Cost of Living inCartagena, Spain
Image credit: Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz)
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Spain: $48,460/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 49% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
Happiness
6.4 / 10
#35 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Spain; Cartagena-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Good public schools
Expat access
Available to residents
conditionalInstruction
Spanish / Catalan / Valencian
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Spain’s public schools are broadly solid, with stronger outcomes in some regions than others.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families can use public schools, but the classroom language will be Spanish and sometimes a regional language like Catalan or Valencian.
❓ Homeschooling
Legal gray areaSpain does not explicitly prohibit or regulate homeschooling. The constitution guarantees education but does not require school attendance. Some regions are more tolerant than others. Catalonia and Andalusia have growing communities. Court rulings have generally been sympathetic but no clear legal framework exists.
Homeschool legality in Spain — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Spain.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$900-$1,650
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$1,900-$3,200
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Cartagena is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Spain.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
StrongGood national coverage, strong doctor availability, and life expectancy is high support this rating.
Public care
StrongBroad public coverage, strong public funding, and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong support this rating.
Private care
LimitedThe tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
84/100
2023
Physicians
4.29/1k
2022
Hospital beds
2.91/1k
2023
Out of pocket
21%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
83.9 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
3/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
1.7/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedCountry-level outcomes are comparatively strong help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Spain yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-07-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Construction | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Real Estate | — |
2024 annual wages in Cartagena, Spain · Source: Eurostat Regional
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can stay up to 90 days without a visa.
Long-Term Visa Programs
digital nomad
Digital Nomad Visa
Migrated from legacy digital_nomad_visas row 2
retirement
Non-Lucrative Visainvestment
Spain Golden Visa Real EstateQuick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Cartagena compared with the US?
Your money goes about 1.8x further in Cartagena than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Spain here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Cartagena cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Cartagena is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 49% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Cartagena. We are using the country-level cost index for Spain here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Cartagena compare with New York City?
Rent in Cartagena is about 78% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Spain here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Cartagena?
Groceries in Cartagena are about 48% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 46% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Spain here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Cartagena
Cartagena sits on Spain's southeastern Mediterranean coast in the Region of Murcia, with a natural harbor that has hosted ports since Carthaginian and Roman times. The city of about 214,000 remains a major Spanish naval base, home to part of the Armada Española, alongside one of the country's largest petrochemical refineries operated by Repsol at nearby Escombreras and significant cruise traffic. The Mediterranean climate is among the driest and warmest on the Iberian Peninsula, with mild winters and hot dry summers moderated by sea breezes. Spanish is essential; English is used in tourism but limited elsewhere. Cartagena offers cheaper housing than Valencia or Málaga, EU residency pathways through Spain's standard visa routes, and a coastal lifestyle tied to the Mar Menor lagoon.
See the full breakdown — free
No password needed. Takes ~30 seconds.
More cities in Spain
Cities with a similar cost of living
Comparable to Cartagena — worth a look if you're weighing alternatives.