Barcelona · Cataluña
Barcelona
Spain's most stylish city — a thriving port and buzzing cultural capital where world-class art, football, design and Gaudí's Sagrada Família all compete for attention.
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Why people fall for Barcelona
Portrait drawn from The Rough Guide.
Catalunya's capital, a metropolitan area of nearly six million people.
On the table. Designer restaurants, tapas bars hidden down centuries-old alleys, and unmarked gourmet spots.
Worth the trip
- La Rambla, the Gothic Quarter and the Sagrada Família
- Montjuïc's MNAC and Fundació Joan Miró
- Park Güell and the Gràcia neighbourhood
- A day-trip to the mountain monastery of Montserrat, 40km northwest
Who it suits: Almost anyone — culture, food, football and design all in one city
Barcelona'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 Barcelona's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 96% of the 8,132 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
Spain's most stylish city — a thriving port and buzzing cultural capital where world-class art, football, design and Gaudí's Sagrada Família all compete for attention. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 10°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 5.39 per 1,000
- Home price €4,682/m²
Higher than 89% of the 8,132 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
Spain's most stylish city — a thriving port and buzzing cultural capital where world-class art, football, design and Gaudí's Sagrada Família all compete for attention. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 4 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 100%
- Drive to nearest airport 23 min
- Home price €4,682/m²
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 28.8°C
Higher than 88% of the 8,132 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
Spain's most stylish city — a thriving port and buzzing cultural capital where world-class art, football, design and Gaudí's Sagrada Família all compete for attention. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 10°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 142 days
- Home price €4,682/m²
Higher than 88% of the 8,132 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
Spain's most stylish city — a thriving port and buzzing cultural capital where world-class art, football, design and Gaudí's Sagrada Família all compete for attention. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 4 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Schools in town 766
- PISA maths (region) 469
- Home price €4,682/m²
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 86% of the 8,132 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
Spain's most stylish city — a thriving port and buzzing cultural capital where world-class art, football, design and Gaudí's Sagrada Família all compete for attention. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 4 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 28.8°C
- Rainy days a year 56 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 73
- Winter average temp 10°C
Higher than 78% of the 8,132 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
Spain's most stylish city — a thriving port and buzzing cultural capital where world-class art, football, design and Gaudí's Sagrada Família all compete for attention. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — 4 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Home price €4,682/m²
- Net income per person €19,527
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 28.8°C
What is the climate like in Barcelona?
Barcelona's reported winter average is 10°C, while July–August highs reach 28.8°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 10°C top 23% of 8,131 towns 2.2°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 28.8°C top 28% of 8,131 towns 1.4°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 56 days top 32% of 8,088 towns 18% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine estimated
- 7.3 h/day bottom 46% of 3,829 towns about the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 73 bottom 31% of 8,033 towns 16 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)
- 0.73 ha/km² bottom 20% of 8,132 towns 1.58 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
- 29.2% bottom 4% of 8,130 towns 6.3% 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 Barcelona?
Barcelona's nearest health centre is 0.9 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
- 0.9 km top 4% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 142 days #16 of 17 regions, +39 days vs national 32% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Barcelona?
Barcelona has 766 schools in town; the nearest international school is 1 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 766 top 1% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 1 km top 1% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 469 #12 of 17 regions, −10 vs national 12 below the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Barcelona?
Barcelona's reported home price is €4,682/m², while registered long-let rent is €13.7/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €4,682/m² bottom 4% of 306 towns 112% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Registered long-let rent
- €13.7/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €11.1/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €16.8/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 3.51% bottom 17% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €19,527 top 4% of 8,059 towns 35% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 19.2% bottom 15% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Barcelona?
Catalonia 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 Catalonia region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Barcelona?
Barcelona's reported population is 1,713,247.
Who lives here
- Population
- 1,713,247
- Born in Spain
- 65.4% 23.4% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 5.3% 1.5% above the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 5.39 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Barcelona?
Barcelona is a reported 23 min drive from the nearest airport, with 99% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 23 min top 4% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 99% top 5% of 8,132 towns 20% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 100% top 8% of 8,132 towns 17% 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 Barcelona 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 Barcelona against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 13 min from Hospitalet de Llobregat, L', if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Barcelona for you →Nearby towns
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