Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kitakyushu and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Kitakyushu: $1,250 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Kitakyushu
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Kitakyushu Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Kitakyushu

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,250

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,250 in Kitakyushu versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Kitakyushu $1,250
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,923 in Kitakyushu versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Kitakyushu $1,923
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,596 in Kitakyushu versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Kitakyushu $2,596
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Kitakyushu costs roughly 49% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kitakyushu is 8% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.03 ¥1,108

$17.59 €15.76

-60.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.97 ¥5,198

$67.5 €60.5

-51.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.43 ¥855

$13.53 €12.12

-59.87%

Cappuccino

$3.40 ¥536

$3.19 €2.86

6.58%

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

$1.06 ¥167

$2.91 €2.61

-63.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 ¥111

$1.89 €1.70

-62.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.04 ¥479

$4.01 €3.59

-24.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 ¥343

$4.53 €4.06

-51.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 ¥224

$1.31 €1.17

8.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.28 ¥201

$2.02 €1.81

-36.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.29 ¥834

$1.85 €1.66

185.95%

Eggs

$2.20 ¥347

$4.83 €4.33

-54.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.42 ¥1,485

$16.74 €15.00

-43.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.25 ¥828

$9.12 €8.17

-42.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.86 ¥2,973

$19.64 €17.60

-3.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.59 ¥566

$2.98 €2.67

20.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 ¥296

$2.02 €1.81

-6.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.79 ¥440

$2.70 €2.42

3.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 ¥453

$2.80 €2.51

2.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.23 ¥351

$2.09 €1.87

6.70%

Onion (1kg)

$2.64 ¥417

$2.07 €1.85

27.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 ¥165

$1.46 €1.31

-28.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 ¥156

$0.94 €0.84

5.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 ¥639

$6.87 €6.16

-41.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.23 ¥983

$7.89 €7.07

-21.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 ¥259

$1.41 €1.26

16.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ¥270

$2.54 €2.27

-32.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.62 ¥256

$3.14 €2.82

-48.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.8 ¥8,950

$25.45 €22.80

123.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 ¥627

$2.99 €2.68

33.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 ¥322

$1.49 €1.34

36.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.83 ¥2,811

$33.37 €29.91

-46.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ¥165

$1.80 €1.61

-41.67%

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

$20.3K ¥3.2M

$33.2K €29.7K

-38.95%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$31.7K €28.4K

-51.47%

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

$196 ¥31.0K

$180 €162

8.91%

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

$25.10 ¥3,959

$13.84 €12.40

81.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.21 ¥5,079

$33.70 €30.20

-4.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.1 ¥8,220

$51.5 €46.16

1.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.22 ¥508

$15.96 €14.30

-79.82%

Cinema Ticket

$12.65 ¥1,995

$10.99 €9.85

15.10%

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

$379 ¥59.7K

$917 €821

-58.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K ¥1.9M

$16.5K €14.8K

-25.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.55 ¥7,656

$87.0 €78.0

-44.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.37 ¥4,158

$38.51 €34.51

-31.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.0 ¥10.6K

$106 €94.8

-36.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.7 ¥8,784

$120 €107

-53.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$555 ¥87.5K

$1,699 €1,523

-67.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$338 ¥53.2K

$1,355 €1,214

-75.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,005 ¥158.5K

$2,603 €2,332

-61.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 ¥112.8K

$2,062 €1,848

-65.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,304 ¥678.7K

$6,915 €6,196

-37.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,319 ¥365.6K

$5,128 €4,595

-54.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,533 ¥241.8K

$2,211 €1,981

-30.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.69

3.28

-48.48%

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

Last update for Kitakyushu: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kitakyushu

$338 27%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 302% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Kitakyushu

$275 22%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 17.1% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kitakyushu

$254 20.3%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 10.2% $26

Eating Out

Kitakyushu

$140 11.2%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 91.5% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Kitakyushu

$89 7.1%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 77.6% $69

Getting Around

Kitakyushu

$77 6.2%

Barcelona

$48 2% 37.4% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Kitakyushu

$77 6.2%

Barcelona

$74 3% 5.1% $3.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $555 in Kitakyushu and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 44% 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: $33 in Kitakyushu vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $322 per month, with Kitakyushu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Kitakyushu

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

21:12 9:12 PM

13:12 1:12 PM

8 h behind Kitakyushu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

939,029

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 November 2, 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 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

Kitakyushu Barcelona 10,140 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Kitakyushu
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

Kitakyushu vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,250 in Kitakyushu and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Kitakyushu is about 49% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 31% lower in Kitakyushu. 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: $555 in Kitakyushu versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $379 in Kitakyushu 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 17% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,250 in Kitakyushu versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kitakyushu but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Kitakyushu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kitakyushu 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.

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

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