Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scarborough and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Scarborough: $2,130 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.

103

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Scarborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,130

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,130 in Scarborough versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Scarborough $2,130
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,096 in Scarborough versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Scarborough $3,096
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,062 in Scarborough versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Scarborough $4,062
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Scarborough costs roughly 11% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.36 £11.53

$17.89 €15.92

-14.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.1 £53.4

$66.2 €58.9

7.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.12 £9.09

$13.69 €12.18

-11.47%

Cappuccino

$3.51 £2.63

$3.06 €2.72

14.71%

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

$2.05 £1.53

$3.07 €2.73

-33.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 £0.77

$1.94 €1.73

-47.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.58 £3.44

$3.87 €3.44

18.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 £3.22

$4.61 €4.10

-6.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.30 €1.16

-0.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 £1.03

$2.10 €1.87

-34.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.08 £0.81

$1.83 €1.62

-40.98%

Eggs

$3.60 £2.70

$4.62 €4.11

-22.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.92 £5.94

$17.36 €15.44

-54.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.18 £5.39

$9.28 €8.25

-22.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.94 £10.46

$19.83 €17.64

-29.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.13 £2.35

$3.01 €2.68

3.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.99 £1.49

$2.03 €1.81

-1.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 £1.99

$2.65 €2.36

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 £1.57

$2.87 €2.55

-27.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 £1.30

$2.16 €1.92

-19.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 £1.21

$2.15 €1.91

-24.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.87

$1.47 €1.31

-21.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 £1.43

$0.88 €0.79

117.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.58 £16.94

$6.93 €6.16

225.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 £7.19

$7.83 €6.96

22.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.65 £2.74

$1.39 €1.24

162.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.60 £2.70

$2.63 €2.34

36.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.30 £2.48

$2.91 €2.59

13.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.0 £64.5

$25.46 €22.64

237.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.73 £4.30

$3.00 €2.66

91.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.97 £3.73

$1.44 €1.28

245.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.58 £25.19

$33.20 €29.53

1.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 £1.48

$1.86 €1.65

6.45%

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

$36.0K £27.0K

$32.3K €28.8K

11.22%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$31.7K €28.2K

25.89%

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

$356 £267

$183 €163

94.82%

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

$25.99 £19.50

$13.61 €12.11

90.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 £24.56

$32.93 €29.29

-0.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.1 £49.59

$54.7 €48.65

20.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.67 £9.50

$16.52 €14.70

-23.31%

Cinema Ticket

$10.66 £7.99

$11.23 €9.99

-5.08%

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

$1,804 £1,353

$954 €849

89.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K £11.1K

$16.6K €14.8K

-11.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.3 £49.73

$86.0 €76.5

-22.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.54 £26.66

$39.11 €34.78

-9.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 £81.3

$104 €92.2

4.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.2

$119 €106

-4.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$867 £651

$1,695 €1,508

-48.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$831 £624

$1,276 €1,135

-34.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,524 £1,143

$2,576 €2,291

-40.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,365 £1,024

$1,922 €1,710

-28.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$910 £683

$2,227 €1,981

-59.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

3.28

68.60%

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

Last update for Scarborough: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Scarborough

$831 39%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 53.6% $445

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scarborough

$415 19.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 44.7% $185

Groceries & Markets

Scarborough

$276 13%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 17.8% $49

Eating Out

Scarborough

$245 11.5%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 9.9% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Scarborough

$146 6.8%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 7.3% $11

Getting Around

Scarborough

$130 6.1%

Barcelona

$47 2% 63.6% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Scarborough

$87 4.1%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 11.7% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $867 in Scarborough and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 145% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $71.0 in Scarborough vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $276 vs $325, with Scarborough cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Scarborough

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

04:05 4:05 AM

05:05 5:05 AM

1 h ahead of Scarborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

61,749

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 21, 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Scarborough Barcelona 1,450 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Scarborough
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

Scarborough vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Scarborough and Barcelona differ by about 12% in total monthly costs ($2,130 vs $2,381 including rent). Scarborough is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 145% lower in Barcelona. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $867 in Scarborough versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,804 in Scarborough versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,130 in Scarborough versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Scarborough but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Scarborough 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, Scarborough 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 Scarborough 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.