Cost of living comparison

compared to

Asheville vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary

Asheville is 26.5% more expensive than Madrid.

Restaurants
pay 2.1% more in Asheville
Groceries
pay 29.0% more in Asheville
Transportation
pay 0.3% more in Asheville
Housing
pay 32.9% more in Asheville
Childcare
pay 3.4 times more in Asheville
Entertainment and Sports
pay 25.0% more in Asheville
Clothing
pay 3.3% more in Asheville

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, and restaurants in Asheville are more expensive than in Madrid. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Asheville.

Asheville vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Asheville instead of Madrid, you would:

pay 2.1% more for restaurants

 
Madrid
Asheville
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.92
€16.07
$21.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.20
€10.05
$11.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.30
€2.96
$2.54
 

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pay 29.0% more for groceries

 
Madrid
Asheville
Bread
1 loaf
$1.57
€1.41
$4.38
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.35
€7.49
$8.26
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.25
€4.71
$4.44
 

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pay 0.3% more for transportation

 
Madrid
Asheville
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.88
€6.17
$3.64
 
Monthly public transit pass $36.95
€33.15
$80.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,271.67
€31,643.98
$32,000.00
 

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pay 32.9% more for housing

 
Madrid
Asheville
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$34.86
€31.28
$105.60
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,491.38
€1,337.99
$2,029.33
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,193.86
€1,071.07
$1,583.33
 

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pay 3.4 times more for childcare

 
Madrid
Asheville
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $668.48
€599.73
$2,577.11
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $17,859.91
€16,023.02
$54,725.00
 

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pay 25.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Madrid
Asheville
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.92
€3.52
$7.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.07
€2.76
$5.83
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.72
€6.03
$7.95
 

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pay 3.3% more for clothing

 
Madrid
Asheville
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$86.50
€77.60
$63.75
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$42.98
€38.56
$50.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$108.99
€97.78
$103.75
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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