Alicante/Alacant · Comunidad Valenciana
Alacant
Valencia's elegant second city — proper Mediterranean seafront paseos and healthy nightlife, unfairly lumped in with the brasher Costa Blanca resorts.
Why people fall for Alacant
Portrait drawn from The Rough Guide.
The Costa Blanca's provincial capital.
On the table. A culinary scene making a name for itself, alongside long-established nightlife.
Worth the trip
- Seafront paseos like Rambla Méndez Núñez, lined with bars and terrace cafés
- A series of well-curated museums, from ancient archaeology to contemporary art
- Playa del Postiguet, the city's own beach
- Playa Arenales, a quieter dune-backed beach 12km south
Fiestas
- Las Hogueras de San Juan, end of June — second only to Las Fallas in scale
- Fiesta de Moros y Cristianos, nearby Alcoy, around 23 April
A little history
Founded by the Romans as Lucentum ('City of Light'), ruled by the Arabs from the late 8th century, reconquered by Alfonso X in 1246, and incorporated into the Kingdom of Valencia in 1308.
Who it suits: City travellers wanting Mediterranean culture without a resort vibe
Alacant's SpainScores — by who's moving
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities. Each score is Alacant's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 99% of the 8,132 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
Valencia's elegant second city — proper Mediterranean seafront paseos and healthy nightlife, unfairly lumped in with the brasher Costa Blanca resorts. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and only 35 rainy days a year.
- Winter average temp 13.1°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 88 days
- Home price €2,265/m²
Higher than 98% of the 8,132 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
Valencia's elegant second city — proper Mediterranean seafront paseos and healthy nightlife, unfairly lumped in with the brasher Costa Blanca resorts. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and only 35 rainy days a year.
- Winter average temp 13.1°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 2.4 per 1,000
- Home price €2,265/m²
Higher than 92% of the 8,132 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
Valencia's elegant second city — proper Mediterranean seafront paseos and healthy nightlife, unfairly lumped in with the brasher Costa Blanca resorts. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 365,586 people and 11 km from the sea.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 99%
- Drive to nearest airport 38 min
- Home price €2,265/m²
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30.9°C
Higher than 90% of the 8,132 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
Valencia's elegant second city — proper Mediterranean seafront paseos and healthy nightlife, unfairly lumped in with the brasher Costa Blanca resorts. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 11 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Schools in town 154
- PISA maths (region) 473
- Home price €2,265/m²
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 85% of the 8,132 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
Valencia's elegant second city — proper Mediterranean seafront paseos and healthy nightlife, unfairly lumped in with the brasher Costa Blanca resorts. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — 11 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Home price €2,265/m²
- Net income per person €13,681
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30.9°C
Higher than 72% of the 8,132 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
Valencia's elegant second city — proper Mediterranean seafront paseos and healthy nightlife, unfairly lumped in with the brasher Costa Blanca resorts. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 11 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30.9°C
- Rainy days a year 35 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 154
- Winter average temp 13.1°C
What is the climate like in Alacant?
Alacant's reported winter average is 13.1°C, while July–August highs reach 30.9°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 13.1°C top 4% of 8,131 towns 5.3°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 30.9°C bottom 43% of 8,131 towns 0.7°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 35 days top 3% of 8,088 towns 49% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 8.2 h/day top 5% of 3,829 towns 14% more than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 154 bottom 6% of 8,033 towns 97 above the Spanish average (56)
- River-flood depth (T=100, town centre) estimated
- 0 m top 1% of 8,129 towns 0.04 m below the Spanish average (0.04 m)
- River-flood risk score estimated
- 0 top 1% of 8,129 towns about the Spanish average (0)
- Wildfire burn rate (2010–23)
- 0.67 ha/km² bottom 22% of 8,132 towns 1.64 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 9 bottom 12% of 8,132 towns 3 above the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 25.1% bottom 24% of 8,130 towns 2.2% above the Spanish average (22.9%)
The year, month by month
AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.
How good is healthcare in Alacant?
Alacant's nearest health centre is 2.1 km away, and the reported hospital drive is 0 min.
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 0 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
- Nearest health centre
- 2.1 km top 10% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 88 days #6 of 17 regions, −15 days vs national 18% less than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Alacant?
Alacant has 154 schools in town; the nearest international school is 6 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 154 top 1% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 6 km top 4% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 473 #10 of 17 regions, −6 vs national 8 below the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Alacant?
Alacant's reported home price is €2,265/m², while registered long-let rent is €7.11/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €2,265/m² bottom 42% of 306 towns 3% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Registered long-let rent
- €7.11/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €5.44/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €9.48/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 3.76% bottom 27% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €13,681 bottom 40% of 8,059 towns 6% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 23% bottom 32% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Alacant?
the Valencia region has a co-official regional language, and public schools commonly use regional-language immersion or bilingual models rather than Spanish-only teaching. The exact classroom language depends on the school and programme, so confirm the current model before enrolling. See the the Valencia region region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Alacant?
Alacant's reported population is 365,586.
Who lives here
- Population
- 365,586
- Born in Spain
- 71.1% 17.7% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 3.9% 0.1% above the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 2.4 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Alacant?
Alacant is a reported 38 min drive from the nearest airport, with 97% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 38 min top 12% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 97% top 17% of 8,132 towns 18% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 99% top 20% of 8,132 towns 15% above the Spanish average (83%)
Numbers: SpainScore town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Registered long-let rent is SERPAVI declared-contract data; its p25–p75 values show the observed band. Registered-rent yield is gross, excludes costs and is never imputed. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
How does Alacant fit you?
These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Alacant against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 11 min from Sant Vicent del Raspeig/San Vicente del Raspeig, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Alacant for you →Nearby towns
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