Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saint Louis, MO and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint Louis, MO: $2,361 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

114

Cost of Living Index in Saint Louis, MO
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Saint Louis, MO Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Saint Louis, MO

🇺🇸 United States

$2,361

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,361 in Saint Louis, MO versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Saint Louis, MO $2,361
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,555 in Saint Louis, MO versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Saint Louis, MO $3,555
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,749 in Saint Louis, MO versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Saint Louis, MO $4,749
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Saint Louis, MO costs roughly 4% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Saint Louis, MO 73% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.81 $17.81

$17.59 €15.76

1.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$76.3 $76.3

$67.5 €60.5

12.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.83 $11.83

$13.53 €12.12

-12.56%

Cappuccino

$5.04 $5.04

$3.19 €2.86

57.99%

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

$2.39 $2.39

$2.91 €2.61

-17.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 $1.76

$1.89 €1.70

-6.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.72 $5.72

$4.01 €3.59

42.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.96 $6.96

$4.53 €4.06

53.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 $1.28

$1.31 €1.17

-2.29%

White Bread (500g)

$3.93 $3.93

$2.02 €1.81

94.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.88 $5.88

$1.85 €1.66

217.84%

Eggs

$3.86 $3.86

$4.83 €4.33

-20.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.26 $13.26

$16.74 €15.00

-20.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.67 $15.67

$9.12 €8.17

71.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.61 $20.61

$19.64 €17.60

4.94%

Apples (1kg)

$8.44 $8.44

$2.98 €2.67

183.22%

Banana (1kg)

$2.37 $2.37

$2.02 €1.81

17.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.77 $5.77

$2.70 €2.42

113.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.15 $5.15

$2.80 €2.51

83.93%

Potato (1kg)

$4.38 $4.38

$2.09 €1.87

109.57%

Onion (1kg)

$4.93 $4.93

$2.07 €1.85

138.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.91 $2.91

$1.46 €1.31

99.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.93 $2.93

$0.94 €0.84

211.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.16 $8.16

$6.87 €6.16

18.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.85 $14.85

$7.89 €7.07

88.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 $2.79

$1.41 €1.26

97.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 $3.27

$2.54 €2.27

28.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.55 $2.55

$3.14 €2.82

-18.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.3 $78.3

$25.45 €22.80

207.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.44 $3.44

$2.99 €2.68

15.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 $1.59

$1.49 €1.34

6.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.27 $39.27

$33.37 €29.91

17.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 $1.00

$1.80 €1.61

-44.44%

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

$29.0K $29.0K

$33.2K €29.7K

-12.60%

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

$26.6K $26.6K

$31.7K €28.4K

-16.22%

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

$246 $246

$180 €162

36.44%

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

$69.5 $69.5

$13.84 €12.40

402.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$75.7 $75.7

$33.70 €30.20

124.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.83 $28.83

$51.5 €46.16

-44.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.14 $20.14

$15.96 €14.30

26.19%

Cinema Ticket

$13.75 $13.75

$10.99 €9.85

25.11%

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

$1,404 $1,404

$917 €821

53.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.6K $23.6K

$16.5K €14.8K

43.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 $58.9

$87.0 €78.0

-32.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.31 $39.31

$38.51 €34.51

2.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.3 $88.3

$106 €94.8

-16.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 $121

$120 €107

1.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,453 $1,453

$1,699 €1,523

-14.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$881 $881

$1,355 €1,214

-34.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,797 $1,797

$2,603 €2,332

-30.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,519 $1,519

$2,062 €1,848

-26.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,631 $1,631

$6,915 €6,196

-76.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,819 $1,819

$5,128 €4,595

-64.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,178 $4,178

$2,211 €1,981

88.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.72

3.28

104.88%

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

Last update for Saint Louis, MO: October 27, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Saint Louis, MO

$881 37.3%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 53.8% $474

Groceries & Markets

Saint Louis, MO

$496 21%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 35.1% $174

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saint Louis, MO

$391 16.6%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 41.8% $163

Eating Out

Saint Louis, MO

$297 12.6%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 9.9% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Saint Louis, MO

$138 5.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 14.2% $20

Getting Around

Saint Louis, MO

$100 4.2%

Barcelona

$48 2% 51.5% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Saint Louis, MO

$56 2.4%

Barcelona

$74 3% 30.5% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,453 in Saint Louis, MO and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint Louis, MO pays 89% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $76 in Saint Louis, MO vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $496 vs $322 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Saint Louis, MO

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

04:05 4:05 AM

11:05 11:05 AM

7 h ahead of Saint Louis, MO

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

301,578

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

Saint Louis, MO Barcelona 7,470 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Saint Louis, MO
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 Louis, MO vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,361 in Saint Louis, MO and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Saint Louis, MO is about 4% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 89% higher in Saint Louis, MO, 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: $1,453 in Saint Louis, MO versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,404 in Saint Louis, MO 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 35% 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.