Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Middlesbrough and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Middlesbrough: $2,089 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

102

Cost of Living Index in Middlesbrough
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Middlesbrough Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Middlesbrough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,089

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,089 in Middlesbrough versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Middlesbrough $2,089
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,001 in Middlesbrough versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Middlesbrough $3,001
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,913 in Middlesbrough versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Middlesbrough $3,913
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Middlesbrough costs roughly 13% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Middlesbrough 55% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.80 £17.85

$17.94 €15.96

32.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.5 £54.4

$68.1 €60.5

6.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 £8.05

$13.28 €11.81

-19.20%

Cappuccino

$4.69 £3.52

$3.25 €2.89

44.31%

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

$2.41 £1.81

$3.01 €2.67

-19.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.87 €1.66

-4.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.70 £3.53

$3.85 €3.42

22.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.17 £5.38

$4.48 €3.98

60.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 £0.92

$1.29 €1.15

-5.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 £1.06

$2.04 €1.81

-30.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.45 £1.84

$1.72 €1.53

42.44%

Eggs

$3.70 £2.77

$4.77 €4.24

-22.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.68 £5.76

$16.77 €14.92

-54.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.29 £5.47

$8.93 €7.94

-18.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 £10.81

$19.88 €17.68

-27.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.48 £1.86

$2.98 €2.65

-16.78%

Banana (1kg)

$2.38 £1.79

$2.03 €1.80

17.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 £1.93

$2.73 €2.43

-5.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.60 £1.95

$2.68 €2.38

-2.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$2.10 €1.87

-15.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.15

$2.08 €1.85

-25.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 £0.87

$1.45 €1.29

-20.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 £2.27

$0.89 €0.79

240.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.39 £16.79

$6.94 €6.17

222.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.42 £7.07

$7.78 €6.92

21.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.43 £3.32

$1.45 €1.29

205.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 £2.76

$2.57 €2.29

43.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.53 £4.15

$2.99 €2.66

84.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.6 £69.5

$25.20 €22.41

267.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.39 £3.29

$3.12 €2.77

40.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.94 £19.46

$33.50 €29.80

-22.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.79 €1.59

11.17%

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

$37.6K £28.2K

$34.6K €30.8K

8.69%

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

$39.8K £29.9K

$30.1K €26.7K

32.51%

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

$346 £260

$178 €158

94.72%

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

$16.93 £12.70

$13.32 €11.85

27.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.87 £31.41

$34.88 €31.03

20.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.69 £37.28

$53.3 €47.37

-6.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.46 £24.35

$16.01 €14.24

102.75%

Cinema Ticket

$14.43 £10.83

$11.06 €9.84

30.47%

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

$795 £596

$957 €851

-16.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$40.4K £30.3K

$16.6K €14.7K

143.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 £79.8

$88.2 €78.4

20.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.8 £40.36

$39.49 €35.12

36.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 £82.7

$103 €91.5

7.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 £78.2

$121 €108

-14.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$997 £748

$1,653 €1,470

-39.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$683 £513

$1,302 €1,158

-47.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$961 £721

$2,557 €2,275

-62.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$955 £716

$1,915 €1,703

-50.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,303 £1,728

$2,281 €2,029

0.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.64

3.28

71.95%

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

Last update for Middlesbrough: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Middlesbrough

$683 32.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 90.5% $619

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Middlesbrough

$405 19.4%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 44.2% $179

Eating Out

Middlesbrough

$334 16%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 19% $63

Groceries & Markets

Middlesbrough

$301 14.4%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 6.2% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Middlesbrough

$169 8.1%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 6.1% $10

Getting Around

Middlesbrough

$119 * 5.7%

Barcelona

$47 2% 60.1% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Middlesbrough

$79 3.8%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 4.1% $3.2

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 $997 in Middlesbrough and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Middlesbrough pays 1% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $72.0 in Middlesbrough vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $301 vs $320, with Middlesbrough cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Middlesbrough

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

04:36 4:36 AM

05:36 5:36 AM

1 h ahead of Middlesbrough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

139,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Middlesbrough Barcelona 1,490 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Middlesbrough
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

Middlesbrough vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Middlesbrough and Barcelona differ by about 15% in total monthly costs ($2,089 vs $2,399 including rent). Middlesbrough is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1% higher in Middlesbrough, 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: $997 in Middlesbrough versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $795 in Middlesbrough versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,089 in Middlesbrough versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Middlesbrough but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Middlesbrough 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, Middlesbrough 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 Middlesbrough gentler on the wallet – expenses run 15% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.