Region · Spain
Living in Madrid
Madrid runs hot and dry: summer highs average 31.2°C over only about 67 rainy days a year, with plenty of sun. That suits sun-seekers, but summer water stress is worth watching (WEI+ 90 vs a national 56). On our six settler profiles, Madrid is worth a look if you're budget_inland (ranks #3 of 17 regions), and probably not the one if you're heat-averse settlers (#14 of 17).
Overview
On the wallet: homes run about €3,117/m² (54% above the national average (€2,024/m²)); median net income is about €15,265 per person (7% above the national average (€14,279)).
Public healthcare here means a mean surgical wait around 50 days (51% below the national average (103 days)), with 0.8% of the surgical list waiting over six months — a real, published number, not a brochure claim.
We publish 5 of Madrid's 179 municipalities in depth so far — the ones with a full guide portrait to sit alongside the numbers, weighted toward the warm-summer south and interior. Every figure below is shown against the national reference, gaps included.
Who Madrid is for — and who should look elsewhere
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities, then took the median score of Madrid's towns and ranked it among Spain's 17 comunidades. It answers "how does the typical town here score, versus the typical town elsewhere?"
Good to explore if you're
- budget_inland #3 of 17 regions
- investor #3 of 17 regions
- American retirees #5 of 17 regions
Probably skip if you want
- Heat-averse settlers #14 of 17 regions
- year_round_mild #14 of 17 regions
- Families with school-age kids #12 of 17 regions
- Budget-first coastal settlers #12 of 17 regions
Ranked 1–17 by the median national percentile of the region's municipalities for each profile (higher median = better place to explore). Hover a town's own page for the town-level version.
The numbers for Madrid
Region-level data, each figure against the national reference. Where a figure is a comunidad-autónoma reading rather than a town measurement, we say so under the card.
Climate
- Winter average
- 6.3°C #16 of 17 regions · −1.4°C vs national 1.4 °C below the national average (7.8°C)
- Summer high
- 31.2°C #12 of 17 regions · +1.1°C vs national 1.1 °C above the national average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 67 days #10 of 17 regions · −1 days vs national about the national average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 7.6 h/day #7 of 17 regions · +0.3 h/day vs national 5% above the national average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+)
- 90 #13 of 16 regions · +34 vs national 34 points above the national average (56)
Aggregated from the region's municipalities (AEMET/derived); summer water stress is a river-basin (WEI+) reading.
Schools
- PISA maths
- 494 #4 of 17 regions · +15 vs national 15 points above the national average (479)
- PISA reading
- 496 #3 of 17 regions · +18 vs national 18 points above the national average (478)
- PISA science
- 502 #5 of 17 regions · +13 vs national 13 points above the national average (489)
PISA 2022, reported per comunidad autónoma (INEE). National reference = the mean across the 17 comunidades.
Healthcare
- Surgical wait
- 50 days #1 of 17 regions · −53 days vs national 51% below the national average (103 days)
- Waiting over 6 months
- 0.8% #1 of 17 regions · −15.8 pts vs national 15.8 pts below the national average (16.6%)
- Specialist consult wait
- 68 days #6 of 17 regions · −27 days vs national 29% below the national average (95 days)
Public waiting lists, SISLE-SNS Dic 2025 (2025-12-31), per comunidad autónoma.
Cost & economy
- Median net income / person
- €15,265 #6 of 17 regions · +€986 vs national 7% above the national average (€14,279)
- Median home price
- €3,117/m² #16 of 17 regions · +€1,093/m² vs national 54% above the national average (€2,024/m²)
Median across the region's municipalities (INE net income; Catastro-derived sale price).
Who lives here
- Born in Spain
- 81.4% 7.4 pts below the national average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 4.8% 1 pts above the national average (3.8%)
Share of residents by place of birth, averaged across the region's municipalities (INE).
Tax posture (2025)
- Wealth tax none
- ≈100% bonificación — effectively no annual wealth tax below the Grandes Fortunas threshold.
- Inheritance & gifts none
- 99% bonificación for spouse, children and parents (Grupo I & II) — inheritance is effectively negligible.
- Buying resale (ITP)
- General transfer tax around 6% — Flat general rate (lowest mainland). Reduced rates for under-35 / VPO / large families.
- Buying new-build
- IVA/IGIC around 10%; AJD around 0.75%.
- Annual property tax (IBI)
- Municipal rates typically 0.4–1.1% of cadastral value — set by each town, not the region.
State ITSGF (Grandes Fortunas) applies above ~€3M net worth, but Madrid's bonificación is structured to absorb it — you pay the same amount, it just accrues to the region, not extra. Source: primary source. General posture, not personal tax advice — thresholds, reduced rates and reliefs change and depend on your circumstances. ITP/AJD figures are regional general rates for budgeting, not a quote.
Best towns in Madrid, by what you're after
The same engine as the quiz, run over Madrid's towns and filtered to the ones we profile in depth. Top of each list, in the engine's order — not hand-picked.
Best towns in Madrid for families
schools, coast and cost, scored for remote-working parents
- Aranjuez a hospital in town · 63,838 people
- Alcalá de Henares a hospital in town · 104 schools in town
- Madrid a hospital in town · a real food scene
Best towns in Madrid for winter sun
ranked on winter warmth and sunshine
- Aranjuez a hospital in town · only 53 rainy days a year
- Alcalá de Henares a hospital in town · a health centre close by
- Madrid a hospital in town · a health centre close by
- Chinchón 18 min to a hospital · only 54 rainy days a year
- Escorial, El 12 min to a hospital · a health centre close by
Best-value towns in Madrid
cheap to buy in, but still a real town with services
- Aranjuez 63,838 people · a hospital in town
- Alcalá de Henares a hospital in town · 202,549 people
- Madrid a hospital in town · 100% on 100 Mbps+
Town profiles in Madrid
We profile 5 of Madrid's 179 municipalities in depth — numbers plus an honest portrait. More as we cover them.
Compare Madrid with…
Torn between two regions? Head-to-head, data-only — climate, cost, schools, health waits and tax, side by side.
See how Madrid's towns rank for you
These are Madrid's regional numbers. Whether it fits you depends on your priorities — winter sun or mild summers, short medical waits, a city or a village, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on what you care about — and we'll flag Madrid as one to watch, so your results surface its best towns for you.
Take the quiz — rank Madrid for you →