Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kawasaki and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Kawasaki: $1,476 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

71

Cost of Living Index in Kawasaki
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Kawasaki Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Kawasaki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,476

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,476 in Kawasaki versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Kawasaki $1,476
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,239 in Kawasaki versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Kawasaki $2,239
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,003 in Kawasaki versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Kawasaki $3,003
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Kawasaki costs roughly 40% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kawasaki 8% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.43 ¥1,171

$17.59 €15.75

-57.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.97 ¥5,981

$67.5 €60.5

-43.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.99 ¥785

$13.53 €12.12

-63.12%

Cappuccino

$2.59 ¥407

$3.19 €2.86

-18.81%

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

$1.57 ¥248

$2.91 €2.61

-46.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 ¥144

$1.89 €1.70

-51.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.23 ¥508

$4.01 €3.59

-19.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 ¥493

$4.53 €4.06

-30.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ¥238

$1.31 €1.17

15.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 ¥246

$2.02 €1.81

-22.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.21 ¥663

$1.85 €1.66

127.57%

Eggs

$2.15 ¥339

$4.83 €4.33

-55.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.44 ¥1,802

$16.74 €14.99

-31.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.72 ¥1,058

$9.12 €8.17

-26.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.41 ¥2,585

$19.64 €17.59

-16.45%

Apples (1kg)

$6.02 ¥949

$2.98 €2.67

102.01%

Banana (1kg)

$2.85 ¥449

$2.02 €1.81

41.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.99 ¥785

$2.70 €2.42

84.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.18 ¥816

$2.80 €2.51

85.00%

Potato (1kg)

$3.40 ¥535

$2.09 €1.87

62.68%

Onion (1kg)

$3.09 ¥486

$2.07 €1.85

49.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ¥188

$1.46 €1.31

-18.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ¥122

$0.94 €0.84

-17.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.97 ¥625

$6.87 €6.15

-42.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.29 ¥1,463

$7.89 €7.06

17.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.39 ¥377

$1.41 €1.26

69.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 ¥417

$2.54 €2.27

4.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.92 ¥303

$3.14 €2.82

-38.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.5 ¥7,948

$25.45 €22.79

98.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.10 ¥488

$2.99 €2.68

3.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.20 ¥504

$1.49 €1.34

114.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.58 ¥2,926

$33.37 €29.89

-44.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 ¥168

$1.80 €1.61

-40.56%

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

$22.1K ¥3.5M

$33.2K €29.7K

-33.37%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$31.7K €28.4K

-51.56%

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

$129 ¥20.2K

$180 €162

-28.76%

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

$23.08 ¥3,635

$13.84 €12.39

66.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.16 ¥4,908

$33.70 €30.18

-7.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.8 ¥8,790

$51.5 €46.13

8.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.47 ¥1,019

$15.96 €14.29

-59.46%

Cinema Ticket

$12.62 ¥1,989

$10.99 €9.85

14.83%

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

$695 ¥109.5K

$917 €821

-24.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.9K ¥2.3M

$16.5K €14.8K

-9.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.2 ¥8,065

$87.0 €77.9

-41.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.12 ¥5,217

$38.51 €34.49

-14.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.4 ¥10.5K

$106 €94.8

-37.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.4 ¥11.1K

$120 €107

-41.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$771 ¥121.5K

$1,699 €1,522

-54.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$565 ¥89.0K

$1,355 €1,214

-58.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,281 ¥201.7K

$2,603 €2,331

-50.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ¥158.5K

$2,062 €1,847

-51.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,670 ¥735.7K

$6,915 €6,193

-32.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,220 ¥507.3K

$5,128 €4,592

-37.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,608 ¥410.7K

$2,211 €1,980

17.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

3.28

-38.41%

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

Last update for Kawasaki: October 27, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kawasaki

$565 38.3%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 140% $790

Groceries & Markets

Kawasaki

$333 22.5%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 3.2% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kawasaki

$183 12.4%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 24.7% $45

Eating Out

Kawasaki

$138 9.3%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 94.5% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Kawasaki

$99 6.7%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 58.8% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Kawasaki

$81 5.5%

Barcelona

$74 3% 9.3% $7.5

Getting Around

Kawasaki

$77 5.2%

Barcelona

$48 2% 37.3% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $771 in Kawasaki and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kawasaki pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $38 in Kawasaki vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $333 vs $322, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Kawasaki

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

15:13 3:13 PM

07:13 7:13 AM

8 h behind Kawasaki

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,538,262

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 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

Kawasaki Barcelona 10,430 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Kawasaki
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

Kawasaki vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,476 in Kawasaki and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Kawasaki is about 40% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 18% higher in Kawasaki, 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: $771 in Kawasaki versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $695 in Kawasaki versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Kawasaki is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Kawasaki is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Barcelona, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.