Cost of living comparison
compared to
New Jersey vs. Spain Cost of Living Summary
New Jersey is 90.0% more expensive than Spain overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.4% more in New Jersey
- Groceries
-
pay 81.6% more in New Jersey
- Transportation
-
pay 45.2% more in New Jersey
- Housing
-
pay 2.0 times more in New Jersey
- Childcare
-
pay 3.9 times more in New Jersey
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 84.5% more in New Jersey
- Clothing
-
pay 11.9% more in New Jersey
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, transportation, and restaurants in New Jersey are more expensive than in Spain. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in New Jersey.
New Jersey vs. Spain Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New Jersey instead of Spain, you would:
pay 17.4% more for restaurants
|
Spain
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.59
€13.53
|
$19.95
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.47
€9.09
|
$12.40
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.43
€2.11
|
$2.60
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.75
€1.52
|
$2.04
|
|
Spain vs. New Jersey - Cost of restaurants
pay 81.6% more for groceries
|
Spain
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.50
€1.30
|
$4.17
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.18
€6.23
|
$8.09
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.55
€3.95
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.00
€2.60
|
$5.24
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.77
€3.27
|
$5.96
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.12
€0.98
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.98
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
€0.78
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.25
€1.08
|
$2.62
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.79
€0.69
|
$1.44
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.88
€0.76
|
$1.60
|
|
Spain vs. New Jersey - Cost of groceries
pay 45.2% more for transportation
|
Spain
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.72
€5.84
|
$3.24
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$36.04
€31.28
|
$116.02
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,479.99
€31,668.03
|
$32,841.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.35
€14.19
|
$19.75
|
|
Spain vs. New Jersey - Cost of transportation
pay 2.0 times more for housing
|
Spain
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$31.86
€27.66
|
$62.68
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$935.97
€812.51
|
$2,279.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$738.34
€640.95
|
$1,885.98
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$108.98
€94.60
|
$126.74
|
|
Spain vs. New Jersey - Cost of housing
pay 3.9 times more for childcare
|
Spain
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$443.17
€384.71
|
$2,023.96
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$8,629.20
€7,490.95
|
$27,267.62
|
|
Spain vs. New Jersey - Cost of childcare
pay 84.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Spain
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.32
€2.88
|
$6.95
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.26
€1.96
|
$5.20
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.32
€5.49
|
$12.79
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$48.29
€41.92
|
$52.90
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.66
€8.39
|
$16.52
|
|
Spain vs. New Jersey - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.9% more for clothing
|
Spain
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$82.11
€71.28
|
$57.64
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.86
€31.13
|
$49.26
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.78
€77.07
|
$99.28
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.74
€92.66
|
$136.81
|
|
Spain vs. New Jersey - 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: November 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 New Jersey or Spain. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.