✦ Compare
Barcelona vs
Chicago
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
Barcelona, ES vs Chicago, IL at a glance — Chicago, IL is 2% cheaper than Barcelona, ES overall. Median 1-bed rent runs about $1,900/mo versus $1,350/mo. Top income tax: 37% vs 47%.
To keep the same standard of living in Chicago, IL, you'd need
$73,309 / year
Chicago, IL is 2% cheaper overall
Category breakdown (Chicago, IL vs Barcelona, ES)
- Housing-7%
- Food & groceries-5%
- Transport+26%
- Utilities-18%
- Healthcare+23%
- Goods & services-4%
Median 1-bed rent
$1,350 /mo
Barcelona, ES overview →
Median 1-bed rent
$1,900 /mo
Chicago, IL overview →
◎ How Barcelona, ES and Chicago, IL compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Barcelona, ES | Chicago, IL | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 105 | 103 |
| Housing | 125 | 116 |
| Food | 100 | 95 |
| Transport | 80 | 101 |
| Utilities | 110 | 90 |
| Healthcare | 80 | 98 |
| Goods & services | 102 | 98 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $1,350/mo | $1,900/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $1,000/mo | $1,450/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $2,700/mo | $3,600/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $5,500 | $5,500 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $951 | $973 |
| Inexpensive meal | $15 | $18 |
| Monthly transit pass | $60 | $105 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 47% | 37% |
| VAT / sales tax | 21% | 0% |
| Social security (employee) | 6.4% | 7.7% |
| Corporate tax | 25% | 21% |
| Capital gains | 28% | 20% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $1,900/mo | $4,300/mo |
| Minimum wage | $1,652/mo✓ | $1,257/mo✓ |
| GDP per capita | $38,627✓ | $90,027✓ |
| Inflation (annual) | 2.7%✓ | — |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | Yes | No |
| English proficiency | Moderate | Native |
| Coworking spaces | 80 | 90 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | UTC-6 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Quality of life (overall) | 73 | 66 |
| Safety index | 55 | 48 |
| Healthcare index | 80 | 80 |
| Pollution index | 50 | 45 |
| Internet speed | 200 Mbps | 200 Mbps |
| Walkability | 90 | 78 |
| Public transport | 88 | 78 |
| Family-friendly | 66 | 60 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Health insurance | — | $450/mo |
| Life expectancy | 84 yr✓ | 79 yr✓ |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | High | High |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | +10 °C | -4 °C |
| July avg | +25 °C | +24 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 250 | 189 |
| Rainfall / year | 640 mm | 950 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1 h | 1 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: Spain vs United States. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
✓ = official statistics (Eurostat 2026, US DOL (federal), World Bank 2025, World Bank 2024). Unmarked figures are CostTrek estimates. How we calculate these figures →
Cost of living: Barcelona vs Chicago — in your currency
Converted from USD at approximate rates (2026-09).
Good to know before you move to Barcelona
Beach, Gaudí and a huge digital-nomad scene — the trade-off is tourism pressure on housing.
- Currency
- Euro (€ EUR)
- Languages
- Spanish
- Time zone
- UTC+1
- Internet
- 200 Mbps
- English
- Fairly common
- Safety
- 55/100
- Climate
- ❄ 10°C · ☀ 25°C · 250 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- F · 230V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Gràcia · El Born · Poblenou
Good to know before you move to Chicago
Big-city amenities and architecture at Midwest prices — the winters, though, are famously brutal.
- Currency
- US dollar ($ USD)
- Languages
- English
- Time zone
- UTC-6
- Internet
- 200 Mbps
- English
- Native language
- Safety
- 48/100
- Climate
- ❄ -4°C · ☀ 24°C · 189 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- A/B · 120V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Loop · Wicker Park · Lincoln Park
Plan your move to Barcelona
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalLocalrent
- Airport transferWelcome Pickups
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- Tours & ticketsTiqets
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Flight compensationAirHelp
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Plan your move to Chicago
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Parking & carWay.com
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Barcelona to Chicago: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Barcelona to Chicago, your cost of living will be roughly 2% cheaper. Chicago’s cost-of-living index is 103 versus 105 for Barcelona (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Barcelona cheaper than Chicago?
Chicago is about 2% cheaper than Barcelona overall — its cost-of-living index is 103 versus 105 for Barcelona.
Which is more expensive, Barcelona or Chicago?
Barcelona is more expensive than Chicago. Its cost-of-living index is 105 vs 103 (US = 100) — about 2% higher.
Is rent cheaper in Barcelona or Chicago?
Rent is cheaper in Barcelona — about $1,350/month for a one-bedroom in the city centre, vs $1,900 in Chicago.
How much do you need to earn in Chicago to live like in Barcelona?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Barcelona is worth about $73,309 in Chicago. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Barcelona or Chicago?
United States has the lower top income-tax rate — 37% versus 47% in Spain.
◷ More comparisons from Barcelona
How we calculate these figures →
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.