.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.23 ¥21.51

$8.96 €7.97

-63.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.09 ¥67.3

$20.65 €18.38

-51.14%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 ¥12.59

$3.16 €2.81

-40.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 ¥8.09

$1.97 €1.75

-38.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 ¥10.30

$2.65 €2.36

-41.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 ¥7.64

$2.88 €2.57

-60.07%

Potato (1kg)

$0.75 ¥5.03

$2.06 €1.83

-63.59%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 ¥5.99

$2.18 €1.94

-58.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 ¥3.76

$1.53 €1.37

-63.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 ¥3.62

$0.97 €0.86

-44.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.10 ¥20.63

$6.97 €6.20

-55.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.70 ¥71.3

$7.89 €7.02

35.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ¥5.22

$1.42 €1.26

-45.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 ¥10.56

$2.69 €2.39

-41.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.95

$3.31 €2.94

-91.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.04 ¥114

$25.61 €22.79

-33.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.37 ¥9.16

$3.08 €2.74

-55.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 ¥2.38

$1.48 €1.32

-75.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.78 ¥45.21

$32.87 €29.25

-79.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 ¥7.89

$1.87 €1.66

-36.90%

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

$19.1K ¥127.0K

$33.0K €29.3K

-42.18%

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

$17.1K ¥114.0K

$31.9K €28.4K

-46.43%

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

$44.32 ¥295

$183 €163

-75.76%

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

$9.82 ¥65.4

$14.24 €12.67

-31.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.70 ¥78.0

$34.56 €30.76

-66.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.16 ¥281

$51.4 €45.76

-18.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.77 ¥91.7

$16.38 €14.58

-15.93%

Cinema Ticket

$5.99 ¥39.89

$11.06 €9.85

-45.84%

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

$338 ¥2,252

$944 €840

-64.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K ¥112.8K

$22.3K €19.8K

-24.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.48 ¥296

$87.7 €78.0

-49.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.37 ¥202

$38.77 €34.51

-21.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.4 ¥476

$105 €93.0

-31.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.3 ¥475

$118 €105

-39.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$276 ¥1,836

$1,697 €1,510

-83.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$191 ¥1,271

$1,337 €1,190

-85.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$603 ¥4,018

$2,692 €2,396

-77.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$360 ¥2,398

$2,077 €1,848

-82.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,037 ¥20.2K

$7,155 €6,367

-57.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,026 ¥13.5K

$5,079 €4,520

-60.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,995

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

3.19

21.94%

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

Last update for Datong: November 1, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Datong

$199 27.8%

Barcelona

$328 13.4% 65.1% $129

Accommodation & Living

Datong

$191 26.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7% 601% $1.1K

Clothing & Footwear

Datong

$98 13.7%

Barcelona

$157 6.4% 60.2% $59

Eating Out

Datong

$85 11.9%

Barcelona

$267 10.9% 215% $182

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Datong

$66 9.2%

Barcelona

$232 9.5% 252% $166

Sport & Entertainment

Datong

$54 7.6%

Barcelona

$74 3% 35.9% $19

Getting Around

Datong

$21 3%

Barcelona

$49 2% 131% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $276 in Datong and $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $22 in Datong vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $199 vs $328 per month, with Datong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Datong

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

13:12 1:12 PM

06:12 6:12 AM

7 h behind Datong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,318,057

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Datong Barcelona 8,600 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Datong
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

Datong vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $713 in Datong and $2,443 in Barcelona, so Datong is about 71% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,070 in Datong and $3,664 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: $276 in Datong versus $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $338 in Datong versus $944 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 65% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $713 in Datong versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Datong but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Datong 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 Datong 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.