Cost of living comparison

compared to

New Bern vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary

New Bern is 10.7% cheaper than Madrid.

Restaurants
pay 1.4% more in New Bern
Groceries
pay 15.6% more in New Bern
Transportation
pay 33.4% less in New Bern
Housing
pay 19.4% less in New Bern
Entertainment and Sports
pay 24.8% more in New Bern
Clothing
pay 23.5% less in New Bern

The cost of entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in New Bern are more expensive than in Madrid. Expenses including transportation, clothing, and housing are lower in New Bern.

New Bern vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Bern instead of Madrid, you would:

pay 1.4% more for restaurants

 
Madrid
New Bern
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.92
€16.07
$18.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.20
€10.05
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.30
€2.96
$2.85
 

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pay 15.6% more for groceries

 
Madrid
New Bern
Bread
1 loaf
$1.57
€1.41
$3.25
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.35
€7.49
$6.47
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.25
€4.71
$3.53
 

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pay 33.4% less for transportation

 
Madrid
New Bern
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.88
€6.17
$3.22
 
Monthly public transit pass $36.95
€33.15
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,271.67
€31,643.98
$28,000.00
 

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pay 19.4% less for housing

 
Madrid
New Bern
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$34.86
€31.28
$69.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,491.38
€1,337.99
$1,158.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,193.86
€1,071.07
$882.67
 

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Madrid
New Bern
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $668.48
€599.73
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $17,859.91
€16,023.02
??

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pay 24.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Madrid
New Bern
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.92
€3.52
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.07
€2.76
$5.16
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.72
€6.03
$7.49
 

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pay 23.5% less for clothing

 
Madrid
New Bern
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$86.50
€77.60
$60.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$42.98
€38.56
$35.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$108.99
€97.78
$84.67
 

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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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