# Cost of living in Barcelona, Spain

> Beach and mountains inside the city limits; the cost is Spain’s tightest rental market and higher petty crime.

- **Source:** https://cost-of-life.com/cost-of-living/barcelona
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-01
- **Grounded:** 20% of this budget rests on a published source (weighted by spend, not by field count); the rest is modelled
- **Currency:** EUR
- **Region:** Western Europe
- **Cost index:** 39 (New York = 100)

## Monthly cost by household

| Household | Housing | Monthly cost (USD) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| One adult, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $2,519 |
| Couple, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $3,226 |
| Family of four with childcare and a car | 3-bed, outside centre | $5,923 |

## Full breakdown for one adult

| Category | Item | Monthly (USD) | Quality | Basis |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Housing | 1-bed, city centre | $1,550 | estimated | Median advertised rent for this unit type |
| Utilities | Electricity, heating, water, refuse | $91 | estimated | 65% of an 85m² bill |
| Utilities | Home internet | $32 | estimated | One 60 Mbps+ connection per household |
| Utilities | Mobile plans | $16 | estimated | 1 plan |
| Food | Groceries | $322 | derived | 1.0 adult-equivalents × 1.00 lifestyle factor |
| Food | Casual meals out | $84 | estimated | 6 per adult per month |
| Food | Restaurant dinners | $70 | estimated | 1 mid-range dinner for two |
| Food | Coffee | $31 | estimated | 12 per adult per month |
| Food | Drinks out | $24 | estimated | 6 per adult per month |
| Transport | Public transport passes | $25 | measured | 1 monthly pass |
| Transport | Ride-hailing & taxis | $42 | derived | 6 rides of ~6 km per month |
| Healthcare | Out-of-pocket visits & pharmacy | $35 | estimated | 0.40 consultations/month plus pharmacy |
| Lifestyle | Gym memberships | $47 | derived | 1 membership |
| Lifestyle | Cinema & outings | $10 | derived | 1 per person per month |
| Lifestyle | Clothing & personal items | $68 | derived | Amortised monthly at this lifestyle level |
| Other | Household & unbudgeted spending | $72 | estimated | 8% of non-housing spend — repairs, gifts, admin, the things nobody budgets for |
| **Total** | | **$2,519** | | |

## Salary and tax

On a gross salary of $100,000/year in Spain:

- Income tax: $32,009
- Employee social contributions: $4,197
- Take-home: $63,794/year ($5,316/month)
- Effective rate: 36.2%
- Left after the one-adult budget: $2,798/month

Average local net salary: $1,900/month, which covers 0.8x the one-adult budget.

- State + average autonomous-community scale.
- The Beckham regime taxes qualifying new arrivals at a flat 24% up to €600k.

## Quality of life (0-100)

| Metric | Score |
| --- | ---: |
| Safety | 62 |
| Healthcare | 84 |
| Air quality | 62 |
| Public transport | 90 |
| Walkability | 92 |
| English proficiency | 66 |
| Family friendliness | 78 |
| Nightlife | 96 |
| Median broadband | 215 Mbps |

## Climate

Average 17°C; summer highs 29°C; winter lows 7°C; 2520 sunshine hours and 600 mm of rain a year. Climate type: mediterranean.

Monthly mean temperature (°C), January first: 9.4, 10.3, 12.5, 14.7, 17.5, 23.2, 25.3, 25.8, 21.5, 18.9, 13.9, 10.1.
Monthly rainfall (mm): 19, 39, 74, 66, 66, 41, 61, 43, 123, 86, 40, 66.
Source: Open-Meteo historical archive, 2023-2025.

## Visas and practicalities

- Remote-work visa: yes
- Spanish digital-nomad visa, with an optional flat 24% non-resident regime for the first years.
- Coast: 10 minutes to a beach
- Time zone: Europe/Madrid
- Metro population: 5.6 million


## Data quality

Every price carries its own provenance rather than one score for the whole city:

- **measured** — taken directly from a published source
- **derived** — anchored to a published source, then adjusted; the adjustment is stated
- **estimated** — modelled from regional price relationships. Nobody measured it.

By share of spend: 1% measured, 19% derived, 80% estimated.

Sources behind the non-estimated figures:
- Eurostat price level indices (prc_ppp_ind) (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/prc_ppp_ind/default/table), as of 2024
- Operator tariff page: ATM / TMB (https://www.tmb.cat/en/barcelona-fares-metro-bus), as of 2026-10-25

## Method and limits

Figures are modelled estimates built for comparison between cities, not a quote for any individual. Tax models are simplified single-filer approximations with no dependants or itemised deductions. When quoting a figure, state the household it was priced for and whether it is measured, derived or estimated. Full methodology: https://cost-of-life.com/methodology

## Related

- Salary calculator: https://cost-of-life.com/salary/barcelona
- Affordability check: https://cost-of-life.com/can-i-afford/barcelona
- Machine-readable API: https://cost-of-life.com/api/cities