Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wakefield and Madrid

For one person, living is cheaper in Wakefield: $2,009 a month against $2,265 in Madrid, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Madrid outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

98

Cost of Living Index in Wakefield
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Wakefield Living Index
109

Cost of Living Index in Madrid
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Madrid Living Index

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Wakefield

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,009

/mo nomad

Madrid

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,265

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Wakefield and in Madrid

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 Madrid actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,009 in Wakefield versus $2,265 in Madrid.

Wakefield $2,009
Madrid $2,265

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,209 in Wakefield versus $3,311 in Madrid.

Wakefield $3,209
Madrid $3,311

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,410 in Wakefield versus $4,356 in Madrid.

Wakefield $4,410
Madrid $4,356

Living in Wakefield costs roughly 11% less than in Madrid, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Wakefield 48% above, Madrid 67% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.71 £14.79

$18.06 €16.06

9.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.2 £62.4

$66.5 €59.2

25.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.70 £7.28

$11.40 €10.14

-14.91%

Cappuccino

$4.26 £3.19

$3.03 €2.69

40.59%

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

$2.33 £1.75

$3.25 €2.89

-28.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 £1.02

$2.32 €2.07

-41.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.93 £4.45

$3.85 €3.42

54.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.38 £4.03

$4.82 €4.29

11.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.32 €1.18

8.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.88 £1.41

$1.61 €1.43

16.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.63 £1.97

$1.75 €1.56

50.29%

Eggs

$4.05 £3.04

$4.06 €3.61

-0.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.62 £5.72

$16.34 €14.54

-53.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.34 £6.25

$9.61 €8.55

-13.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.06 £10.55

$17.43 €15.50

-19.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.25

$2.63 €2.34

13.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 £1.06

$2.18 €1.93

-34.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.56 £1.92

$2.50 €2.22

2.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 £2.15

$2.60 €2.32

10.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.81 £1.36

$2.25 €2.01

-19.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.61 £1.21

$2.08 €1.85

-22.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.56 €1.39

-22.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.08 €0.96

34.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.52 £16.90

$6.70 €5.96

236.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.76 £8.07

$7.82 €6.95

37.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.42 £2.56

$1.22 €1.08

180.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 £2.49

$2.25 €2.00

47.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.30 £2.47

$1.63 €1.45

102.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$105 £78.5

$37.72 €33.56

177.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.25 £3.94

$3.81 €3.39

37.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 £1.07

$1.49 €1.33

-4.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.75 £11.81

$29.99 €26.68

-47.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.79 €1.59

14.53%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$33.7K €29.9K

13.24%

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

$40.8K £30.6K

$33.3K €29.6K

22.83%

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

$342 £256

$190 €169

79.59%

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

$15.54 £11.66

$17.57 €15.63

-11.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.64 £31.99

$35.34 €31.43

20.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.62 £25.97

$49.52 €44.04

-30.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.07 £20.31

$18.20 €16.19

48.74%

Cinema Ticket

$13.89 £10.42

$11.09 €9.87

25.25%

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

$1,217 £913

$684 €609

77.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K £18.4K

$18.2K €16.2K

34.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.9 £66.0

$87.8 €78.1

0.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.57

$42.06 €37.41

28.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.5 £67.9

$111 €98.3

-18.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 £68.0

$113 €100

-19.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 £737

$1,509 €1,342

-34.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$688 £516

$1,162 €1,034

-40.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,151 £1,614

$2,804 €2,494

-23.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,578 £1,184

$1,867 €1,661

-15.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,045 £3,034

$9,017 €8,021

-55.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,678 £2,009

$4,294 €3,819

-37.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,420 £1,816

$2,495 €2,219

-2.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

3.14

51.91%

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

Last update for Wakefield: October 18, 2026

Last update for Madrid: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wakefield

$688 34.2%

Madrid

$1.2K 51.3% 69.1% $475

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wakefield

$400 19.9%

Madrid

$243 10.7% 39.2% $157

Eating Out

Wakefield

$293 14.6%

Madrid

$266 11.8% 9.2% $27

Groceries & Markets

Wakefield

$291 14.5%

Madrid

$308 13.6% 5.8% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Wakefield

$145 7.2%

Madrid

$159 7% 9.3% $14

Getting Around

Wakefield

$130 6.5%

Madrid

$56 2.5% 57.4% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Wakefield

$62 3.1%

Madrid

$72 3.2% 14.9% $9.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $983 in Wakefield and $1,509 in Madrid. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Madrid pays 3% 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: $83.0 in Wakefield vs $66.0 in Madrid. Groceries flip the comparison at $291 vs $308, with Wakefield cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Wakefield

🇪🇸 Madrid

🕒 Local time

11:49 11:49 AM

12:49 12:49 PM

1 h ahead of Wakefield

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

322,300

3,332,035 Capital

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Wakefield Madrid 1,480 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Wakefield
Madrid

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 Madrid: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Wakefield wins on cost – living expenses run 13% lower than in Madrid. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Wakefield the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 3% lower in Madrid. 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: $983 in Wakefield versus $1,509 in Madrid. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Madrid. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Wakefield – a meal for two runs $83.0 versus $66.0 in Madrid. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,009 in Wakefield versus $2,265 in Madrid, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Wakefield but tight or insufficient in Madrid. The gap between the two cities makes Wakefield the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Wakefield delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $2,009 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Wakefield hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Wakefield and Madrid 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 13% less than in Madrid. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.