Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Barbara vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
Santa Barbara is 50.9% more expensive than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 15.5% more in Santa Barbara
- Groceries
-
pay 69.7% more in Santa Barbara
- Transportation
-
pay 1.4% less in Santa Barbara
- Housing
-
pay 81.7% more in Santa Barbara
- Childcare
-
pay 2.5 times more in Santa Barbara
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 55.1% more in Santa Barbara
- Clothing
-
pay 11.4% less in Santa Barbara
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Santa Barbara are more expensive than in Madrid. Expenses including clothing and transportation are lower in Santa Barbara. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Barbara instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 15.5% more for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.61
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.07
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.70
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.89
|
$2.42
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of restaurants
pay 69.7% more for groceries
|
Madrid
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.48
|
$4.40
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.25
|
$12.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.97
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.89
|
$5.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.50
|
$8.38
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.02
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.09
|
$2.48
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$1.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$1.36
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of groceries
pay 1.4% less for transportation
|
Madrid
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.10
|
$4.73
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.53
|
$52.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,235.57
|
$28,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€14.00
|
$22.78
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of transportation
pay 81.7% more for housing
|
Madrid
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.78
|
$74.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,328.83
|
$2,720.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€964.79
|
$2,538.89
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.61
|
$166.24
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of housing
pay 2.5 times more for childcare
|
Madrid
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€580.51
|
$1,425.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,313.52
|
$37,000.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of childcare
pay 55.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.88
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.76
|
$6.14
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.04
|
$11.82
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€44.03
|
$66.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.07
|
$12.50
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.4% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€85.27
|
$69.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.59
|
$40.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.69
|
$77.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€108.17
|
$143.33
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Barbara - 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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