Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wakefield and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Wakefield: $2,009 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

98

Cost of Living Index in Wakefield
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Wakefield Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Wakefield

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,009

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,009 in Wakefield versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Wakefield $2,009
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,209 in Wakefield versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Wakefield $3,209
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,410 in Wakefield versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Wakefield $4,410
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Wakefield costs roughly 16% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Wakefield 48% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.71 £14.79

$17.89 €15.92

10.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.2 £62.4

$66.2 €58.9

25.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.70 £7.28

$13.69 €12.18

-29.15%

Cappuccino

$4.26 £3.19

$3.06 €2.72

39.22%

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

$2.33 £1.75

$3.07 €2.73

-24.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.94 €1.73

-29.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.93 £4.45

$3.87 €3.44

53.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.38 £4.03

$4.61 €4.10

16.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.30 €1.16

10.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.88 £1.41

$2.10 €1.87

-10.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.63 £1.97

$1.83 €1.62

43.72%

Eggs

$4.05 £3.04

$4.62 €4.11

-12.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.62 £5.72

$17.36 €15.44

-56.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.34 £6.25

$9.28 €8.25

-10.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.06 £10.55

$19.83 €17.64

-29.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.25

$3.01 €2.68

-0.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 £1.06

$2.03 €1.81

-30.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.56 £1.92

$2.65 €2.36

-3.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 £2.15

$2.87 €2.55

Potato (1kg)

$1.81 £1.36

$2.16 €1.92

-16.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.61 £1.21

$2.15 €1.91

-25.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.47 €1.31

-17.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 £1.09

$0.88 €0.79

64.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.52 £16.90

$6.93 €6.16

224.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.76 £8.07

$7.83 €6.96

37.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.42 £2.56

$1.39 €1.24

146.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 £2.49

$2.63 €2.34

26.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.30 £2.47

$2.91 €2.59

13.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$105 £78.5

$25.46 €22.64

311.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.25 £3.94

$3.00 €2.66

75.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 £1.07

$1.44 €1.28

-1.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.75 £11.81

$33.20 €29.53

-52.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.86 €1.65

10.22%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$32.3K €28.8K

17.82%

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

$40.8K £30.6K

$31.7K €28.2K

28.85%

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

$342 £256

$183 €163

86.98%

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

$15.54 £11.66

$13.61 €12.11

14.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.64 £31.99

$32.93 €29.29

29.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.62 £25.97

$54.7 €48.65

-36.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.07 £20.31

$16.52 €14.70

63.86%

Cinema Ticket

$13.89 £10.42

$11.23 €9.99

23.69%

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

$1,217 £913

$954 €849

27.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K £18.4K

$16.6K €14.8K

47.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.9 £66.0

$86.0 €76.5

2.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.57

$39.11 €34.78

38.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.5 £67.9

$104 €92.2

-12.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 £68.0

$119 €106

-23.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 £737

$1,695 €1,508

-42.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$688 £516

$1,276 €1,135

-46.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,151 £1,614

$2,576 €2,291

-16.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,578 £1,184

$1,922 €1,710

-17.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,045 £3,034

$7,281 €6,477

-44.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,678 £2,009

$5,010 €4,456

-46.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,420 £1,816

$2,227 €1,981

8.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

3.28

45.43%

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

Last update for Wakefield: 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

Wakefield

$688 34.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 85.6% $589

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wakefield

$400 19.9%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 42.7% $171

Eating Out

Wakefield

$293 14.6%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 8% $23

Groceries & Markets

Wakefield

$291 14.5%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 11.8% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Wakefield

$145 7.2%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 7.5% $11

Getting Around

Wakefield

$130 6.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 63.7% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Wakefield

$62 3.1%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 23.7% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $983 in Wakefield and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wakefield pays 9% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $83.0 in Wakefield vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $291 vs $325, with Wakefield cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Wakefield

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

13:32 1:32 PM

14:32 2:32 PM

1 h ahead of Wakefield

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

322,300

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 20, 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Wakefield
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

Wakefield vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Wakefield and Barcelona differ by about 19% in total monthly costs ($2,009 vs $2,381 including rent). Wakefield is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 9% higher in Wakefield, 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: $983 in Wakefield versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,217 in Wakefield 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 12% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,009 in Wakefield versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Wakefield but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Wakefield 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, Wakefield 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 Wakefield gentler on the wallet – expenses run 19% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.