Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Galway and Castlebar

For one person, living is cheaper in Castlebar: $2,675 a month against $3,268 in Galway, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

160

Cost of Living Index in Galway
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Galway Living Index
129

Cost of Living Index in Castlebar
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Castlebar Living Index

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Galway

🇮🇪 Ireland

$3,268

/mo nomad

Castlebar

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,675

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Galway and in Castlebar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,268 in Galway versus $2,675 in Castlebar.

Galway $3,268
Castlebar $2,675

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,575 in Galway versus $3,567 in Castlebar.

Galway $4,575
Castlebar $3,567

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,881 in Galway versus $4,459 in Castlebar.

Galway $5,881
Castlebar $4,459

Living in Galway is roughly 22% more expensive than in Castlebar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Galway 141% above, Castlebar 97% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.87 €20.34

$16.25 €14.45

40.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$114 €101

$96.7 €86.0

17.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.74 €14.89

$10.73 €9.54

56.01%

Cappuccino

$4.97 €4.42

$3.80 €3.38

30.79%

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

$3.01 €2.68

$2.10 €1.86

43.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.27 €1.13

72.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.74 €6.89

$6.60 €5.87

17.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.78 €6.03

$5.14 €4.57

31.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.65 €1.47

-1.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 €2.10

$1.47 €1.31

60.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.50 €2.22

-8.80%

Eggs

$4.38 €3.89

$4.03 €3.58

8.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.87 €15.01

$2.75 €2.45

513.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.88 €9.68

$4.44 €3.95

145.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.29 €11.82

$6.87 €6.11

93.45%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 €2.71

$3.37 €3.00

-9.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.87 €1.66

16.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 €2.70

$3.29 €2.93

-7.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.10 €3.65

$2.83 €2.52

44.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$2.74 €2.43

-27.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.55 €1.38

$0.69 €0.62

124.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 €1.17

$1.50 €1.33

-12.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 €1.63

$2.30 €2.05

-20.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.25 €18.01

$15.07 €13.40

34.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.76 €12.24

$12.21 €10.86

12.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.13 €3.67

$4.54 €4.04

-9.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 €4.07

$4.37 €3.89

4.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.10 €1.86

$3.20 €2.85

-34.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.7 €54.9

$145 €129

-57.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 €4.79

$4.37 €3.89

23.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.43 €1.27

0.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$55.0 €48.93

$18.21 €16.20

202.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.01 €1.78

7.46%

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

$38.6K €34.3K

$39.3K €35.0K

-1.87%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$33.3K €29.6K

15.78%

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

$241 €214

$241 €215

-0.30%

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

$20.86 €18.56

$24.77 €22.03

-15.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.7 €45.08

$55.6 €49.41

-8.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.14 €39.26

$49.63 €44.14

-11.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.15 €19.70

$33.93 €30.18

-34.72%

Cinema Ticket

$13.32 €11.85

$11.34 €10.09

17.46%

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

$996 €886

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,217 €4,641

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.4

$111 €98.7

-8.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.57 €42.32

$33.14 €29.48

43.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 €100

$102 €90.3

10.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 €104

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,293 €2,040

$1,618 €1,440

41.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,900 €1,690

$1,474 €1,311

28.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,654 €3,250

$1,995 €1,775

83.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,704 €2,405

$1,755 €1,562

54.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,129 €5,452

$3,370 €2,997

81.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,623 €4,112

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,929 €2,605

$4,320 €3,842

-32.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.68

4.17

-11.75%

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

Last update for Galway: October 17, 2026

Last update for Castlebar: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Galway

$1.9K 58.1%

Castlebar

$1.5K 55.1% 22.4% $426

Eating Out

Galway

$366 11.2%

Castlebar

$265 9.9% 27.7% $101

Groceries & Markets

Galway

$366 11.2%

Castlebar

$263 9.8% 28.2% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Galway

$312 9.6%

Castlebar

$322 12% 3% $9.5

Clothing & Footwear

Galway

$170 5.2%

Castlebar

$111 * 4.1% 35.1% $60

Getting Around

Galway

$83 2.5%

Castlebar

$169 6.3% 104% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Galway

$71 2.2%

Castlebar

$72 2.7% 2.1% $1.5

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 $2,293 in Galway and $1,618 in Castlebar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Castlebar pays 47% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $114 in Galway vs $97.0 in Castlebar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $366 vs $263 per month, with Castlebar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Galway

🇮🇪 Castlebar

🕒 Local time

14:56 2:56 PM

Same time as Galway

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

75,529

13,054

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Galway Castlebar 67 km

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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

Galway vs Castlebar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Galway and Castlebar differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($3,268 vs $2,675 including rent). Castlebar is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 47% lower in Castlebar. 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: $2,293 in Galway versus $1,618 in Castlebar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Castlebar – a meal for two runs $97.0 versus $114 in Galway. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Castlebar runs roughly 134% less than in Galway. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Castlebar 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, Galway and Castlebar 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 Castlebar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Galway. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.