The list of the most expensive and cheapest cities in Spain

This week the Bank of Spain has published a report with the most expensive and cheapest cities in Spain based on the cost of living . The first positions in the ranking are for Madrid and Barcelona, where living is 20% more expensive than in other cities in the country, due in large part to the price of housing.

According to the newspaper ’20minutos’, the price of rentals in Madrid and Barcelona has been increasing exponentially since 2015. In 2020 renting a flat in these two cities was 82% more expensive than in other Spanish cities .

However, wages in Madrid and Barcelona , according to the report published by the Bank of Spain, in 2018 were 45% higher than in other urban areas, so that the high rental prices could be offset, at least in part.

“The well-being of citizens depends both on their income levels and on the cost of living that they have to face depending on their place of residence. However, the information available on the differences in price levels between geographical areas of the same country is very scarce, “ indicate the authors of the report on the most expensive and cheapest cities in Spain.

What are the cheapest cities in Spain?

The cheapest city to live in is Elda-Petrer , located south of Alicante. The cost of living in it is 31% lower than Madrid and Barcelona. With a population of 93,535 inhabitants, it is the sixth population center of the Valencian Community.

Other cities have a cost of living between 25% and 30% more affordable than the most expensive cities in Spain. They are the following: Talavera de la Reina, Orense, Zamora, Lugo, Almagro, Lorca, Cáceres, Cartagena and Mérida .

Meanwhile, Vigo, La Coruña, Alicante, Huelva, Valencia, Córdoba, Jerez de la Frontera and Granada are 20% cheaper than Madrid and Barcelona.

Most expensive cities in Spain to rent a flat

According to data from Fotocasa, in January 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic, Barcelona was the second most expensive city in the country to rent a flat : 17.69 euros per square meter.

The current ranking is as follows:

1. Ibiza: 18.01 euros per square meter.
2. San Sebastián: 16.01 euros per square meter.
3. Sitges: 15.90 euros per square meter.
4. La Moreleja: 15.35 euros per square meter.
5. Castelldefels: 15.33 euros per square meter.