Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Northampton and Barcelona

For one person, living costs are similar in Northampton and in Barcelona: $2,442 and $2,381 a month, rent and utilities included.

119

Cost of Living Index in Northampton
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Northampton Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Northampton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,442

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,442 in Northampton versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Northampton $2,442
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,518 in Northampton versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Northampton $3,518
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,593 in Northampton versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Northampton $4,593
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Northampton is roughly 3% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.21 £19.66

$17.89 €15.92

46.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.8 £59.9

$66.2 €58.9

20.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.68 £8.01

$13.69 €12.18

-21.99%

Cappuccino

$4.90 £3.67

$3.06 €2.72

60.13%

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

$2.48 £1.86

$3.07 €2.73

-19.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.94 €1.73

4.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.50 £4.13

$3.87 €3.44

42.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.52 £4.14

$4.61 €4.10

19.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.30 €1.16

13.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 £1.38

$2.10 €1.87

-12.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 £2.03

$1.83 €1.62

48.09%

Eggs

$4.22 £3.16

$4.62 €4.11

-8.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 £6.82

$17.36 €15.44

-47.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.10 £6.08

$9.28 €8.25

-12.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.44 £12.33

$19.83 €17.64

-17.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.41 £2.56

$3.01 €2.68

13.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 £1.22

$2.03 €1.81

-20.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.18 £2.39

$2.65 €2.36

20.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.40 £2.55

$2.87 €2.55

18.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 £0.90

$2.16 €1.92

-43.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$2.15 €1.91

-14.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 £0.98

$1.47 €1.31

-10.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.98

$0.88 €0.79

47.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.40 £17.56

$6.93 €6.16

237.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.77 £7.33

$7.83 €6.96

24.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 £2.49

$1.39 €1.24

138.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 £2.29

$2.63 €2.34

16.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.35 £2.51

$2.91 €2.59

15.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$121 £91.1

$25.46 €22.64

376.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.08 £3.06

$3.00 €2.66

36.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.02 £3.02

$1.44 €1.28

179.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.30 £23.48

$33.20 €29.53

-5.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.86 €1.65

11.29%

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

$37.8K £28.4K

$32.3K €28.8K

16.97%

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

$40.5K £30.3K

$31.7K €28.2K

27.59%

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

$366 £274

$183 €163

100.12%

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

$17.52 £13.14

$13.61 €12.11

28.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.18 £33.14

$32.93 €29.29

34.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.81 £23.86

$54.7 €48.65

-41.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.70 £15.53

$16.52 €14.70

25.30%

Cinema Ticket

$13.39 £10.05

$11.23 €9.99

19.23%

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

$1,601 £1,201

$954 €849

67.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.6 £63.4

$86.0 €76.5

-1.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.26 £30.20

$39.11 €34.78

2.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.9 £54.7

$104 €92.2

-29.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 £82.7

$119 €106

-7.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,099 £824

$1,695 €1,508

-35.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$996 £748

$1,276 €1,135

-21.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,661 £1,246

$2,576 €2,291

-35.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,540 £1,156

$1,922 €1,710

-19.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 £2,724

$7,281 €6,477

-50.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,526 £2,645

$5,010 €4,456

-29.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,640 £2,731

$2,227 €1,981

63.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.21

3.28

58.84%

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

Last update for Northampton: 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

Northampton

$996 40.8%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 28.1% $280

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Northampton

$427 17.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 46.4% $198

Eating Out

Northampton

$357 14.6%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 24.5% $88

Groceries & Markets

Northampton

$305 12.5%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 6.6% $20

Getting Around

Northampton

$159 6.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 70.2% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Northampton

$139 5.7%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 12.8% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Northampton

$59 2.4%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 31.7% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,099 in Northampton and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Northampton pays 63% 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: $80.0 in Northampton vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $305 vs $325, with Northampton cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Northampton

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

06:06 6:06 AM

07:06 7:06 AM

1 h ahead of Northampton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

245,899

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 23, 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 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Northampton Barcelona 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Northampton
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

Northampton vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Northampton and Barcelona differ by about 3% in total monthly costs ($2,442 vs $2,381 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 63% higher in Northampton, 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: $1,099 in Northampton versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,601 in Northampton versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Northampton pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,381 in Barcelona versus $2,442 in Northampton, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Northampton. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelona 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, Northampton 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 3% less than in Northampton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.