Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monrovia, CA and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $2,704 in Monrovia, CA, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. The total is higher in Monrovia, CA despite lower rent and utilities.

134

Cost of Living Index in Monrovia, CA
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Monrovia, CA Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Monrovia, CA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,704

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,704 in Monrovia, CA versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Monrovia, CA $2,704
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,049 in Monrovia, CA versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Monrovia, CA $4,049
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,394 in Monrovia, CA versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Monrovia, CA $5,394
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Monrovia, CA is roughly 14% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monrovia, CA 100% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.92 $24.92

$17.89 €15.92

39.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 $101

$66.2 €58.9

53.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.66 $11.66

$13.69 €12.18

-14.83%

Cappuccino

$5.61 $5.61

$3.06 €2.72

83.33%

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

$2.68 $2.68

$3.07 €2.73

-12.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.94 €1.73

1.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.23 $8.23

$3.87 €3.44

112.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.63 $9.63

$4.61 €4.10

108.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 $1.18

$1.30 €1.16

-9.23%

White Bread (500g)

$5.85 $5.85

$2.10 €1.87

178.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.23 $4.23

$1.83 €1.62

131.15%

Eggs

$4.94 $4.94

$4.62 €4.11

6.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.40 $12.40

$17.36 €15.44

-28.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$20.92 $20.92

$9.28 €8.25

125.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.06 $14.06

$19.83 €17.64

-29.10%

Apples (1kg)

$5.62 $5.62

$3.01 €2.68

86.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 $1.70

$2.03 €1.81

-16.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.29 $4.29

$2.65 €2.36

61.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.35 $6.35

$2.87 €2.55

121.25%

Potato (1kg)

$3.63 $3.63

$2.16 €1.92

68.06%

Onion (1kg)

$3.50 $3.50

$2.15 €1.91

62.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.40 $2.40

$1.47 €1.31

63.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 $2.27

$0.88 €0.79

157.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.63 $11.63

$6.93 €6.16

67.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.76 $14.76

$7.83 €6.96

88.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 $1.75

$1.39 €1.24

25.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 $3.10

$2.63 €2.34

17.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.95 $1.95

$2.91 €2.59

-32.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.61 $4.61

$3.00 €2.66

53.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.81 $1.81

$1.44 €1.28

25.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.58 $35.58

$33.20 €29.53

7.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 $1.60

$1.86 €1.65

-13.98%

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

$27.7K $27.7K

$32.3K €28.8K

-14.28%

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

$26.6K $26.6K

$31.7K €28.2K

-16.21%

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

$218 $218

$183 €163

19.34%

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

$72.4 $72.4

$13.61 €12.11

432.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.3 $71.3

$32.93 €29.29

116.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.11 $39.11

$54.7 €48.65

-28.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.79 $11.79

$11.23 €9.99

4.99%

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

$1,948 $1,948

$954 €849

104.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$42.6K $42.6K

$16.6K €14.8K

156.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.1 $73.1

$86.0 €76.5

-14.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.92 $40.92

$39.11 €34.78

4.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.5 $80.5

$104 €92.2

-22.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$171 $171

$119 €106

44.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,577 $1,577

$1,695 €1,508

-6.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,235 $1,235

$1,276 €1,135

-3.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,490 $2,490

$2,576 €2,291

-3.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,041 $2,041

$1,922 €1,710

6.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,557 $2,557

$7,281 €6,477

-64.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,351 $2,351

$5,010 €4,456

-53.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.64

3.28

102.44%

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

Last update for Monrovia, CA: October 17, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monrovia, CA

$1.2K 45.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 3.3% $41

Groceries & Markets

Monrovia, CA

$477 17.7%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 31.9% $152

Eating Out

Monrovia, CA

$381 14.1%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 29.2% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monrovia, CA

$362 13.4%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 36.6% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Monrovia, CA

$165 6.1%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 5% $8.3

Sport & Entertainment

Monrovia, CA

$63 2.3%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 23.1% $14

Getting Around

Monrovia, CA

$21 * 0.8%

Barcelona

$47 2% 121% $26

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 $1,577 in Monrovia, CA and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $101 in Monrovia, CA vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $477 vs $325 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Monrovia, CA

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:03 2:03 PM

23:03 11:03 PM

9 h ahead of Monrovia, CA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

36,590

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

Monrovia, CA Barcelona 9,630 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Monrovia, CA
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

Monrovia, CA vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monrovia, CA and Barcelona differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($2,704 vs $2,381 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,056 in Monrovia, CA and $3,571 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: $1,577 in Monrovia, CA versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,948 in Monrovia, CA 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 Barcelona – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $101 in Monrovia, CA. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Monrovia, CA 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Monrovia, CA. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.