Capital is an added value to shoot the economic potential of the most global cities. However, this geographical predominance also plays against its citizens. They are located in the neuralgic epicenter of more populated cities, with more companies, more traffic and, consequently, the prices of everything they have around them are usually higher. , while this focus penalizes, for example, or makes the basket of the purchase of its neighbors more expensive. Even so, Madrid and Barcelona () are not, in comparison, two of the most expensive cities in the world, and, therefore, they are in an outstanding position in terms of the quality of life. Especially the Spanish capital, which occupies the 16th position of a classification that encompasses 69 cities around the world, and that is part of the report Mapping the World’s Prices 2025 (Map of world prices) that has prepared the Deutsche Bank Research Institute. Barcelona, on the other hand, is located in the middle of the table, in 43rd position, despite having a better climate and having a beach.
This study, which is nourished by indexes such as the price of housing, wages, leisure (analyzes the cost of having a beer, having a glass of wine or having an appointment), transport or consumption (compares the expense in buying a hamburger, an iPhone or making the purchase in a super), it was first launched in 2012, and had been suspended since the worldwide emergence of the worldwide emerge. Once normality is recovered, the comparison between cities places Madrid in the upper part of the ranking “thanks to a combination of medical care and travel time,” according to the text. On the contrary, Barcelona is placed a few steps below, due to a lower security index than that of Madrid. The cities with the highest quality of life in the world, according to Deutsche Bank Research, are Luxembourg, Copenhagen and Amsterdam.
Neither of the two Spanish cities appears globally in any of the parameters analyzed. For example, in terms of the price of the square meter – despite the fact that 41.3% in Madrid has increased and 15.1% in Barcelona since 2020 – both are in the middle table: positions 34 and 45, respectively. These values are well below those of places like Hong Kong, Zurich and Singapore, the most expensive; and from Cairo, Johannesburg and Bogotá, the cheapest.
As for the rental price, and taking as a reference the cost of a three -bedroom floor – which in the two cities has experienced a 50% increase in the last five years -, Madrid stands at 29 ($ 2,811, about 2,400 euros) and Barcelona in 32nd position ($ 2,738, 2,360 euros). New York, Singapore and Boston are cities with a higher rent; and Cairo, Delhi and Bogotá the cheapest.
Another parameter to consider are salaries. Despite, Madrid and Barcelona are in the lower half of the table, in positions 41 and 43, with an average of 2,193 and $ 2,082 per month ($ 1,889 and 1,793 euros), respectively. According to the report, the best paid workers are those of Geneva, Zurich and San Francisco; while the worst remunerated are in Cairo, Bogotá and Rio de Janeiro.
The ability of citizens to allocate a part of their income to leisure is also a way of measuring their well -being. In this report, different expenses are addressed within this category, such as the value of, or that of the monthly subscription fee to a gym. Thus, in the first of the categories, Madrid and Barcelona occupy the lower part of the table with a price of around $ 1.40 (1.20 euros) per beer; While the city where to put in shape is more expensive is New York, (142 dollars, 122 euros), practically the triple than in Barcelona (58 dollars, 50 euros) and Madrid (53 dollars, 46 euros).
More controlled leisure
Within this list, the expense between countries is also opposed to the cost of a film input. In Zurich, Geneva and London the ticket costs between $ 20 and 24 (between 17 and 20 euros) and the cheapest are Yacarta and Cairo (3.1 and 3.6 dollars respectively). In Spain it costs average around 9 euros.
Finally, another of the spending roads that most affects citizens’ pocket is the budget that must be used for public transport. According to Deutsche Bank Institute, London is the city where the monthly bonus costs more ($ 244, 30% more than five years ago), while in Luxembourg it is free. In the Spanish comparison, in Madrid it is also more expensive (58 dollars, 50 euros) than in Barcelona ($ 29, 25 euros).
