Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Targu Jiu and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Targu Jiu: $966 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Targu Jiu
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Targu Jiu Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Targu Jiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$966

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $966 in Targu Jiu versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Targu Jiu $966
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,502 in Targu Jiu versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Targu Jiu $1,502
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,038 in Targu Jiu versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Targu Jiu $2,038
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Targu Jiu costs roughly 61% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Targu Jiu is 29% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.60 RON 70.2

$17.59 €15.80

-17.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.6 RON 277

$67.5 €60.6

-14.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.24 RON 34.80

$13.53 €12.15

-46.49%

Cappuccino

$3.56 RON 17.10

$3.19 €2.87

11.60%

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

$1.02 RON 4.93

$2.91 €2.62

-64.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 RON 10.64

$1.89 €1.70

16.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.67 RON 17.66

$4.01 €3.60

-8.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.23 RON 20.32

$4.53 €4.07

-6.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 8.03

$1.31 €1.17

27.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.28 RON 6.17

$2.02 €1.81

-36.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 RON 8.49

$1.85 €1.66

-4.32%

Eggs

$2.75 RON 13.21

$4.83 €4.34

-43.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.41 RON 35.63

$16.74 €15.03

-55.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.91 RON 13.99

$9.12 €8.19

-68.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.95 RON 33.40

$19.64 €17.64

-64.61%

Apples (1kg)

$0.91 RON 4.38

$2.98 €2.68

-69.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.17

$2.02 €1.81

-26.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.17 RON 5.60

$2.70 €2.43

-56.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.22 RON 5.84

$2.80 €2.52

-56.43%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.97

$2.09 €1.87

-60.29%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 RON 3.54

$2.07 €1.86

-64.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 RON 2.92

$1.46 €1.31

-58.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 RON 2.40

$0.94 €0.84

-46.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.21 RON 25.02

$6.87 €6.17

-24.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.00 RON 14.42

$7.89 €7.08

-61.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 RON 3.93

$1.41 €1.26

-41.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 RON 5.16

$2.54 €2.28

-57.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.65 RON 3.12

$2.99 €2.69

-78.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$1.49 €1.34

-59.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.39 RON 30.69

$33.37 €29.98

-80.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 RON 9.30

$1.80 €1.61

7.22%

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

$28.8K RON 138.4K

$33.2K €29.8K

-13.27%

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

$25.9K RON 124.3K

$31.7K €28.5K

-18.42%

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

$196 RON 943

$180 €162

8.81%

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

$6.01 RON 28.87

$13.84 €12.43

-56.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.32 RON 44.78

$33.70 €30.27

-72.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.49 RON 151

$51.5 €46.27

-38.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$8.34 RON 40.08

$10.99 €9.88

-24.11%

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

$676 RON 3,247

$917 €823

-26.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.3K RON 68.8K

$16.5K €14.8K

-13.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.38 RON 237

$87.0 €78.2

-43.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.42 RON 122

$38.51 €34.59

-33.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.7 RON 248

$106 €95.1

-51.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 RON 405

$120 €108

-29.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$353 RON 1,698

$1,699 €1,527

-79.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$233 RON 1,119

$1,355 €1,217

-82.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$478 RON 2,295

$2,603 €2,338

-81.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$403 RON 1,937

$2,062 €1,853

-80.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,555 RON 12.3K

$6,915 €6,211

-63.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$518 RON 2,490

$2,211 €1,986

-76.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.28

105.79%

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

Last update for Targu Jiu: 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

Targu Jiu

$233 24.1%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 482% $1.1K

Eating Out

Targu Jiu

$221 22.9%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 21.2% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Targu Jiu

$212 21.9%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 7.7% $16

Groceries & Markets

Targu Jiu

$154 16%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 109% $168

Clothing & Footwear

Targu Jiu

$95 9.8%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 66.6% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Targu Jiu

$48 5%

Barcelona

$74 3% 52.6% $25

Getting Around

Targu Jiu

$3.7 * 0.4%

Barcelona

$48 2% 1210% $45

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $353 in Targu Jiu and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $58 in Targu Jiu vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $154 vs $322 per month, with Targu Jiu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Targu Jiu

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

20:50 8:50 PM

19:50 7:50 PM

1 h behind Targu Jiu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

82,504

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

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

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Targu Jiu Barcelona 1,750 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Targu Jiu
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

Targu Jiu vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Targu Jiu and Barcelona differ by about 154% in total monthly costs ($966 vs $2,453 including rent). Targu Jiu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 77% lower in Targu Jiu. 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: $353 in Targu Jiu versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $676 in Targu Jiu versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Targu Jiu – a meal for two runs $58 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Targu Jiu 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.

It comes down to priorities – Targu Jiu wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.