Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ibaraki and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibaraki: $1,142 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Ibaraki
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Ibaraki Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Ibaraki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,142

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,142 in Ibaraki versus $2,443 in Barcelona.

Ibaraki $1,142
Barcelona $2,443

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,768 in Ibaraki versus $3,519 in Barcelona.

Ibaraki $1,768
Barcelona $3,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,395 in Ibaraki versus $4,595 in Barcelona.

Ibaraki $2,395
Barcelona $4,595

Living in Ibaraki costs roughly 53% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ibaraki is 16% below, Barcelona is 81% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.20 ¥983

$17.66 €15.73

-64.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.03 ¥4,915

$67.5 €60.1

-54.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.22 ¥827

$13.61 €12.13

-61.65%

Cappuccino

$3.15 ¥499

$3.10 €2.76

1.61%

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

$1.15 ¥182

$3.00 €2.67

-61.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 ¥125

$1.93 €1.72

-59.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 ¥419

$3.84 €3.42

-30.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 ¥494

$4.36 €3.88

-28.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.73 ¥432

$1.25 €1.11

118.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 ¥248

$2.12 €1.89

-25.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.10 ¥650

$1.97 €1.76

108.12%

Eggs

$2.03 ¥321

$4.76 €4.24

-57.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.34 ¥1,637

$17.07 €15.20

-39.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.54 ¥1,037

$8.96 €7.98

-27.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 ¥2,652

$20.65 €18.39

-18.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.71 ¥588

$3.16 €2.82

17.41%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 ¥361

$1.97 €1.75

15.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 ¥467

$2.65 €2.36

11.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.16 ¥659

$2.88 €2.57

44.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 ¥392

$2.06 €1.83

19.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 ¥412

$2.18 €1.94

19.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 ¥209

$1.53 €1.37

-13.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 ¥134

$0.97 €0.86

-12.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ¥680

$6.97 €6.21

-38.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 ¥1,040

$7.89 €7.03

-16.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 ¥295

$1.42 €1.26

30.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 ¥329

$2.69 €2.39

-22.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 ¥260

$3.31 €2.95

-50.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$57.8 ¥9,160

$25.61 €22.81

125.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.75 ¥753

$3.08 €2.75

54.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.93 ¥464

$1.48 €1.32

97.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.58 ¥4,051

$32.87 €29.28

-22.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ¥173

$1.87 €1.66

-41.71%

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

$21.7K ¥3.4M

$33.0K €29.4K

-34.14%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$31.9K €28.5K

-51.87%

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

$138 ¥21.8K

$183 €163

-24.75%

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

$24.35 ¥3,857

$14.24 €12.69

71.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.52 ¥4,991

$34.56 €30.79

-8.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.6 ¥8,017

$51.4 €45.81

-1.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.60

Cinema Ticket

$12.49 ¥1,978

$11.06 €9.86

12.93%

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

$626 ¥99.2K

$944 €841

-33.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$22.3K €19.8K

-30.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.34 ¥4,171

$87.7 €78.1

-69.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.99 ¥5,067

$38.77 €34.54

-17.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.6 ¥10.7K

$105 €93.1

-35.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.0 ¥12.8K

$118 €105

-31.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$403 ¥63.8K

$1,697 €1,512

-76.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$264 ¥41.9K

$1,337 €1,191

-80.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 ¥162.8K

$2,692 €2,398

-61.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 ¥83.5K

$2,077 €1,850

-74.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,712 ¥746.3K

$7,155 €6,373

-34.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,384 ¥377.6K

$5,079 €4,524

-53.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,498 ¥395.6K

$2,241 €1,997

11.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

3.19

-30.72%

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

Last update for Ibaraki: October 31, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ibaraki

$301 26.4%

Barcelona

$328 13.4% 8.9% $27

Accommodation & Living

Ibaraki

$264 23.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7% 406% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ibaraki

$193 17%

Barcelona

$232 9.5% 19.7% $38

Eating Out

Ibaraki

$130 11.4%

Barcelona

$267 10.9% 105% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Ibaraki

$93 8.2%

Barcelona

$157 6.4% 68.5% $64

Getting Around

Ibaraki

$84 7.3%

Barcelona

$49 2% 41.1% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Ibaraki

$76 6.6%

Barcelona

$74 3% 2.7% $2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $403 in Ibaraki and $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ibaraki pays 11% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31 in Ibaraki vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $301 vs $328 per month, with Ibaraki cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Ibaraki

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

07:52 7:52 AM

23:52 11:52 PM

8 h behind Ibaraki

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

287,730

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.62 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.62 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ibaraki Barcelona 10,300 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Ibaraki
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

Ibaraki vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,142 in Ibaraki and $2,443 in Barcelona, so Ibaraki is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 11% higher in Ibaraki, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $403 in Ibaraki versus $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $626 in Ibaraki 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 9% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,142 in Ibaraki versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ibaraki but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ibaraki 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.

Safety-wise, Ibaraki and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.