Cost of living comparison
compared to
Madrid vs. Santa Barbara Cost of Living Summary
Madrid is 20.9% cheaper than Santa Barbara.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.4% less in Madrid
- Groceries
-
pay 33.7% less in Madrid
- Transportation
-
pay 11.1% more in Madrid
- Housing
-
pay 40.1% less in Madrid
- Childcare
-
pay 58.6% less in Madrid
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 32.4% less in Madrid
- Clothing
-
pay 17.9% more in Madrid
The cost of clothing and transportation in Madrid are more expensive than in Santa Barbara. Expenses including childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Madrid.
Madrid vs. Santa Barbara Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Madrid instead of Santa Barbara, you would:
pay 10.4% less for restaurants
|
Santa Barbara
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$18.10
€15.61
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$11.68
€10.07
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$3.13
€2.70
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.42
|
$2.19
€1.89
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Madrid - Cost of restaurants
pay 33.7% less for groceries
|
Santa Barbara
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.40
|
$1.71
€1.48
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$12.68
|
$7.25
€6.25
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.25
|
$4.61
€3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.38
|
$3.36
€2.89
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.38
|
$4.05
€3.50
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.90
|
$1.18
€1.02
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
|
$1.02
€0.88
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$1.19
€1.03
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.48
|
$1.26
€1.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$0.94
€0.81
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$1.01
€0.87
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Madrid - Cost of groceries
pay 11.1% more for transportation
|
Santa Barbara
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.73
|
$7.08
€6.10
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$52.00
|
$45.84
€39.53
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,500.00
|
$38,541.72
€33,235.57
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.78
|
$16.23
€14.00
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Madrid - Cost of transportation
pay 40.1% less for housing
|
Santa Barbara
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.25
|
$34.54
€29.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,720.83
|
$1,540.98
€1,328.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.89
|
$1,118.82
€964.79
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$166.24
|
$153.78
€132.61
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Madrid - Cost of housing
pay 58.6% less for childcare
|
Santa Barbara
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,425.00
|
$673.20
€580.51
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$37,000.00
|
$13,119.76
€11,313.52
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Madrid - Cost of childcare
pay 32.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Barbara
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$4.50
€3.88
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.14
|
$3.20
€2.76
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.82
|
$7.01
€6.04
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.50
|
$51.05
€44.03
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.50
|
$11.68
€10.07
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Madrid - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.9% more for clothing
|
Santa Barbara
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.00
|
$98.88
€85.27
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.75
|
$41.27
€35.59
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$77.00
|
$107.49
€92.69
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$143.33
|
$125.44
€108.17
|
|
Santa Barbara 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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