Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kawagoe and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Kawagoe: $1,075 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Kawagoe
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Kawagoe Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Kawagoe

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,075

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,075 in Kawagoe versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Kawagoe $1,075
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,744 in Kawagoe versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Kawagoe $1,744
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,413 in Kawagoe versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Kawagoe $2,413
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Kawagoe costs roughly 56% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kawagoe is 21% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.33 ¥1,000

$17.59 €15.76

-64.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.23 ¥6,507

$67.5 €60.5

-38.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.95 ¥782

$13.53 €12.12

-63.41%

Cappuccino

$3.50 ¥552

$3.19 €2.86

9.72%

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

$0.92 ¥145

$2.91 €2.61

-68.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.52 ¥82.6

$1.89 €1.70

-72.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.91 ¥301

$4.01 €3.59

-52.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 ¥432

$4.53 €4.06

-39.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 ¥182

$1.31 €1.17

-12.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.28 ¥202

$2.02 €1.81

-36.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.67 ¥579

$1.85 €1.66

98.38%

Eggs

$2.08 ¥328

$4.83 €4.33

-56.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.34 ¥1,001

$16.74 €15.00

-62.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.90 ¥932

$9.12 €8.17

-35.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.16 ¥2,236

$19.64 €17.60

-27.90%

Apples (1kg)

$5.82 ¥918

$2.98 €2.67

95.30%

Banana (1kg)

$2.34 ¥369

$2.02 €1.81

15.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.88 ¥455

$2.70 €2.42

6.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.12 ¥492

$2.80 €2.51

11.43%

Potato (1kg)

$2.54 ¥401

$2.09 €1.87

21.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.85 ¥292

$2.07 €1.85

-10.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 ¥201

$1.46 €1.31

-13.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥120

$0.94 €0.84

-19.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.83 ¥604

$6.87 €6.16

-44.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.65 ¥734

$7.89 €7.07

-41.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 ¥286

$1.41 €1.26

28.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ¥320

$2.54 €2.27

-20.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.97 ¥469

$3.14 €2.82

-5.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.8 ¥8,338

$25.45 €22.80

107.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 ¥491

$2.99 €2.68

4.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.63 ¥415

$1.49 €1.34

76.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.31 ¥3,205

$33.37 €29.91

-39.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 ¥168

$1.80 €1.61

-41.11%

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

$15.6K ¥2.5M

$33.2K €29.7K

-52.95%

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

$12.8K ¥2.0M

$31.7K €28.4K

-59.50%

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

$133 ¥21.0K

$180 €162

-26.31%

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

$22.18 ¥3,500

$13.84 €12.40

60.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.10 ¥4,909

$33.70 €30.20

-7.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.19 ¥6,817

$51.5 €46.16

-16.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.97 ¥4,888

$15.96 €14.30

94.05%

Cinema Ticket

$10.95 ¥1,729

$10.99 €9.85

-0.36%

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

$320 ¥50.6K

$917 €821

-65.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,292 ¥993.1K

$16.5K €14.8K

-61.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.66 ¥4,997

$87.0 €78.0

-63.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.72 ¥5,323

$38.51 €34.51

-12.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$43.55 ¥6,874

$106 €94.8

-58.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 ¥14.7K

$120 €107

-22.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$407 ¥64.2K

$1,699 €1,523

-76.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$267 ¥42.1K

$1,355 €1,214

-80.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$862 ¥136.1K

$2,603 €2,332

-66.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$605 ¥95.5K

$2,062 €1,848

-70.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,474 ¥390.5K

$6,915 €6,196

-64.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,772 ¥279.6K

$5,128 €4,595

-65.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,597 ¥252.0K

$2,211 €1,981

-27.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.6

3.28

-51.22%

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

Last update for Kawagoe: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kawagoe

$267 24.8%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 408% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Kawagoe

$257 23.9%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 25.5% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kawagoe

$186 17.3%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 22.4% $42

Eating Out

Kawagoe

$128 11.9%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 109% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Kawagoe

$91 8.5%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 73.7% $67

Getting Around

Kawagoe

$81 7.5%

Barcelona

$48 2% 40.1% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Kawagoe

$65 6.1%

Barcelona

$74 3% 12.9% $8.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $407 in Kawagoe and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 38% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $41 in Kawagoe vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $322 per month, with Kawagoe cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Kawagoe

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

17:20 5:20 PM

09:20 9:20 AM

8 h behind Kawagoe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

350,745

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kawagoe Barcelona 10,380 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Kawagoe
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

Kawagoe vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,075 in Kawagoe and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Kawagoe is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 28% lower in Kawagoe. 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: $407 in Kawagoe versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $320 in Kawagoe 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 25% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,075 in Kawagoe versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kawagoe but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Kawagoe 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, Kawagoe and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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