Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wakayama and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Wakayama: $1,276 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Wakayama
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Wakayama Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Wakayama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,276

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,276 in Wakayama versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Wakayama $1,276
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,031 in Wakayama versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Wakayama $2,031
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,785 in Wakayama versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Wakayama $2,785
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Wakayama costs roughly 46% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Wakayama is 6% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.47 ¥1,022

$17.89 €15.92

-63.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.22 ¥4,932

$66.2 €58.9

-52.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.89 ¥773

$13.69 €12.18

-64.28%

Cappuccino

$2.46 ¥389

$3.06 €2.72

-19.61%

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

$1.25 ¥197

$3.07 €2.73

-59.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 ¥136

$1.94 €1.73

-55.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 ¥506

$3.87 €3.44

-17.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ¥293

$4.61 €4.10

-59.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ¥248

$1.30 €1.16

20.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 ¥242

$2.10 €1.87

-27.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.27 ¥675

$1.83 €1.62

133.33%

Eggs

$2.11 ¥334

$4.62 €4.11

-54.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.04 ¥2,534

$17.36 €15.44

-7.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.05 ¥1,114

$9.28 €8.25

-24.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.10 ¥2,701

$19.83 €17.64

-13.77%

Apples (1kg)

$8.20 ¥1,296

$3.01 €2.68

172.43%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 ¥478

$2.03 €1.81

48.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.15 ¥814

$2.65 €2.36

94.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.94 ¥1,255

$2.87 €2.55

176.66%

Potato (1kg)

$4.01 ¥633

$2.16 €1.92

85.65%

Onion (1kg)

$4.59 ¥726

$2.15 €1.91

113.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 ¥179

$1.47 €1.31

-22.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥139

$0.88 €0.79

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 ¥630

$6.93 €6.16

-42.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.33 ¥1,475

$7.83 €6.96

19.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.49 ¥393

$1.39 €1.24

79.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 ¥340

$2.63 €2.34

-18.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 ¥236

$2.91 €2.59

-48.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.8 ¥8,496

$25.46 €22.64

111.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.07 ¥485

$3.00 €2.66

2.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.91 ¥460

$1.44 €1.28

102.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.69 ¥2,478

$33.20 €29.53

-52.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 ¥167

$1.86 €1.65

-43.01%

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

$22.0K ¥3.5M

$32.3K €28.8K

-32.04%

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

$15.0K ¥2.4M

$31.7K €28.2K

-52.56%

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

$117 ¥18.4K

$183 €163

-36.12%

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

$23.45 ¥3,705

$13.61 €12.11

72.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.45 ¥4,968

$32.93 €29.29

-4.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.3 ¥8,109

$54.7 €48.65

-6.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.21 ¥1,771

$11.23 €9.99

-0.18%

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

$564 ¥89.1K

$954 €849

-40.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ¥2.3M

$16.6K €14.8K

-10.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.37 ¥7,800

$86.0 €76.5

-42.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.42 ¥5,596

$39.11 €34.78

-9.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.4 ¥9,385

$104 €92.2

-42.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 ¥15.6K

$119 €106

-16.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$526 ¥83.1K

$1,695 €1,508

-68.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$337 ¥53.3K

$1,276 €1,135

-73.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,093 ¥172.7K

$2,576 €2,291

-57.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$738 ¥116.5K

$1,922 €1,710

-61.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,206 ¥664.5K

$7,281 €6,477

-42.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,756 ¥277.4K

$5,010 €4,456

-64.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,965 ¥626.4K

$2,227 €1,981

78.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.67

3.28

-49.09%

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

Last update for Wakayama: October 17, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Wakayama

$382 30%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 15% $57

Accommodation & Living

Wakayama

$337 26.4%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 278% $939

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wakayama

$172 13.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 33.6% $58

Eating Out

Wakayama

$124 9.7%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 117% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Wakayama

$109 8.6%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 43.1% $47

Getting Around

Wakayama

$77 6.1%

Barcelona

$47 2% 38.9% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Wakayama

$74 5.8%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 4.6% $3.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $526 in Wakayama and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wakayama pays 78% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31.00 in Wakayama vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $382 vs $325, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Wakayama

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

09:54 9:54 AM

02:54 2:54 AM

7 h behind Wakayama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

362,163

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Wakayama Barcelona 10,330 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Wakayama
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

Wakayama vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Wakayama and Barcelona differ by about 87% in total monthly costs ($1,276 vs $2,381 including rent). Wakayama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 78% higher in Wakayama, 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: $526 in Wakayama versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $564 in Wakayama versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 18% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,276 in Wakayama versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Wakayama but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Wakayama 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, Wakayama 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 Wakayama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 87% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.