Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fort Madison, IA and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $2,559 in Fort Madison, IA, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

124

Cost of Living Index in Fort Madison, IA
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Fort Madison, IA Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Fort Madison, IA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,559

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,559 in Fort Madison, IA versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Fort Madison, IA $2,559
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,754 in Fort Madison, IA versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Fort Madison, IA $3,754
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,950 in Fort Madison, IA versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Fort Madison, IA $4,950
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Fort Madison, IA is roughly 7% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Fort Madison, IA 89% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.82 $19.82

$17.89 €15.92

10.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$76.2 $76.2

$66.2 €58.9

15.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.40 $11.40

$13.69 €12.18

-16.73%

Cappuccino

$5.49 $5.49

$3.06 €2.72

79.41%

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

$2.63 $2.63

$3.07 €2.73

-14.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 $1.98

$1.94 €1.73

2.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.13 $6.13

$3.87 €3.44

58.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.37 $7.37

$4.61 €4.10

59.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.30 €1.16

-19.23%

White Bread (500g)

$3.45 $3.45

$2.10 €1.87

64.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.30 $4.30

$1.83 €1.62

134.97%

Eggs

$4.15 $4.15

$4.62 €4.11

-10.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 $12.60

$17.36 €15.44

-27.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.33 $11.33

$9.28 €8.25

22.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.07 $17.07

$19.83 €17.64

-13.92%

Apples (1kg)

$4.89 $4.89

$3.01 €2.68

62.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 $1.58

$2.03 €1.81

-22.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.23 $4.23

$2.65 €2.36

59.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 $4.82

$2.87 €2.55

67.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.84 $2.84

$2.16 €1.92

31.48%

Onion (1kg)

$2.94 $2.94

$2.15 €1.91

36.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.14 $2.14

$1.47 €1.31

45.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.21 $2.21

$0.88 €0.79

151.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.10 $10.10

$6.93 €6.16

45.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.04 $15.04

$7.83 €6.96

92.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 $1.68

$1.39 €1.24

20.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 $3.00

$2.63 €2.34

14.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.27 $2.27

$2.91 €2.59

-21.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.33 $3.33

$3.00 €2.66

11.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.76 $1.76

$1.44 €1.28

22.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.70 $31.70

$33.20 €29.53

-4.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.92 $0.92

$1.86 €1.65

-50.54%

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

$26.6K $26.6K

$32.3K €28.8K

-17.90%

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

$23.8K $23.8K

$31.7K €28.2K

-24.88%

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

$201 $201

$183 €163

10.22%

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

$59.0 $59.0

$13.61 €12.11

333.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.0 $71.0

$32.93 €29.29

115.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.05 $41.05

$54.7 €48.65

-24.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$14.14 $14.14

$11.23 €9.99

25.91%

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

$1,439 $1,439

$954 €849

50.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.7K $23.7K

$16.6K €14.8K

42.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 $53.8

$86.0 €76.5

-37.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.89 $40.89

$39.11 €34.78

4.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.0 $88.0

$104 €92.2

-15.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 $115

$119 €106

-3.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,582 $1,582

$1,695 €1,508

-6.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 $1,287

$1,276 €1,135

0.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,533 $2,533

$2,576 €2,291

-1.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,141 $2,141

$1,922 €1,710

11.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 $2,414

$7,281 €6,477

-66.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,589 $2,589

$5,010 €4,456

-48.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.57

3.28

100.30%

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

Last update for Fort Madison, IA: 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

Fort Madison, IA

$1.3K 50.3%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 0.9% $11

Groceries & Markets

Fort Madison, IA

$393 15.4%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 17.3% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fort Madison, IA

$331 13%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 30.8% $102

Eating Out

Fort Madison, IA

$322 12.6%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 16.4% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Fort Madison, IA

$134 5.2%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 16.8% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Fort Madison, IA

$69 2.7%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 11.3% $7.8

Getting Around

Fort Madison, IA

$21 * 0.8%

Barcelona

$47 2% 123% $26

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,582 in Fort Madison, IA and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $76.0 in Fort Madison, IA vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $393 vs $325 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Fort Madison, IA

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

20:00 8:00 PM

03:00 3:00 AM

7 h ahead of Fort Madison, IA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

10,270

1,660,122

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Fort Madison, IA Barcelona 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Fort Madison, IA
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

Fort Madison, IA vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fort Madison, IA and Barcelona differ by about 7% in total monthly costs ($2,559 vs $2,381 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,838 in Fort Madison, IA and $3,571 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: $1,582 in Fort Madison, IA versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,439 in Fort Madison, IA versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $76.0 in Fort Madison, IA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Fort Madison, IA 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Fort Madison, IA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.