Cost of living comparison
compared to
Saint Paul vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
Saint Paul is 31.8% more expensive than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.1% less in Saint Paul
- Groceries
-
pay 45.5% more in Saint Paul
- Transportation
-
pay 24.6% more in Saint Paul
- Housing
-
pay 24.8% more in Saint Paul
- Childcare
-
pay 2.2 times more in Saint Paul
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 29.2% more in Saint Paul
- Clothing
-
pay 19.6% less in Saint Paul
The cost of childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, and transportation in Saint Paul are more expensive than in Madrid. Expenses including clothing and restaurants are lower in Saint Paul. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Saint Paul.
Saint Paul vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Saint Paul instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 4.1% less for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.42
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€9.95
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.67
|
$2.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.87
|
$2.43
|
|
Madrid vs. Saint Paul - Cost of restaurants
pay 45.5% more for groceries
|
Madrid
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.46
|
$3.84
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.17
|
$4.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.93
|
$3.81
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.86
|
$3.19
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.45
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.00
|
$2.28
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.87
|
$0.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.02
|
$2.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.07
|
$2.36
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.80
|
$1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.86
|
$1.68
|
|
Madrid vs. Saint Paul - Cost of groceries
pay 24.6% more for transportation
|
Madrid
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.03
|
$3.04
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.06
|
$120.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€32,837.78
|
$36,165.86
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€13.83
|
$16.18
|
|
Madrid vs. Saint Paul - Cost of transportation
pay 24.8% more for housing
|
Madrid
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.43
|
$75.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,312.93
|
$1,244.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€953.24
|
$1,008.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€131.02
|
$170.84
|
|
Madrid vs. Saint Paul - Cost of housing
pay 2.2 times more for childcare
|
Madrid
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€573.57
|
$1,453.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,178.11
|
$30,000.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Saint Paul - Cost of childcare
pay 29.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.83
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.73
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€5.97
|
$10.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€43.50
|
$41.86
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€9.95
|
$14.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Saint Paul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 19.6% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€84.25
|
$39.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.16
|
$42.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€91.58
|
$84.60
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€106.87
|
$127.50
|
|
Madrid vs. Saint Paul - 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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Spain vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Spain and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Saint Paul or Madrid. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.