Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nagano and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Nagano: $1,231 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Nagano
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Nagano Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Nagano

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,231

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,231 in Nagano versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Nagano $1,231
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,891 in Nagano versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Nagano $1,891
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,550 in Nagano versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Nagano $2,550
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Nagano costs roughly 48% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nagano is 9% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.45 ¥1,019

$17.89 €15.92

-63.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.32 ¥6,370

$66.2 €58.9

-39.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.13 ¥810

$13.69 €12.18

-62.53%

Cappuccino

$3.37 ¥532

$3.06 €2.72

10.13%

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

$1.06 ¥167

$3.07 €2.73

-65.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.80 ¥126

$1.94 €1.73

-58.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ¥409

$3.87 €3.44

-33.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 ¥483

$4.61 €4.10

-33.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 ¥228

$1.30 €1.16

11.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 ¥260

$2.10 €1.87

-21.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.57 ¥564

$1.83 €1.62

95.08%

Eggs

$1.99 ¥315

$4.62 €4.11

-56.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.32 ¥1,630

$17.36 €15.44

-40.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.17 ¥975

$9.28 €8.25

-33.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.40 ¥2,275

$19.83 €17.64

-27.38%

Apples (1kg)

$5.82 ¥919

$3.01 €2.68

93.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.69 ¥425

$2.03 €1.81

32.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 ¥448

$2.65 €2.36

7.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.06 ¥642

$2.87 €2.55

41.46%

Potato (1kg)

$2.50 ¥396

$2.16 €1.92

15.74%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 ¥401

$2.15 €1.91

18.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 ¥197

$1.47 €1.31

-14.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥121

$0.88 €0.79

-13.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.68 ¥582

$6.93 €6.16

-46.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.21 ¥982

$7.83 €6.96

-20.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ¥287

$1.39 €1.24

30.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 ¥317

$2.63 €2.34

-23.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.31 ¥207

$2.91 €2.59

-54.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$51.2 ¥8,082

$25.46 €22.64

100.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 ¥501

$3.00 €2.66

5.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 ¥427

$1.44 €1.28

87.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.17 ¥3,187

$33.20 €29.53

-39.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ¥166

$1.86 €1.65

-43.55%

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

$21.6K ¥3.4M

$32.3K €28.8K

-33.22%

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

$15.5K ¥2.4M

$31.7K €28.2K

-51.19%

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

$130 ¥20.6K

$183 €163

-28.79%

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

$23.91 ¥3,778

$13.61 €12.11

75.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.76 ¥2,016

$32.93 €29.29

-61.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.1 ¥8,387

$54.7 €48.65

-2.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$12.71 ¥2,008

$11.23 €9.99

13.18%

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

$622 ¥98.3K

$954 €849

-34.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.9K ¥2.4M

$16.6K €14.8K

-10.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.8 ¥9,759

$86.0 €76.5

-28.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.29 ¥5,733

$39.11 €34.78

-7.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.0 ¥9,797

$104 €92.2

-40.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 ¥15.8K

$119 €106

-15.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$557 ¥88.0K

$1,695 €1,508

-67.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$375 ¥59.2K

$1,276 €1,135

-70.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,142 ¥180.4K

$2,576 €2,291

-55.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 ¥102.4K

$1,922 €1,710

-66.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,188 ¥661.7K

$7,281 €6,477

-42.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,974 ¥311.9K

$5,010 €4,456

-60.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$627 ¥99.0K

$2,227 €1,981

-71.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.64

3.28

-19.51%

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

Last update for Nagano: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nagano

$375 30.4%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 241% $901

Groceries & Markets

Nagano

$287 23.3%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 13.1% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nagano

$167 13.6%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 37.5% $62

Eating Out

Nagano

$134 10.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 101% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Nagano

$117 9.5%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 33.5% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Nagano

$79 6.4%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 1.7% $1.4

Getting Around

Nagano

$73 5.9%

Barcelona

$47 2% 35.3% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $557 in Nagano and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 255% 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: $40.00 in Nagano vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $325 per month, with Nagano cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Nagano

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

11:59 11:59 AM

04:59 4:59 AM

7 h behind Nagano

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

372,760

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 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 October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nagano Barcelona 10,250 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Nagano
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

Nagano vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nagano and Barcelona differ by about 93% in total monthly costs ($1,231 vs $2,381 including rent). Nagano is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 255% lower in Barcelona. 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: $557 in Nagano versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $622 in Nagano versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,231 in Nagano versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nagano but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Nagano 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, Nagano 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 Nagano gentler on the wallet – expenses run 93% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.