Madrid tops Barcelona in quality of life, despite being more expensive

Being a capital city is an added value that boosts the economic potential of the most global cities. However, this geographic predominance also works against its citizens. They find themselves at the nerve center of more populous urban areas, with more businesses, more traffic, and consequently, prices tend to be higher.

Madrid enjoys the benefits of being a capital, but is also affected by the downsides: for example, it is more difficult to access housing and groceries are more expensive. Still, Madrid and Barcelona (which, while not the capital, experiences the same pros and cons) are not, comparatively, among the most expensive cities in the world, and therefore, rank highly in terms of quality of life.

Madrid, for example, ranks 16th out of 69 cities studied worldwide in the report Mapping the World’s Prices 2025 by the Deutsche Bank Research Institute. Barcelona, meanwhile, sits in the middle of the ranking, at 43rd place, despite having a better climate and beaches.

This study draws on indexes such as housing prices, salaries, leisure (analyzing the cost of a beer, a glass of wine, or a date), transportation, and consumption (comparing the cost of buying a hamburger, an iPhone, or groceries). It was first launched in 2012 but was paused due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The city comparison places Madrid near the top of the ranking, with it scoring well in healthcare and commuting time. On the other hand, Barcelona ranks several spots lower, as it has a lower safety score than Madrid. According to the Deutsche Bank Research study, the cities with the highest quality of life are Luxembourg, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam.

Neither Madrid nor Barcelona appear among the most expensive globally in any of the analyzed parameters. For example, in terms of price per square meter — although it has increased 41.3% in Madrid and 15.1% in Barcelona since 2020 — both are mid-table: 34th and 45th place, respectively. These values are far below those of cities like Hong Kong, Zurich, and Singapore, which are the most expensive. Meanwhile, Cairo, Johannesburg, and Bogotá are the cheapest cities.

Regarding rent prices, using the cost of a three-bedroom apartment as a reference — which in both cities has increased by 50% in the last five years — Madrid ranks 29th ($2,811, about €2,400) and Barcelona 32nd ($2,738, €2,360). New York, Singapore, and Boston have the highest rents; Cairo, Delhi, and Bogotá the lowest.

Salaries are another key factor. Despite various wage increases in recent years, Madrid and Barcelona rank in the lower half, at 41st and 43rd place, with average monthly incomes of $2,193 and $2,082 (€1,889 and €1,793), respectively. According to the report, the highest-paid workers are in Geneva, Zurich, and San Francisco; the lowest earners are in Cairo, Bogotá, and Rio de Janeiro.

Citizens’ ability to allocate part of their income to leisure is also considered a measure of well-being. The report covers various expenses in this category, such as the price of a domestic beer or a monthly gym membership. In the first category, Madrid and Barcelona are near the bottom with prices around $1.40 (€1.20) per beer, while the most expensive city to get in shape is New York ($142, €122), nearly triple the price in Barcelona ($58, €50) and Madrid ($53, €46).

The report also contrasts cinema ticket prices between countries. In Zurich, Geneva, and London, tickets cost between $20 and $24 (€17 to €20), while the cheapest are in Jakarta and Cairo ($3.1 and $3.6, respectively). In Spain, the average price is about €9.

Finally, another major expense affecting citizens’ wallets is public transportation. According to the Deutsche Bank Institute study, London has the highest monthly pass price ($244, 30% more than five years ago), while in Luxembourg it is free. In Spain, Madrid is more expensive ($58, €50) than Barcelona ($29, €25).

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