Cost of living comparison
compared to
Palo Alto vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
Palo Alto is 88.6% more expensive than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.3% more in Palo Alto
- Groceries
-
pay 98.1% more in Palo Alto
- Transportation
-
pay 19.4% more in Palo Alto
- Housing
-
pay 2.1 times more in Palo Alto
- Childcare
-
pay 3.7 times more in Palo Alto
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.1 times more in Palo Alto
- Clothing
-
pay 9.4% less in Palo Alto
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in Palo Alto are more expensive than in Madrid. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in Palo Alto.
Palo Alto vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Palo Alto instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 21.3% more for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.61
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.07
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.70
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.89
|
$2.44
|
|
Madrid vs. Palo Alto - Cost of restaurants
pay 98.1% more for groceries
|
Madrid
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.48
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.25
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.97
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.89
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.50
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.02
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.09
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$2.19
|
|
Madrid vs. Palo Alto - Cost of groceries
pay 19.4% more for transportation
|
Madrid
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.10
|
$4.84
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.53
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,235.57
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€14.00
|
$19.06
|
|
Madrid vs. Palo Alto - Cost of transportation
pay 2.1 times more for housing
|
Madrid
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.78
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,328.83
|
$3,600.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€964.79
|
$3,148.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.61
|
$179.63
|
|
Madrid vs. Palo Alto - Cost of housing
pay 3.7 times more for childcare
|
Madrid
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€580.51
|
$2,823.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,313.52
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Palo Alto - Cost of childcare
pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.88
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.76
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.04
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€44.03
|
$206.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.07
|
$16.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Palo Alto - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.4% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€85.27
|
$67.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.59
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.69
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€108.17
|
$125.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Palo Alto - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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