Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ecatepec and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Ecatepec: $941 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Ecatepec
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Ecatepec Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Ecatepec

🇲🇽 Mexico

$941

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $941 in Ecatepec versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Ecatepec $941
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,634 in Ecatepec versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Ecatepec $1,634
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,327 in Ecatepec versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Ecatepec $2,327
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Ecatepec costs roughly 62% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ecatepec is 31% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$199

$17.59 €15.76

-39.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.51 MX$912

$67.5 €60.5

-28.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.63 MX$181

$13.53 €12.12

-28.82%

Cappuccino

$3.48 MX$65.4

$3.19 €2.86

9.09%

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

$1.57 MX$29.43

$2.91 €2.61

-46.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 MX$19.20

$1.89 €1.70

-46.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$4.01 €3.59

-20.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$102

$4.53 €4.06

20.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 MX$33.44

$1.31 €1.17

35.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.70 MX$50.7

$2.02 €1.81

33.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 MX$37.00

$1.85 €1.66

6.49%

Eggs

$2.70 MX$50.7

$4.83 €4.33

-44.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.95 MX$168

$16.74 €15.00

-46.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.01 MX$169

$9.12 €8.17

-1.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.19 MX$248

$19.64 €17.60

-32.84%

Apples (1kg)

$3.18 MX$59.8

$2.98 €2.67

6.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$2.02 €1.81

-21.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 MX$37.12

$2.70 €2.42

-27.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.72

$2.80 €2.51

-32.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.81 MX$34.02

$2.09 €1.87

-13.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 MX$32.30

$2.07 €1.85

-16.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$27.32

$1.46 €1.31

-0.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.95

$0.94 €0.84

29.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.52 MX$85.0

$6.87 €6.16

-34.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.00 MX$301

$7.89 €7.07

102.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 MX$36.51

$1.41 €1.26

37.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.84 MX$72.1

$2.54 €2.27

51.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MX$12.74

$3.14 €2.82

-78.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.56 MX$574

$25.45 €22.80

20.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$36.15

$2.99 €2.68

-35.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.49 MX$9.18

$1.49 €1.34

-67.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.51 MX$104

$33.37 €29.91

-83.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 MX$26.88

$1.80 €1.61

-20.56%

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

$21.3K MX$400.6K

$33.2K €29.7K

-35.78%

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

$23.2K MX$435.5K

$31.7K €28.4K

-26.90%

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

$56.3 MX$1,057

$180 €162

-68.81%

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

$26.84 MX$504

$13.84 €12.40

93.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.91 MX$449

$33.70 €30.20

-29.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.75 MX$484

$51.5 €46.16

-50.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.64 MX$200

$15.96 €14.30

-33.33%

Cinema Ticket

$6.48 MX$122

$10.99 €9.85

-41.04%

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

$265 MX$4,983

$917 €821

-71.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,979 MX$93.6K

$16.5K €14.8K

-69.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.2 MX$1,093

$87.0 €78.0

-33.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.37 MX$834

$38.51 €34.51

15.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.2 MX$1,864

$106 €94.8

-6.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.3 MX$1,810

$120 €107

-19.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$239 MX$4,492

$1,699 €1,523

-85.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$134 MX$2,521

$1,355 €1,214

-90.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.5K

$2,603 €2,332

-74.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$430 MX$8,084

$2,062 €1,848

-79.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$768 MX$14.4K

$6,915 €6,196

-88.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$751 MX$14.1K

$5,128 €4,595

-85.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$548 MX$10.3K

$2,211 €1,981

-75.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.28

246.04%

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

Last update for Ecatepec: 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

Ecatepec

$296 31.5%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 8.6% $25

Eating Out

Ecatepec

$193 20.5%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 39.1% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Ecatepec

$134 14.3%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 17.8% $24

Accommodation & Living

Ecatepec

$134 14.3%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 910% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ecatepec

$107 11.4%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 113% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Ecatepec

$39 4.1%

Barcelona

$74 3% 89.9% $35

Getting Around

Ecatepec

$38 4%

Barcelona

$48 2% 28.8% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $239 in Ecatepec and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $49 in Ecatepec vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $296 vs $322 per month, with Ecatepec cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Ecatepec

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

05:07 5:07 AM

12:07 12:07 PM

7 h ahead of Ecatepec

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,645,352

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

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

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ecatepec Barcelona 9,470 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ecatepec
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

Ecatepec vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $941 in Ecatepec and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Ecatepec is about 62% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 75% lower in Ecatepec. 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: $239 in Ecatepec versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $265 in Ecatepec 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 9% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $941 in Ecatepec versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Ecatepec but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ecatepec 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.

It comes down to priorities – Ecatepec wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.