Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Los Alamos, NM and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Los Alamos, NM: $1,060 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Los Alamos, NM
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Los Alamos, NM Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Los Alamos, NM

🇺🇸 United States

$1,060

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,060 in Los Alamos, NM versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Los Alamos, NM $1,060
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,643 in Los Alamos, NM versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Los Alamos, NM $1,643
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,227 in Los Alamos, NM versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Los Alamos, NM $2,227
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Los Alamos, NM costs roughly 55% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Los Alamos, NM is 22% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.75 $16.75

$17.89 €15.92

-6.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.58 $39.58

$66.2 €58.9

-40.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.82 $9.82

$13.69 €12.18

-28.27%

Cappuccino

$4.95 $4.95

$3.06 €2.72

61.76%

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

$2.52 $2.52

$3.07 €2.73

-17.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 $1.53

$1.94 €1.73

-21.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.91 $5.91

$3.87 €3.44

52.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.89 $6.89

$4.61 €4.10

49.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.95 $0.95

$1.30 €1.16

-26.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.16 $2.16

$2.10 €1.87

2.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.62 $4.62

$1.83 €1.62

152.46%

Eggs

$4.01 $4.01

$4.62 €4.11

-13.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.89 $11.89

$17.36 €15.44

-31.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 $9.74

$9.28 €8.25

4.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.91 $17.91

$19.83 €17.64

-9.68%

Apples (1kg)

$4.87 $4.87

$3.01 €2.68

61.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 $1.43

$2.03 €1.81

-29.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 $2.85

$2.65 €2.36

7.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.36 $4.36

$2.87 €2.55

51.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 $1.11

$2.16 €1.92

-48.61%

Onion (1kg)

$3.34 $3.34

$2.15 €1.91

55.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.05 $2.05

$1.47 €1.31

39.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 $0.52

$0.88 €0.79

-40.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.00 $11.00

$6.93 €6.16

58.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.84 $13.84

$7.83 €6.96

76.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 $2.46

$1.39 €1.24

76.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 $3.65

$2.63 €2.34

38.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.61 $3.61

$3.00 €2.66

20.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.94 $1.94

$1.44 €1.28

34.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.32 $32.32

$33.20 €29.53

-2.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 $0.94

$1.86 €1.65

-49.46%

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

$30.0K $30.0K

$32.3K €28.8K

-7.15%

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

$25.3K $25.3K

$31.7K €28.2K

-20.15%

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

$156 $156

$183 €163

-14.45%

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

$40.31 $40.31

$13.61 €12.11

196.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$72.5 $72.5

$32.93 €29.29

120.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$12.88 $12.88

$11.23 €9.99

14.69%

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

$1,480 $1,480

$954 €849

55.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.0K $25.0K

$16.6K €14.8K

50.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.09 $20.09

$86.0 €76.5

-76.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.66 $43.66

$39.11 €34.78

11.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 $102

$104 €92.2

-1.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 $117

$119 €106

-1.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,101 $1,101

$1,695 €1,508

-35.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,926 $1,926

$2,576 €2,291

-25.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,369 $3,369

$7,281 €6,477

-53.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,369 $3,369

$5,010 €4,456

-32.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$8,167 $8,167

$2,227 €1,981

266.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.57

3.28

100.30%

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

Last update for Los Alamos, NM: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Los Alamos, NM

$342 32.3%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 4.9% $17

Eating Out

Los Alamos, NM

$282 26.7%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 4.6% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Los Alamos, NM

$269 25.4%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 14.8% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Los Alamos, NM

$127 12%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 22.8% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Los Alamos, NM

$26 * 2.4%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 199% $51

Getting Around

Los Alamos, NM

$13 * 1.3%

Barcelona

$47 2% 255% $34

Accommodation & Living

Los Alamos, NM

- * 0%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

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 $1,101 in Los Alamos, NM and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Los Alamos, NM pays 267% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40.00 in Los Alamos, NM vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $342 vs $325, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Los Alamos, NM

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

06:51 6:51 AM

14:51 2:51 PM

8 h ahead of Los Alamos, NM

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,179

1,660,122

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Los Alamos, NM Barcelona 8,760 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Los Alamos, NM
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

Los Alamos, NM vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Los Alamos, NM and Barcelona differ by about 125% in total monthly costs ($1,060 vs $2,381 including rent). Los Alamos, NM is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 267% higher in Los Alamos, NM, 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: $1,101 in Los Alamos, NM versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,480 in Los Alamos, NM versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Los Alamos, NM – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,060 in Los Alamos, NM versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Los Alamos, NM but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Los Alamos, NM 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, Los Alamos, NM and Barcelona 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 Los Alamos, NM gentler on the wallet – expenses run 125% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.