Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saint John, New Brunswick and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint John, New Brunswick: $1,934 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

95

Cost of Living Index in Saint John, New Brunswick
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Saint John, New Brunswick Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Saint John, New Brunswick

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,934

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,934 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Saint John, New Brunswick $1,934
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,885 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Saint John, New Brunswick $2,885
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,836 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Saint John, New Brunswick $3,836
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Saint John, New Brunswick costs roughly 19% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Saint John, New Brunswick 43% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.31 CA$25.89

$17.94 €15.96

2.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.0 CA$83.5

$68.1 €60.5

-13.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.43 CA$14.75

$13.28 €11.81

-21.46%

Cappuccino

$3.00 CA$4.25

$3.25 €2.89

-7.69%

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

$1.69 CA$2.39

$3.01 €2.67

-43.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 CA$1.50

$1.87 €1.66

-43.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.43 CA$6.26

$3.85 €3.42

15.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 CA$7.08

$4.48 €3.98

11.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 CA$3.07

$1.29 €1.15

68.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 CA$3.77

$2.04 €1.81

30.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.12 CA$4.41

$1.72 €1.53

81.40%

Eggs

$3.45 CA$4.88

$4.77 €4.24

-27.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.17 CA$18.61

$16.77 €14.92

-21.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.72 CA$16.56

$8.93 €7.94

31.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 CA$18.06

$19.88 €17.68

-35.71%

Apples (1kg)

$4.79 CA$6.77

$2.98 €2.65

60.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 CA$2.08

$2.03 €1.80

-27.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.18 CA$5.91

$2.73 €2.43

53.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 CA$5.51

$2.68 €2.38

45.52%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 CA$2.83

$2.10 €1.87

-4.76%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 CA$3.11

$2.08 €1.85

5.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.47 CA$3.49

$1.45 €1.29

70.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 CA$1.99

$0.89 €0.79

58.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.92 CA$19.67

$6.94 €6.17

100.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.90 CA$13.99

$7.78 €6.92

27.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 CA$2.53

$1.45 €1.29

23.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 CA$3.00

$2.57 €2.29

-17.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.06 CA$2.92

$2.99 €2.66

-31.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.0 CA$79.2

$25.20 €22.41

122.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.92 CA$4.13

$3.12 €2.77

-6.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 CA$1.50

$1.44 €1.28

-26.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.34 CA$24.52

$33.50 €29.80

-48.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 CA$1.76

$1.79 €1.59

-30.17%

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

$24.3K CA$34.4K

$34.6K €30.8K

-29.74%

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

$18.8K CA$26.6K

$30.1K €26.7K

-37.48%

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

$120 CA$169

$178 €158

-32.81%

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

$41.55 CA$58.7

$13.32 €11.85

211.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$64.7 CA$91.4

$34.88 €31.03

85.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 CA$73.9

$53.3 €47.37

-1.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.03 CA$49.52

$16.01 €14.24

118.80%

Cinema Ticket

$12.78 CA$18.07

$11.06 €9.84

15.55%

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

$378 CA$534

$957 €851

-60.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K CA$15.7K

$16.6K €14.7K

-32.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.34 CA$68.3

$88.2 €78.4

-45.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.16 CA$49.71

$39.49 €35.12

-10.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 CA$145

$103 €91.5

-0.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 CA$150

$121 €108

-12.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$990 CA$1,400

$1,653 €1,470

-40.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$819 CA$1,158

$1,302 €1,158

-37.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,610 CA$2,277

$2,557 €2,275

-37.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,304 CA$1,843

$1,915 €1,703

-31.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,018 CA$2,854

$7,286 €6,481

-72.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,093 CA$2,959

$5,080 €4,519

-58.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,402 CA$3,396

$2,281 €2,029

5.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.69

3.28

42.99%

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

Last update for Saint John, New Brunswick: October 13, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Saint John, New Brunswick

$819 42.4%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 59% $483

Groceries & Markets

Saint John, New Brunswick

$350 18.1%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 8.6% $30

Eating Out

Saint John, New Brunswick

$257 13.3%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 5.1% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saint John, New Brunswick

$226 11.7%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 0.1% $0.3

Clothing & Footwear

Saint John, New Brunswick

$131 6.8%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 20.5% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Saint John, New Brunswick

$78 4%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 3.2% $2.5

Getting Around

Saint John, New Brunswick

$73 3.8%

Barcelona

$47 2% 34.5% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $990 in Saint John, New Brunswick and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint John, New Brunswick pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $59.0 in Saint John, New Brunswick vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $350 vs $320, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Saint John, New Brunswick

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

05:57 5:57 AM

10:57 10:57 AM

5 h ahead of Saint John, New Brunswick

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

70,063

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Saint John, New Brunswick Barcelona 5,370 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Saint John, New Brunswick
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

Saint John, New Brunswick vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Saint John, New Brunswick and Barcelona differ by about 24% in total monthly costs ($1,934 vs $2,399 including rent). Saint John, New Brunswick is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 5% higher in Saint John, New Brunswick, 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: $990 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $378 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,934 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Saint John, New Brunswick but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Saint John, New Brunswick 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, Saint John, New Brunswick 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 Saint John, New Brunswick gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.