Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Helens and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in St Helens: $1,993 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

97

Cost of Living Index in St Helens
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St Helens Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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St Helens

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,993

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,993 in St Helens versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

St Helens $1,993
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,045 in St Helens versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

St Helens $3,045
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,098 in St Helens versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

St Helens $4,098
Barcelona $4,421

Living in St Helens costs roughly 17% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St Helens 48% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.90 £20.18

$17.94 €15.96

49.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.6 £59.0

$68.1 €60.5

15.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.48 £7.86

$13.28 €11.81

-21.08%

Cappuccino

$4.08 £3.06

$3.25 €2.89

25.54%

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

$2.37 £1.78

$3.01 €2.67

-21.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 £1.50

$1.87 €1.66

6.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.36 £4.02

$3.85 €3.42

39.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 £3.41

$4.48 €3.98

1.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.29 €1.15

3.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.77 £1.33

$2.04 €1.81

-13.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.72 €1.53

12.79%

Eggs

$4.01 £3.01

$4.77 €4.24

-15.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 £6.75

$16.77 €14.92

-46.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.28 £6.21

$8.93 €7.94

-7.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.66 £7.99

$19.88 €17.68

-46.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 £2.44

$2.98 €2.65

9.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 £0.97

$2.03 €1.80

-35.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 £2.27

$2.73 €2.43

10.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.45 £2.59

$2.68 €2.38

28.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 £0.86

$2.10 €1.87

-45.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$2.08 €1.85

-12.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.45 €1.29

-10.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.98

$0.89 €0.79

46.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.59 £14.70

$6.94 €6.17

182.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.96 £7.47

$7.78 €6.92

28.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.86 £2.14

$1.45 €1.29

97.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 £1.95

$2.57 €2.29

1.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.65 £1.99

$2.99 €2.66

-11.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 £75.1

$25.20 €22.41

297.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.37 £2.53

$3.12 €2.77

8.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.44 €1.28

43.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.82 £11.87

$33.50 €29.80

-52.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.79 €1.59

8.38%

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

$26.4K £19.8K

$34.6K €30.8K

-23.74%

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

$33.6K £25.2K

$30.1K €26.7K

11.88%

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

$365 £274

$178 €158

105.02%

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

$17.20 £12.91

$13.32 €11.85

29.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.87 £32.91

$34.88 €31.03

25.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.94 £20.21

$53.3 €47.37

-49.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.85 £2.89

$16.01 €14.24

-75.95%

Cinema Ticket

$13.42 £10.07

$11.06 €9.84

21.34%

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

$805 £604

$957 €851

-15.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,625 £4,971

$16.6K €14.7K

-60.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.0 £48.78

$88.2 €78.4

-26.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.08 £29.32

$39.49 €35.12

-1.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.3 £54.3

$103 €91.5

-29.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 £81.7

$121 €108

-10.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$797 £598

$1,653 €1,470

-51.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$636 £477

$1,302 €1,158

-51.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,503 £1,128

$2,557 €2,275

-41.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,257 £943

$1,915 €1,703

-34.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,315 £2,487

$7,286 €6,481

-54.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,308 £1,731

$5,080 €4,519

-54.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,863 £1,398

$2,281 €2,029

-18.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.21

3.28

58.84%

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

Last update for St Helens: October 11, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Helens

$636 31.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 105% $666

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Helens

$426 21.4%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 46.9% $200

Eating Out

St Helens

$349 17.5%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 22.6% $79

Groceries & Markets

St Helens

$276 13.9%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 16% $44

Clothing & Footwear

St Helens

$128 6.4%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 23.3% $30

Getting Around

St Helens

$124 6.2%

Barcelona

$47 2% 61.9% $77

Sport & Entertainment

St Helens

$54 2.7%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 40.2% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $797 in St Helens and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 22% 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: $79.0 in St Helens vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $276 vs $320, with St Helens cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 St Helens

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

00:08 12:08 AM

01:08 1:08 AM

1 h ahead of St Helens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

183,200

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 19, 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 19, 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

St Helens Barcelona 1,390 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

St Helens
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

St Helens vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St Helens and Barcelona differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,993 vs $2,399 including rent). St Helens is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 22% 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: $797 in St Helens versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $805 in St Helens versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,993 in St Helens versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in St Helens but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes St Helens 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, St Helens 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 St Helens gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.