Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between York and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in York: $2,187 a month against $2,399 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.

106

Cost of Living Index in York
Learn more

York Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

York

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,187

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,187 in York versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

York $2,187
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,476 in York versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

York $3,476
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,765 in York versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

York $4,765
Barcelona $4,421

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

Both cities are pricier than the global median: York 62% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.73 £20.05

$17.94 €15.96

49.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.3 £66.2

$68.1 €60.5

29.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.91

$13.28 €11.81

-20.63%

Cappuccino

$4.97 £3.73

$3.25 €2.89

52.92%

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

$2.67 £2.01

$3.01 €2.67

-11.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 £1.36

$1.87 €1.66

-3.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.49 £4.87

$3.85 €3.42

68.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.52 £4.89

$4.48 €3.98

45.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.29 €1.15

27.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.52 £1.14

$2.04 €1.81

-25.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.72 €1.53

13.95%

Eggs

$3.69 £2.77

$4.77 €4.24

-22.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 £6.60

$16.77 €14.92

-47.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.16 £6.12

$8.93 €7.94

-8.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.91 £7.43

$19.88 €17.68

-50.15%

Apples (1kg)

$3.32 £2.49

$2.98 €2.65

11.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 £1.46

$2.03 €1.80

-3.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.35 £1.76

$2.73 €2.43

-13.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.69 £3.52

$2.68 €2.38

75.00%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 £2.28

$2.10 €1.87

44.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.63 £1.23

$2.08 €1.85

-21.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.45 €1.29

2.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 £1.06

$0.89 €0.79

58.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.35 £17.52

$6.94 €6.17

236.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.96 £8.97

$7.78 €6.92

53.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.05 £3.04

$1.45 €1.29

179.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.73 £3.55

$2.57 €2.29

84.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.91 £2.93

$2.99 €2.66

30.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$114 £85.7

$25.20 €22.41

353.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.38 £3.29

$3.12 €2.77

40.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.67 £2.00

$1.44 €1.28

85.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.02 £14.27

$33.50 €29.80

-43.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.01 £1.51

$1.79 €1.59

12.29%

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

$37.6K £28.2K

$34.6K €30.8K

8.68%

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

$39.8K £29.9K

$30.1K €26.7K

32.44%

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

$200 £150

$178 €158

12.59%

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

$16.63 £12.48

$13.32 €11.85

24.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.71 £35.79

$34.88 €31.03

36.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.89 £36.68

$53.3 €47.37

-8.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.91 £17.94

$16.01 €14.24

49.34%

Cinema Ticket

$13.03 £9.78

$11.06 €9.84

17.81%

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

$1,627 £1,220

$957 €851

70.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K £12.1K

$16.6K €14.7K

-2.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.8 £45.64

$88.2 €78.4

-31.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.10 £27.83

$39.49 €35.12

-6.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.9 £57.7

$103 €91.5

-25.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 £58.9

$121 €108

-35.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,226 £920

$1,653 €1,470

-25.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$917 £688

$1,302 €1,158

-29.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,502 £1,877

$2,557 €2,275

-2.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,875 £1,407

$1,915 €1,703

-2.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,897 £3,674

$7,286 €6,481

-32.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,877 £2,908

$5,080 €4,519

-23.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,465 £2,600

$2,281 €2,029

51.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.61

3.28

71.04%

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

Last update for York: October 11, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

York

$917 41.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 42% $385

Eating Out

York

$369 16.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 26.7% $99

Groceries & Markets

York

$301 13.8%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 6.3% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

York

$265 12.1%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 14.6% $39

Getting Around

York

$148 6.8%

Barcelona

$47 2% 67.8% $100

Clothing & Footwear

York

$114 5.2%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 38.9% $44

Sport & Entertainment

York

$75 3.4%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 0.5% $0.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,226 in York and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

York pays 52% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $88.0 in York vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $301 vs $320, with York cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 York

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

18:12 6:12 PM

19:12 7:12 PM

1 h ahead of York

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

137,000

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 19, 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

York Barcelona 1,420 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

York
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

York vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

York and Barcelona differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($2,187 vs $2,399 including rent). York is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 52% higher in York, 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: $1,226 in York versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,627 in York versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

At $2,187 in York versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in York but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes York 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, York 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 York gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.