Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rochester and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Rochester: $2,132 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

104

Cost of Living Index in Rochester
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Rochester Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Rochester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,132

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,132 in Rochester versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Rochester $2,132
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,270 in Rochester versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Rochester $3,270
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,408 in Rochester versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Rochester $4,408
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Rochester costs roughly 10% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Rochester 57% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.66 £19.25

$17.89 €15.92

43.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$95.2 £71.4

$66.2 €58.9

43.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.06 £7.55

$13.69 €12.18

-26.52%

Cappuccino

$4.99 £3.74

$3.06 €2.72

63.07%

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

$2.35 £1.76

$3.07 €2.73

-23.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 £1.79

$1.94 €1.73

22.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.21 £3.91

$3.87 €3.44

34.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.68 £3.51

$4.61 €4.10

1.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 £1.36

$1.30 €1.16

39.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 £1.52

$2.10 €1.87

-3.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.83 €1.62

15.85%

Eggs

$3.55 £2.66

$4.62 €4.11

-23.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.21 £4.66

$17.36 €15.44

-64.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.46 £5.60

$9.28 €8.25

-19.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.78 £11.09

$19.83 €17.64

-25.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 £2.09

$3.01 €2.68

-7.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 £1.42

$2.03 €1.81

-6.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 £1.72

$2.65 €2.36

-13.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.29 £2.47

$2.87 €2.55

14.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 £1.45

$2.16 €1.92

-10.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 £0.90

$2.15 €1.91

-44.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.47 €1.31

-18.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 £1.30

$0.88 €0.79

96.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.04 £18.04

$6.93 €6.16

246.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.67 £8.01

$7.83 €6.96

36.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.06 £2.30

$1.39 €1.24

120.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 £2.36

$2.63 €2.34

19.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.10 £3.07

$2.91 €2.59

40.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.09 £3.82

$3.00 €2.66

69.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.67 £2.00

$1.44 €1.28

85.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.41 £29.57

$33.20 €29.53

18.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.86 €1.65

13.98%

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

$38.0K £28.5K

$32.3K €28.8K

17.55%

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

$40.3K £30.2K

$31.7K €28.2K

27.14%

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

$230 £173

$183 €163

26.09%

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

$16.51 £12.39

$13.61 €12.11

21.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.34 £27.27

$32.93 €29.29

10.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.16 £29.38

$54.7 €48.65

-28.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$17.33 £13.00

$11.23 €9.99

54.32%

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

$1,310 £983

$954 €849

37.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.8K £23.1K

$16.6K €14.8K

85.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.7 £68.8

$86.0 €76.5

6.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.03 £34.53

$39.11 €34.78

17.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 £77.6

$104 €92.2

-0.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.3 £68.5

$119 €106

-23.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,536 £1,152

$1,695 €1,508

-9.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$952 £714

$1,276 €1,135

-25.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,079 £1,560

$2,576 €2,291

-19.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 £1,271

$1,922 €1,710

-11.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,339 £4,005

$7,281 €6,477

-26.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,521 £3,392

$5,010 €4,456

-9.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,403 £2,553

$2,227 €1,981

52.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

3.28

56.10%

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

Last update for Rochester: 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

Rochester

$952 44.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 34.1% $325

Eating Out

Rochester

$350 16.4%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 22.9% $80

Groceries & Markets

Rochester

$289 13.6%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 12.5% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rochester

$283 13.3%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 19.1% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Rochester

$150 7%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 4.5% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Rochester

$74 3.5%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 4.5% $3.3

Getting Around

Rochester

$35 * 1.6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 35.8% $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 $1,536 in Rochester and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rochester pays 53% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $95.0 in Rochester vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $289 vs $325, with Rochester cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Rochester

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

20:51 8:51 PM

21:51 9:51 PM

1 h ahead of Rochester

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

62,982

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 24, 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 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rochester Barcelona 1,120 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Rochester
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

Rochester vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rochester and Barcelona differ by about 12% in total monthly costs ($2,132 vs $2,381 including rent). Rochester is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 53% higher in Rochester, 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: $1,536 in Rochester versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,310 in Rochester 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 Rochester – a meal for two runs $95.0 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,132 in Rochester versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rochester but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Rochester 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, Rochester 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 Rochester gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.