Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Middlesex and Barcelona

For one person, living costs are similar in Middlesex and in Barcelona: $2,393 and $2,453 a month, rent and utilities included.

115

Cost of Living Index in Middlesex
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Middlesex Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Middlesex

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,393

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,393 in Middlesex versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Middlesex $2,393
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,419 in Middlesex versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Middlesex $3,419
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,444 in Middlesex versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Middlesex $4,444
Barcelona $4,564

Monthly costs are close between Middlesex and Barcelona; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Middlesex 76% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.59 £14.63

$17.59 €15.75

11.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.6 £51.9

$67.5 €60.5

3.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.13 £7.57

$13.53 €12.12

-25.13%

Cappuccino

$3.45 £2.57

$3.19 €2.86

8.15%

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

$2.42 £1.81

$2.91 €2.61

-16.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.45

$1.89 €1.70

3.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.71 £3.52

$4.01 €3.59

17.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 £3.15

$4.53 €4.06

-6.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 £0.96

$1.31 €1.17

-2.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 £1.08

$2.02 €1.81

-28.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.67 £2.74

$1.85 €1.66

98.38%

Eggs

$3.59 £2.68

$4.83 €4.33

-25.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.51 £5.61

$16.74 €14.99

-55.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.04 £5.26

$9.12 €8.17

-22.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.75 £10.26

$19.64 €17.59

-29.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 £2.44

$2.98 €2.67

9.73%

Banana (1kg)

$0.98 £0.73

$2.02 €1.81

-51.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.03 £0.77

$2.70 €2.42

-61.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.83 £2.86

$2.80 €2.51

36.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 £1.33

$2.09 €1.87

-14.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 £1.34

$2.07 €1.85

-13.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 £0.76

$1.46 €1.31

-30.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 £1.48

$0.94 €0.84

110.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.19 £16.57

$6.87 €6.15

223.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.07 £6.77

$7.89 €7.06

14.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.84 £3.61

$1.41 €1.26

243.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 £2.80

$2.54 €2.27

47.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.52 £2.63

$3.14 €2.82

12.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.6 £72.2

$25.45 €22.79

279.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.24 £3.17

$2.99 €2.68

41.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 £1.59

$1.49 €1.34

42.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.29 £24.85

$33.37 €29.89

-0.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.56

$1.80 €1.61

16.11%

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

$37.9K £28.3K

$33.2K €29.7K

14.15%

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

$39.5K £29.5K

$31.7K €28.4K

24.61%

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

$347 £259

$180 €162

92.30%

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

$26.01 £19.42

$13.84 €12.39

87.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.27 £29.32

$33.70 €30.18

16.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.93 £34.29

$51.5 €46.13

-10.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$17.57 £13.12

$10.99 €9.85

59.87%

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

$793 £592

$917 €821

-13.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.0K £16.4K

$16.5K €14.8K

33.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$109 £81.7

$87.0 €77.9

25.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.2 £41.20

$38.51 €34.49

43.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 £83.4

$106 €94.8

5.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 £83.2

$120 €107

-6.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 £927

$1,699 €1,522

-26.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,035 £772

$1,355 €1,214

-23.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,141 £1,599

$2,603 €2,331

-17.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,642 £1,226

$2,062 €1,847

-20.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,028 £3,754

$6,915 €6,193

-27.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,931 £2,935

$5,128 €4,592

-23.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

3.28

68.60%

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

Last update for Middlesex: 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

Middlesex

$1K 43.2%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 31% $321

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Middlesex

$412 17.2%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 44.7% $184

Groceries & Markets

Middlesex

$287 12%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 12% $35

Eating Out

Middlesex

$278 11.6%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 3.6% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Middlesex

$174 7.3%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 9.5% $17

Getting Around

Middlesex

$126 5.3%

Barcelona

$48 2% 61.4% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Middlesex

$81 3.4%

Barcelona

$74 3% 9.3% $7.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,242 in Middlesex and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $70 in Middlesex vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $287 vs $322, with Middlesex cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Middlesex

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

21:13 9:13 PM

22:13 10:13 PM

1 h ahead of Middlesex

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,162

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

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

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Middlesex Barcelona 1,150 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Middlesex
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

Middlesex vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

You’d need roughly $3,590 in Middlesex and $3,679 in Barcelona to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,242 in Middlesex versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $793 in Middlesex versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $67 versus $70 in Middlesex. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.