Cost of living comparison
compared to
Madrid vs. McAllen Cost of Living Summary
Madrid is 20.8% more expensive than McAllen.
- Restaurants
-
pay 14.0% more in Madrid
- Transportation
-
pay 83.9% more in Madrid
- Housing
-
pay 29.9% more in Madrid
- Childcare
-
pay 25.2% less in Madrid
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 8.9% less in Madrid
- Clothing
-
pay 31.2% more in Madrid
The cost of transportation, clothing, housing, and restaurants in Madrid are more expensive than in McAllen. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in Madrid. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Madrid.
Madrid vs. McAllen Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Madrid instead of McAllen, you would:
pay 14.0% more for restaurants
|
McAllen
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.50
|
$18.10
€15.42
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$11.68
€9.95
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.55
|
$3.13
€2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.85
|
$2.19
€1.87
|
|
McAllen vs. Madrid - Cost of restaurants
pay (unknown) more for groceries
|
McAllen
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.06
|
$1.71
€1.46
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.80
|
$7.25
€6.17
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$4.61
€3.93
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.23
|
$3.36
€2.86
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.35
|
$4.05
€3.45
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.18
€1.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.64
|
$1.02
€0.87
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.55
|
$1.19
€1.02
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$1.26
€1.07
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$0.94
€0.80
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.01
€0.86
|
McAllen vs. Madrid - Cost of groceries
pay 83.9% more for transportation
|
McAllen
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.76
|
$7.08
€6.03
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$45.84
€39.06
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,489.50
|
$38,541.72
€32,837.78
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.17
|
$16.23
€13.83
|
|
McAllen vs. Madrid - Cost of transportation
pay 29.9% more for housing
|
McAllen
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.00
|
$34.54
€29.43
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$812.50
|
$1,540.98
€1,312.93
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$690.00
|
$1,118.82
€953.24
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$128.31
|
$153.78
€131.02
|
|
McAllen vs. Madrid - Cost of housing
pay 25.2% less for childcare
|
McAllen
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$900.00
|
$673.20
€573.57
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$13,119.76
€11,178.11
|
|
McAllen vs. Madrid - Cost of childcare
pay 8.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
McAllen
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$4.50
€3.83
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.44
|
$3.20
€2.73
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.50
|
$7.01
€5.97
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$45.00
|
$51.05
€43.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$11.68
€9.95
|
|
McAllen vs. Madrid - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 31.2% more for clothing
|
McAllen
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$63.00
|
$98.88
€84.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.50
|
$41.27
€35.16
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$75.00
|
$107.49
€91.58
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$95.00
|
$125.44
€106.87
|
|
McAllen vs. Madrid - 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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