Cost of Living in Spain

Information on costs of living for expatriates in Spain, including the basic necessities and a rough guide for estimating your costs.

If you’re reading this, then costs are a concern for you, ie. you’re not rich (although you may well be rich in other wonderful, non-monetary means), and you’re wondering if your income is enough to get by in Spain. The quick good news is that Spain is still relatively cheap from a cost of living standpoint, especially compared to other western european nations and foreigner’s salaries. For the Spanish themselves, things aren’t looking so good. Costs are up and wages have stayed the same.

Here we’ve tried to give you the most accurate information - not just a “rough guide” - direct from Spain on costs, and recommend that you see the links on the right under Related Features and the Living in Spain section of the site for further detailed information about many of the items listed here. Continue reading this article below for further notes from a cultural perspective on the cost of living in Spain.

• Rental costs: In central Madrid or Barcelona it’s about 11€ per square meter per month (can greatly depend on location and who you rent it from, see renting an apartment for more information). In central Sevilla or on the coast, it’s about 6-7€ per square meter per month. Elsewhere in the country it’s, say, 4 € per month. For costs when buying a house, see Buying a Property.
• Electricity bills: for two people bills are about 40€/month, going up about 30% or more during the summer if you have air conditioning.
• Gas bills: for two people with a gas water heater and a gas stove, bills are about 40€/month. Your furnace may also run on gas, costing approximately an additional 35€/month during the winter. (Water bills are generally included in the maintenance fees of an apartment.)
• Telephone bills: 25 €/month, plus the calls you make. If you have standard internet, add 0.02€/minute. For further discussion of costs, see Telephone Service.
• For private health insurance costs, see Health Care.
• Food: for two people, our food bills are 350 €/month. An average restaurant per person bill is 12€. A glass of beer or wine at a bar is 1.50€. A tapa is 2€. A good lunch (menu del dia) is 5-9€
• A nursery for a child is 100 €/month for 5 hours/day.
• A parking space in a garage is 90 €/month.
• A gym is 30 - 50 €/month.
• A movie theatre ticket is 6€.
• A man’s haircut is 12€.

As a very rough estimate: in the major centres you will need a bare minimum of €800-900 to live (shared accommodations), €1300 provides a bit of comfort including drinks, coffee and local weekend excusrions. Any more than that is gravy (applicable for a single, working person living in shared accommodations, after taxes). 

For consideration (this may be more relevant as a cultural note), know that many Spaniards choose to live at home with their parents until their 30s (I know some in their 50s…). This provides them with a lot more disposable income and is the likely reason why most Spanish employers can get away with paying their employees so little (wages are still quite low) in comparison to the cost of living.

Inflation has become an issue for locals over the past few years, and the above listed living costs have had to be increased by about 10%/year. The official inflation is somewhere around 3.5%, but in the major cities it seems to be much higher. Two relevant causes here may be the influx of European expats and that the Spanish seem to be slowly moving out on their own at an earlier age.

Barcelona has gone from ranking as the 56th most expensive city in the world in 2004, to 43rd (2005), and now back down to 56th this year, averaged over 200 basic products and services and taking into account currency valuations. In the same time, Madrid has gone from 61st to the 46th and now sits at 53rd most expensive city as of 2006. Note that the currency fluctuations between the US dollar and the Euro have affected these cost of living rankings significantly. (Source) On a personal note, between discussions with friends we disagree with these rankings, particularly between Madrid and Barcelona, where the cost of living at ground zero is clearly more expensive in Barcelona.

Last updated 21 08 2009

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