Where is the cheapest city in Spain to live? Establishing which is the cheapest city in Spain is not an easy task, as many aspects need to be taken into account such as the price of housing, taxes or transport.
In this case, it is also important to assess income, as a general rule, depending on the city in which you reside, the salary will be higher or lower. Based on Kelisto's latest study, which was conducted in 2018, there is one city that outperforms the rest.
Assessing the purchase of housing, taxes, transport costs and income levels of the different cities in Spain, it was concluded that Palencia was by far the cheapest city in Spain to live in, with a cost of living 30.06% below the average. After Palencia was Melilla (17.13%) and Lugo (16.94%).
According to the ranking carried out by Kelisto, the cheapest cities in Spain to live in are the following:
- 1. Palencia - The Cheapest City in Spain
- 2. Melilla
- 3. Lugo
- 4. Logrono
- 5. Teruel
- 6. Caceres
- 7. Zamora
- 8. Avila
- 9. Soria
- 10. Leon
Of course, the fact that they are cheaper to live there does not mean that the salaries are respectively lower. In the case of Palencia, for example, the average annual income is 23,654.17 euros.
As declared by Bankinter, in Ciudad Real the square meter costs 1,018 euros, so it can be said that it is the cheapest place to buy a home today (but not to reside). After Ciudad Real we find Ávila (1,037 euros per m2), Soria (1,041 euros per m2), Lugo (1,050 euros per m2) or Castellón (1,078 euros per m2).
In the case of renting housing, Orense is the cheapest city to rent, with an average of 5.9 euros per square metre. It is followed by Ciudad Real (6 euros m2), Zamora (6 euros m2) and Lugo (6.1 m2).
As far as the IBI (Real Estate Tax) is concerned, as explained in the OCU, San Sebastián is the city whihc has the lowest IBI at 147 euros. It is followed by Bilbao (153 euros), Vitoria (258 euros) and Pamplona (314 euros).
The price of public transport is also a great conditioning factor in understanding the cheapest city in Spain. FACUA has studied the price range and has established which city has the lowest cost of public transport. In this case, it is Logroño, with a price of 0.53 euros for a bus ticket.
It is followed by Ávila (0.55 euros), Salamanca (0.59 euros), Palencia (0.60 euros), Santiago (0.60 euros), Vitoria (0.60 euros), and Segovia (0.60 euros). The most expensive route is in Madrid at 1.83 euros for the bus ticket.
If you want to travel and not spend too much, it is best to choose one of the low season times of the year for visiting. This means that you will have to forget about travelling in summer, at Christmas, at Easter and even on 'puentes' or holidays.
The best dates to travel will be just after the summer, that is, during the month of October, or just after the Christmas season, in the middle of January. They are the cheapest trips you will find, so you could save even more than half of what it would cost you in high season.
Where are the most expensive cities to live in Spain?
Now we know the cheapest cities to live in Spain, let's look at the most expensive cities to live in. To carry out this ranking, similar aspects were taken into account:
- 1. San Sebastian
- 2. Barcelona
- 3. Vitoria
- 4. Madrid
- 5. Palma de Mallorca
- 6. Valencia
- 7. Girona
- 8. Albacete
- 9. Oviedo
- 10.Tarragona
In the case of the most expensive cities to live in, in most cases they are also the ones that offer the lowest quality of life, so they are the least recommended to settle and live in, although they are usually good tourist destinations given the wide range of entertainment that is on offer.