✦ Compare
Barcelona vs
Lyon
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
To keep the same standard of living in Lyon, FR, you'd need
$70,982 / year
Lyon, FR is 5% cheaper overall
Category breakdown (Lyon, FR vs Barcelona, ES)
- Housing-22%
- Food & groceries+7%
- Transport-3%
- Utilities+2%
- Healthcare+2%
- Goods & services+5%
◎ How Barcelona, ES and Lyon, FR compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Barcelona, ES | Lyon, FR | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 105 | 99 |
| Housing | 125 | 98 |
| Food | 100 | 107 |
| Transport | 80 | 78 |
| Utilities | 110 | 112 |
| Healthcare | 80 | 82 |
| Goods & services | 102 | 107 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $1,350/mo | $900/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $1,000/mo | $680/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $2,700/mo | $1,800/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $5,500 | $6,000 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $951 | $1,005 |
| Inexpensive meal | $15 | $15 |
| Monthly transit pass | $60 | $70 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 47% | 45% |
| VAT / sales tax | 21% | 20% |
| Social security (employee) | 6.4% | 22% |
| Corporate tax | 25% | 25% |
| Capital gains | 28% | 30% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $1,900/mo | $2,600/mo |
| Minimum wage | $1,300/mo | $1,600/mo |
| GDP per capita | $38,627 | $48,986 |
| Inflation (annual) | 2.7% | 0.9% |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | Yes | No |
| English proficiency | Moderate | Moderate |
| Coworking spaces | 80 | 30 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | UTC+1 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Safety index | 55 | 66 |
| Healthcare index | 80 | 85 |
| Pollution index | 50 | 45 |
| Internet speed | 200 Mbps | 160 Mbps |
| Walkability | 90 | 82 |
| Public transport | 88 | 80 |
| Family-friendly | 66 | 74 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Life expectancy | 84 yr | 83 yr |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | High | High |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | +10 °C | +4 °C |
| July avg | +25 °C | +22 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 250 | 200 |
| Rainfall / year | 640 mm | 830 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1 h | 1 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: Spain vs France. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
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 Lyon
A UNESCO-listed city where two rivers meet — France's food capital, a two-hour TGV from Paris at a fraction of its rents. Renaissance streets, a strong tech and biotech scene and easy weekend access to the Alps make it a favourite softer landing than the capital.
- Currency
- Euro (€ EUR)
- Languages
- French
- Time zone
- UTC+1
- Internet
- 160 Mbps
- English
- Fairly common
- Safety
- 66/100
- Climate
- ❄ 4°C · ☀ 22°C · 200 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- E · 230V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Presqu'île · Croix-Rousse · Confluence · Vieux Lyon
Plan your move to Barcelona
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsNH Hotels
- Car rentalLocalrent
- Airport transferWelcome Pickups
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- Tours & ticketsTiqets
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Flight compensationAirHelp
Sponsored
Plan your move to Lyon
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsNH Hotels
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferWelcome Pickups
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- Tours & ticketsTiqets
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Flight compensationAirHelp
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Barcelona to Lyon: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Barcelona to Lyon, your cost of living will be roughly 5% cheaper. Lyon’s cost-of-living index is 99 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 Lyon?
Lyon is about 5% cheaper than Barcelona overall — its cost-of-living index is 99 versus 105 for Barcelona.
How much do you need to earn in Lyon to live like in Barcelona?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Barcelona is worth about $70,982 in Lyon. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Barcelona or Lyon?
France has the lower top income-tax rate — 45% versus 47% in Spain.
◷ More comparisons from Barcelona
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.