Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saint-Etienne and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint-Etienne: $1,436 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

69

Cost of Living Index in Saint-Etienne
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Saint-Etienne Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Saint-Etienne

🇫🇷 France

$1,436

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,436 in Saint-Etienne versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Saint-Etienne $1,436
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,264 in Saint-Etienne versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Saint-Etienne $2,264
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,092 in Saint-Etienne versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Saint-Etienne $3,092
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Saint-Etienne costs roughly 41% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Saint-Etienne 6% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.56 €14.88

$17.59 €15.80

-5.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.7 €50.9

$67.5 €60.6

-16.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.54 €12.16

$13.53 €12.15

0.07%

Cappuccino

$2.07 €1.86

$3.19 €2.87

-35.11%

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

$3.42 €3.07

$2.91 €2.62

17.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 €1.53

$1.89 €1.70

-10.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.07 €4.55

$4.01 €3.60

26.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 €5.16

$4.53 €4.07

26.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.31 €1.17

-1.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 €0.99

$2.02 €1.81

-45.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 €1.88

$1.85 €1.66

12.97%

Eggs

$3.05 €2.74

$4.83 €4.34

-36.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.01 €15.28

$16.74 €15.03

1.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.17 €10.03

$9.12 €8.19

22.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.35 €14.68

$19.64 €17.64

-16.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 €2.94

$2.98 €2.68

9.73%

Banana (1kg)

$2.54 €2.28

$2.02 €1.81

25.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.45 €2.20

$2.70 €2.43

-9.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.43

$2.80 €2.52

-3.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 €1.41

$2.09 €1.87

-24.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.07 €1.86

-16.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.46 €1.31

-24.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.30 €2.07

$0.94 €0.84

144.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.15 €10.91

$6.87 €6.17

76.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.14 €9.11

$7.89 €7.08

28.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 €2.99

$1.41 €1.26

135.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 €2.93

$2.54 €2.28

28.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.81 €1.62

$3.14 €2.82

-42.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.87 €35.82

$25.45 €22.86

56.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 €2.54

$2.99 €2.69

-5.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 €1.89

$1.80 €1.61

17.22%

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

$20.1K €18.0K

$33.2K €29.8K

-39.50%

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

$32.0K €28.7K

$31.7K €28.5K

0.88%

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

$164 €148

$180 €162

-8.91%

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

$29.01 €26.06

$13.84 €12.43

109.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.04 €17.11

$33.70 €30.27

-43.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.86 €26.82

$51.5 €46.27

-42.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.61 €5.94

$15.96 €14.34

-58.58%

Cinema Ticket

$9.89 €8.88

$10.99 €9.88

-10.01%

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

$996 €894

$917 €823

8.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K €14.2K

$16.5K €14.8K

-4.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 €64.8

$87.0 €78.2

-17.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.47 €27.37

$38.51 €34.59

-20.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$106 €95.1

-2.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 €135

$120 €108

25.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$515 €463

$1,699 €1,527

-69.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 €332

$1,355 €1,217

-72.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$873 €785

$2,603 €2,338

-66.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$716 €643

$2,062 €1,853

-65.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,677 €1,506

$6,915 €6,211

-75.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,619 €1,454

$5,128 €4,606

-68.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,255 €2,026

$2,211 €1,986

2.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

3.28

11.89%

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

Last update for Saint-Etienne: 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

Saint-Etienne

$370 25.8%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 266% $985

Groceries & Markets

Saint-Etienne

$339 23.6%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 5% $17

Eating Out

Saint-Etienne

$255 17.8%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 5% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saint-Etienne

$212 14.8%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 7.3% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Saint-Etienne

$160 11.2%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 1.4% $2.2

Getting Around

Saint-Etienne

$50 * 3.5%

Barcelona

$48 2% 2.9% $1.5

Sport & Entertainment

Saint-Etienne

$50 3.5%

Barcelona

$74 3% 48.1% $24

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 $515 in Saint-Etienne and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $57 in Saint-Etienne vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $339 vs $322, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Saint-Etienne

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

15:03 3:03 PM

Same time as Saint-Etienne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

172,718

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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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

Saint-Etienne vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Saint-Etienne and Barcelona differ by about 71% in total monthly costs ($1,436 vs $2,453 including rent). Saint-Etienne is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,154 in Saint-Etienne and $3,679 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: $515 in Saint-Etienne versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $996 in Saint-Etienne 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 5% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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, Saint-Etienne 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.