Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stafford and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Stafford: $2,241 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Stafford
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Stafford Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Stafford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,241

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,241 in Stafford versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Stafford $2,241
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,310 in Stafford versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Stafford $3,310
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,379 in Stafford versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Stafford $4,379
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Stafford costs roughly 9% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Stafford 65% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.91 £14.96

$17.59 €15.80

13.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.5 £55.3

$67.5 €60.6

8.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.48 £7.88

$13.53 €12.15

-22.54%

Cappuccino

$4.54 £3.41

$3.19 €2.87

42.32%

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

$2.09 £1.57

$2.91 €2.62

-28.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.89 €1.70

-9.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.59 £4.96

$4.01 €3.60

64.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.20 £3.91

$4.53 €4.07

14.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 £1.32

$1.31 €1.17

33.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.52 £1.14

$2.02 €1.81

-24.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.85 €1.66

15.14%

Eggs

$3.46 £2.60

$4.83 €4.34

-28.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.97 £7.49

$16.74 €15.04

-40.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.13 £6.86

$9.12 €8.19

0.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.81 £9.62

$19.64 €17.64

-34.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 £2.24

$2.98 €2.68

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$2.02 €1.81

-11.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.69 £2.77

$2.70 €2.43

36.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.53 £2.65

$2.80 €2.52

26.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 £1.55

$2.09 €1.87

-1.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$2.07 €1.86

-15.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 £0.90

$1.46 €1.31

-18.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 £1.29

$0.94 €0.84

82.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.68 £16.29

$6.87 €6.17

215.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.49 £7.13

$7.89 €7.09

20.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.49 £2.62

$1.41 €1.26

147.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.81 £2.86

$2.54 €2.28

50.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.62 £3.48

$3.14 €2.82

47.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.9 £70.5

$25.45 €22.86

268.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.74 £2.06

$2.99 €2.69

-8.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.49 €1.34

-8.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.18 £18.92

$33.37 €29.99

-24.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.55

$1.80 €1.62

14.44%

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

$37.9K £28.5K

$33.2K €29.8K

14.28%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$31.7K €28.5K

26.37%

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

$296 £222

$180 €162

63.99%

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

$20.06 £15.07

$13.84 €12.43

44.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.85 £31.46

$33.70 €30.28

24.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.70 £30.59

$51.5 €46.28

-20.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.31 £14.51

$15.96 €14.34

20.99%

Cinema Ticket

$15.75 £11.83

$10.99 €9.88

43.31%

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

$1,246 £936

$917 €824

35.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.7K £20.8K

$16.5K €14.8K

67.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.2 £56.5

$87.0 €78.2

-13.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.72 £35.11

$38.51 €34.60

21.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.2 £63.3

$106 €95.1

-20.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.5 £74.1

$120 €108

-17.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,134 £852

$1,699 €1,527

-33.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$942 £708

$1,355 €1,218

-30.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,620 £1,218

$2,603 €2,339

-37.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,596 £1,200

$2,062 €1,853

-22.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,987 £2,997

$6,915 €6,213

-42.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,432 £2,579

$5,128 €4,607

-33.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,991 £2,248

$2,211 €1,986

35.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.37

3.28

63.72%

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

Last update for Stafford: 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

Stafford

$942 42%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 43.9% $413

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stafford

$358 16%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 36.3% $130

Groceries & Markets

Stafford

$306 13.7%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 5.1% $16

Eating Out

Stafford

$304 13.6%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 11.8% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Stafford

$137 6.1%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 15.2% $21

Getting Around

Stafford

$122 5.4%

Barcelona

$48 2% 60.2% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Stafford

$72 3.2%

Barcelona

$74 3% 1.8% $1.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,134 in Stafford and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stafford pays 35% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $74 in Stafford vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $306 vs $322, with Stafford cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Stafford

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:04 2:04 PM

15:04 3:04 PM

1 h ahead of Stafford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

71,673

1,660,122

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.752 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.836 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Stafford Barcelona 1,310 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Stafford
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

Stafford vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Stafford and Barcelona differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($2,241 vs $2,453 including rent). Stafford is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 35% higher in Stafford, 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: $1,134 in Stafford versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,246 in Stafford versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 5% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Stafford is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Stafford 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.