Spain vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Spain United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1480
$2454
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3313
$5738
🏠 One person rent
$850
$1565
🏘️ Family rent
$1358
$2755
🍽️ Food expenses
$415
$624
🚐 Transport expenses
$89.1
$102
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1891
$4635
💸 GDP per capita
$32677
$81695
😃 Human freedom index
8.03
8.39
❤️ Life expectancy
83.1
77.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
60
69
🌐 English speaking %
22%
95.5%
🎓 Higher education
90
100
😀 Quality of life
79
87
🏙️ Population
47.4M
332M

The average cost of living in Spain ($1480) is 40% less expensive than in the United States ($2454). Spain ranked 36th vs 10th for the United States in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.3 months in Spain compared to 1.9 months in the United States. Ranked 29th and 20th best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Spain vs United States infographic

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Prices in Spain vs the United States

We calculate prices for Spain and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 153 and 2202 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Spain United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$14.3
$18.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$49.4
$75
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10
$10.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.4
$6.19
 Cappuccino
$2.3
$5.13
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.27
$2.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$892
$1641
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$689
$1330
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1500
$2946
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1115
$2414
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$86.8
$123
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$134
$189
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$33.2
$66.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.55%
6.53%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4084
$4710
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2641
$3231
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.75
$2.37
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$36
$70
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$15.4
$18.4
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.77
$0.98
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.14
$1.08
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.39
$3.5
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.5
$4.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.92
$3.81
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14
$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.06
$11.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15
$15.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.28
$5.03
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.9
$1.76
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.99
$4.51
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.45
$4.74
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.68
$2.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.86
$2.88
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.5
$1.42
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.13
$2.6
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.27
$14.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.22
$2.17
🚬 Cigarette pack
$5.88
$10.3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.18
$9.41
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.39
$6.07
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.97
$4.4
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.26
$2.13
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$44.1
$51.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$9.21
$14.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$68.5
$122
💇 Haircut, simple
$15.4
$20.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$79.1
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$85.8
$89.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$455
$1400
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$8656
$20224

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Spain vs the United States

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Spain

City Cost of living Population
Madrid
$1889
3.33M
Barcelona
$1887
1.66M
Valencia
$1581
808K
Seville
$1358
684K
Tenerife
$1707
932K
Zaragoza
$1330
683K
Malaga
$1519
586K
Murcia
$1192
673K
Bilbao
$1522
346K
Palma de Mallorca
$1783
423K
Las Palmas
$1353
378K
Alicante
$1360
349K
Cordoba
$1165
324K
Vigo
$1282
294K
Terrassa
$1491
225K
Valladolid
$1262
297K
Pamplona
$1464
206K
Gijon
$1269
268K
Vitoria-Gasteiz
$1600
256K
Sabadell
$1577
218K
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
$1635
274K
San Sebastian
$1623
189K
Badalona
$1914
226K
A Coruna
$1259
247K
Granada
$1288
231K
Oviedo
$1158
186K
Jerez de la Frontera
$936
213K
Cartagena
$1136
218K
Elche
$1192
238K
Burgos
$1220
174K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4051
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3187
3.9M
Chicago
$2667
2.75M
Houston
$2248
2.3M
San Diego
$3346
1.39M
Phoenix
$2369
1.61M
San Jose
$3674
1.01M
Dallas
$2550
1.3M
San Francisco
$3781
874K
Philadelphia
$2541
1.6M
San Antonio
$2194
1.43M
Austin
$2473
962K
Seattle
$2908
737K
Indianapolis
$2187
888K
Hempstead
$2702
793K
Charlotte
$2615
875K
Washington
$3139
690K
Boston
$3467
676K
Fort Worth
$2195
919K
Jacksonville
$2386
950K
Columbus
$2252
906K
Denver
$2699
716K
Nashville
$2649
689K
Portland
$2572
653K
Atlanta
$2540
499K
Las Vegas
$2246
642K
Detroit
$2006
639K
Oakland
$3146
441K
El Paso
$1775
679K
Baltimore
$2223
586K