Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Roanoke, VA and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Roanoke, VA: $2,127 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

103

Cost of Living Index in Roanoke, VA
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Roanoke, VA Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Roanoke, VA

🇺🇸 United States

$2,127

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,127 in Roanoke, VA versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Roanoke, VA $2,127
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,041 in Roanoke, VA versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Roanoke, VA $3,041
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,955 in Roanoke, VA versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Roanoke, VA $3,955
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Roanoke, VA costs roughly 13% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Roanoke, VA 56% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.21 $17.21

$17.59 €15.75

-2.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 $55.1

$67.5 €60.5

-18.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.46 $11.46

$13.53 €12.12

-15.30%

Cappuccino

$5.29 $5.29

$3.19 €2.86

65.83%

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

$2.32 $2.32

$2.91 €2.61

-20.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 $2.38

$1.89 €1.70

25.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.43 $4.43

$4.01 €3.59

10.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.98 $6.98

$4.53 €4.06

54.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.91 $0.91

$1.31 €1.17

-30.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 $2.94

$2.02 €1.81

45.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.46 $4.46

$1.85 €1.66

141.08%

Eggs

$3.37 $3.37

$4.83 €4.33

-30.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.92 $13.92

$16.74 €14.99

-16.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.30 $10.30

$9.12 €8.17

12.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.79 $16.79

$19.64 €17.59

-14.51%

Apples (1kg)

$5.48 $5.48

$2.98 €2.67

83.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 $1.21

$2.02 €1.81

-40.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.83 $3.83

$2.70 €2.42

41.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.51 $4.51

$2.80 €2.51

61.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 $2.31

$2.09 €1.87

10.53%

Onion (1kg)

$3.08 $3.08

$2.07 €1.85

48.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.10 $2.10

$1.46 €1.31

43.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.12 $2.12

$0.94 €0.84

125.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.09 $9.09

$6.87 €6.15

32.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.90 $11.90

$7.89 €7.06

50.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 $1.68

$1.41 €1.26

19.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.44 $1.44

$2.54 €2.27

-43.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.80 $1.80

$3.14 €2.82

-42.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.9 $56.9

$25.45 €22.79

123.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 $0.60

$1.49 €1.34

-59.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 $0.87

$1.80 €1.61

-51.67%

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

$35.9K $35.9K

$33.2K €29.7K

8.12%

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

$26.0K $26.0K

$31.7K €28.4K

-17.83%

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

$122 $122

$180 €162

-32.60%

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

$55.2 $55.2

$13.84 €12.39

298.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$64.1 $64.1

$33.70 €30.18

90.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.30 $37.30

$51.5 €46.13

-27.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.28 $23.28

$15.96 €14.29

45.86%

Cinema Ticket

$12.30 $12.30

$10.99 €9.85

11.92%

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

$559 $559

$917 €821

-39.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.98 $44.98

$87.0 €77.9

-48.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.85 $34.85

$38.51 €34.49

-9.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.0 $93.0

$106 €94.8

-12.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 $133

$120 €107

11.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,165 $1,165

$1,699 €1,522

-31.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$961 $961

$1,355 €1,214

-29.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 $1,892

$2,603 €2,331

-27.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,359 $1,359

$2,062 €1,847

-34.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,163 $2,163

$6,915 €6,193

-68.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,844 $1,844

$5,128 €4,592

-64.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,298 $3,298

$2,211 €1,980

49.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.81

3.28

107.62%

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

Last update for Roanoke, VA: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Roanoke, VA

$961 45.2%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 41% $394

Groceries & Markets

Roanoke, VA

$368 17.3%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 12.5% $46

Eating Out

Roanoke, VA

$291 13.7%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 7.8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Roanoke, VA

$241 11.3%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 5.4% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Roanoke, VA

$138 6.5%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 14.8% $20

Getting Around

Roanoke, VA

$67 * 3.2%

Barcelona

$48 2% 27.7% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Roanoke, VA

$62 2.9%

Barcelona

$74 3% 18.8% $12

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 $1,165 in Roanoke, VA and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Roanoke, VA pays 49% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55 in Roanoke, VA vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $368 vs $322, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Roanoke, VA

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

12:48 12:48 PM

18:48 6:48 PM

6 h ahead of Roanoke, VA

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

99,837

1,660,122

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Roanoke, VA Barcelona 6,800 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Roanoke, VA
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

Roanoke, VA vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,127 in Roanoke, VA and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Roanoke, VA is about 13% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 49% higher in Roanoke, VA, 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: $1,165 in Roanoke, VA versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $559 in Roanoke, VA versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 13% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Roanoke, VA gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.