How much does it really cost to live in Spain's Valencia in 2024?

If you've visited Valencia on holiday, you'll know that Spain's third city is a beautiful coastal place with great food, an international feel, the beach and Mediterranean just a short cycle or drive away, and an abundance of natural parks, famous museums and traditional towns nearby.

With a population of around 800,000, Valencia is big enough to feel like a city but not as intimidating as its bigger neighbours Madrid and Barcelona can feel at times.

All in all, Valencia is a fantastic place to visit and live.

But don't just take my word for it - in 2020 Valencia was named the most desirable city for foreign residents in the world by the Expat Insider Survey published by InterNations. In fact, over 100,000 foreigners have made the eastern Spanish city their home in recent decades, and for good reason.

READ ALSO: Living in Spain: Why Valencia is officially the best city in the world for foreign residents

Valencia has long been a popular holiday destination, but how much does it really cost to live in Valencia?

How does Valencia compare?

According to calculations from Numbeo, for renting, Valencia is 26.1 percent cheaper than in Madrid, and 25.8 percent cheaper than in Barcelona. For transport costs, Valencia is around 25 percent cheaper than Madrid for a monthly travel card, and 16.7 percent cheaper than in Barcelona.

Numbeo estimates that a family of four in Valencia has estimated monthly costs of €2,378.60, not including rent, and a single person €674.70 without rent.

As is the case anywhere in the world, prices vary depending on the barrio (neighbourhood) you live in not only for renting and buying property, but even how much you pay for a beer and sandwich. That being said, we can take a look at some average prices to get a better idea of how much living in Valencia actually costs.

Rent

According to Numbeo, Valencianos fork out 31.5 percent of their monthly budget on paying rent.

Renting a one-bedroom apartment in the centre of Valencia costs an average of €966.08 a month. If you want something a little cheaper, travelling further from the city centre means you'll be able to find one-bedroom apartments for an average of €716.30.

For a three bed in the city centre, you'd pay on average €1,600 a month, whereas a three-bedroom apartment on the city's outskirts would set you back around €1,050 a month on average. 

The cheapest barrios to rent in Valencia are generally considered to be Favara, sandwiched between Patriax and Jesús in the south of the city, Torrefiel, in the Rascanya district, and San Antoni, where you can still find apartments to rent for less €6.00/m2.

Buying property

Buying a property in central Valencia in 2024 costs an average of around €2,389.20/m2, which means that if you buy a 80/m2 apartment, it would cost you around €191,136.

READ ALSO: REVEALED: The cheapest and most expensive areas to buy or rent in Valencia

Let’s take, for example, Valencia’s most expensive neighbourhood, l’Eixample, in the city centre, which on average costs €3.615/m2 to buy, according to Idealista. That’s quite a bit more than the city-wide average, but pales in comparison to the Salamanca district of Madrid (€7.374/m2) and the Sarrià – Sant Gervasi area of Barcelona (€5,666/m2).

Groceries

Like anywhere, prices depend on where you shop. Generally speaking, chain supermarkets like Mercadona, Masymas, and Consum are the cheapest, while larger supermarkets like Carrefour and El Corte Inglés are more expensive.

Looking at the average prices on Numbeo, in Valencia a kilogram of rice costs an average of €1.33. 12 eggs set you back €2.54, and a litre of milk €1.03. A kilogram of tomatoes (likely grown locally) costs an average of €2.11, and a kilo of potatoes just €1.59.

Of the more expensive products, a kilogram of chicken fillets costs around €7.50, and its €9.69 on average for a kilo of local cheese.

Grocery shopping is more expensive in Valencia than it was a couple of years ago. Photo: Jonny James/Unsplash.

Eating out

Valencia is the birthplace of one of Spain's most iconic dishes, paella, but has a thriving (and very affordable) gastronomical scene that boasts a mix Spanish classics and international cuisine.

A meal in an inexpensive restaurant in Valencia costs around €12.75, whereas a three-course meal for two people sets you back an average of €45.

For those of you who enjoy fast food, or use the classic 'Big Mac Index' to gage a city's cost of living, a combo meal in McDonalds costs €9 on average.

Having a caña (a beer in a small glass) costs on average €2.50 whereas Spain's classic menú del día three-course lunch menu is €12.80, similar to the national average, but can be considerably higher in the city centre.

Transport

A one-way ticket on local buses or metro costs around €1.50, and a monthly pass €31.50 on average. 

However, like in many parts of Spain, the Valencian local government offers substantial discounts on public transport. The SUMA card, which integrates all the routes of Metrovalencia, Metrobus, EMT and Cercanías, has been cut considerably. The cost of a 10 trip SUMA top-up in Zone 1 starts from just €4 and passes for Zones 1 and 2 from €6, and increases the further out you go.

Those of you who have spent time in Valencia probably noticed that the city is absolutely covered in cycle lanes. Valencia is an incredibly bike friendly city, and the majority of people there (tourists and locals alike) use the public bike rental scheme Valenbisi.

It's also incredibly cheap - a weekly subscription costs just €13.30, and the annual pass is a steal at €29.21. The first 30 minutes are always free (and it must be said, most journeys in the city centre don't take half an hour) and after that you pay around €1 or €0.50 per half hour after that, depending on your tariff.