Europe · 39 cities
Spain for digital nomads: 39 cities compared (2026)
Spain has 39 cities in the dataset. Santa Cruz de Tenerife scores highest under balanced weights at 77/100; Seville is the cheapest with a city-level price at $1,435 a month. Spain has a dedicated remote-work visa, the International teleworking visa (digital nomad visa).
Dataset 2026.10.7. How scoring works.
Cities in Spain, ranked
Balanced weights, every factor equal. Open a city for the full breakdown with sources, or rank them with your own weights.
| # | City | Score | Cost/mo | Internet | Comfortable months | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife Year-round spring on the biggest Canary Island | 77 | $2,200* | 69.6 Mbps | 12/12 | Mild all year · Teide volcano |
| 2 | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Europe's winter-sun nomad base | 77 | $2,200* | 61.8 Mbps | 12/12 | Mild all year · Las Canteras beach |
| 3 | Puerto de la Cruz Tenerife's green north-coast resort with black-sand beaches and Manrique's sea pools | 77 | $2,200* | 59.6 Mbps | 12/12 | Lago Martiánez sea pools · Playa Jardín black sand |
| 4 | Arrecife (Lanzarote) Lanzarote's working capital among volcanoes | 75 | $2,200* | 49.8 Mbps | 12/12 | Volcanic landscapes · Year-round warmth |
| 5 | Palma de Mallorca Island capital with a Gothic cathedral and a beach | 75 | $2,200* | 92 Mbps | 8/12 | Mallorca beaches · Old town |
| 6 | Sitges Barcelona's beach town: LGBTQ+ friendly, pretty and pricey | 75 | $2,200* | 74.3 Mbps | 7/12 | Seventeen beaches and the seafront · LGBTQ+ scene |
| 7 | Corralejo (Fuerteventura) Fuerteventura's wind and surf town with dune beaches | 75 | $2,200* | 42.1 Mbps | 12/12 | Dune beaches · Wind and kite surfing |
| 8 | Benidorm High-rise beach resort with year-round life and a huge British presence | 74 | $2,200* | 57.1 Mbps | 8/12 | Levante and Poniente beaches · Skyline of towers |
| 9 | Ibiza Town Island capital with winter calm and summer excess | 74 | $2,200* | 77.2 Mbps | 8/12 | Dalt Vila old town · Balearic beaches |
| 10 | Málaga Costa del Sol tech hub with a beach | 74 | $2,200* | 40.2 Mbps | 8/12 | Beach in the city · Growing tech scene |
| 11 | Bilbao Basque food and design in a compact city | 73 | $2,200* | 62.5 Mbps | 6/12 | Guggenheim · Pintxos culture |
| 12 | Jerez de la Frontera Sherry bodegas, flamenco and horses in a cheap, flat Andalusian city | 73 | $2,200* | 70.4 Mbps | 8/12 | Sherry bodegas · Flamenco in the gitano quarters |
| 13 | Cádiz Andalusia's old seaside city with urban beaches | 73 | $2,200* | 77.5 Mbps | 8/12 | City beaches · Carnival |
| 14 | Mahón (Menorca) Menorca's harbour capital with a quiet Mediterranean life | 73 | $2,200* | 61 Mbps | 8/12 | Natural harbour · Protected coast |
| 15 | San Sebastián Pintxos, surf and the prettiest bay in Spain | 73 | $2,200* | 93.8 Mbps | 6/12 | La Concha beach · Pintxos bars |
| 16 | Alicante Costa Blanca base with a real city behind the beach | 73 | $2,200* | 75.1 Mbps | 6/12 | Postiguet beach · Tram to nearby towns |
| 17 | Barcelona Beach, grid streets and big-city everything | 73 | $2,694 | 57.8 Mbps | 6/12 | Mediterranean beaches · Design and tech scene |
| 18 | Salamanca Golden-stone university city where foreigners come to learn Spanish | 73 | $2,200* | 86.2 Mbps | 4/12 | University founded 1218 · Plaza Mayor |
| 19 | Tarragona Roman ruins and a city beach an hour down the coast from Barcelona | 73 | $2,200* | 50.2 Mbps | 6/12 | Roman amphitheatre and walls (UNESCO) · Platja del Miracle city beach |
| 20 | Tarifa Europe's wind and kitesurf capital at the tip of Spain | 72 | $2,200* | 48.7 Mbps | 8/12 | Kitesurfing and windsurfing · Views of Morocco |
| 21 | Madrid High-energy capital with Spain's best transport | 72 | $2,579 | 59 Mbps | 5/12 | Late-night culture · Museums and parks |
| 22 | Valencia Barcelona's calmer, cheaper Mediterranean cousin | 72 | $1,949 | 42.6 Mbps | 6/12 | Flat, bikeable city · Turia park |
| 23 | Córdoba (Spain) Mezquita, patios and some of the cheapest rents of any Spanish city | 72 | $2,200* | 80.2 Mbps | 5/12 | Mezquita-Catedral · Patio festival in May |
| 24 | Girona Medieval city near Barcelona with a cycling cult | 72 | $2,200* | 87.7 Mbps | 6/12 | Pro-cycling base · Jewish quarter |
| 25 | Toledo Hilltop UNESCO old town half an hour by train from Madrid | 72 | $2,200* | 83.4 Mbps | 6/12 | Walled old town above the Tagus · El Greco and the cathedral |
| 26 | Valladolid Castilian plateau city with good tapas, Ribera wine and an hour's train to Madrid | 72 | $2,200* | 76.7 Mbps | 4/12 | Tapas bars · Ribera del Duero and Rueda wines |
| 27 | Marbella Costa del Sol resort with an old town, a marina and year-round sun | 72 | $2,254 | 89.8 Mbps | 7/12 | Puerto Banús marina · Whitewashed old town |
| 28 | Murcia Cheap, sunny inland city with the Costa Cálida 45 minutes away | 72 | $2,200* | 59.1 Mbps | 7/12 | Baroque cathedral and old town · Huerta market gardens |
| 29 | Seville Sun-soaked Andalusian charm on a budget | 72 | $1,435 | 42.2 Mbps | 5/12 | Tapas and flamenco · Orange-tree streets |
| 30 | Oviedo Asturias' tidy capital: cider, pre-Romanesque churches and green hills | 71 | $2,200* | 91.2 Mbps | 5/12 | Sidrerías on Calle Gascona · Pre-Romanesque churches (UNESCO) |
| 31 | Santander Cantabrian port with city beaches and green hills | 71 | $2,200* | 91.9 Mbps | 5/12 | Sardinero beaches · Cheap for coastal Spain |
| 32 | Almería Spain's driest, sunniest city, with the Cabo de Gata coast next door | 70 | $2,200* | 74.4 Mbps | 6/12 | Alcazaba fortress · Cabo de Gata beaches |
| 33 | Zaragoza Spain's affordable fifth city between Madrid and Barcelona | 70 | $2,200* | 62.2 Mbps | 6/12 | Basílica del Pilar · High-speed rail to Madrid and Barcelona |
| 34 | Gijón Asturias' biggest city, with an urban beach and a cider-soaked fishing quarter | 70 | $2,200* | 74.6 Mbps | 5/12 | San Lorenzo beach · Cimadevilla old quarter |
| 35 | Pamplona Navarre's walled capital, famous for one week in July and quiet the rest of the year | 70 | $2,200* | 89.1 Mbps | 4/12 | San Fermín bull run · Citadel and city walls |
| 36 | Granada Alhambra views on a student budget | 70 | $2,200* | 78.2 Mbps | 6/12 | Alhambra · Free tapas |
| 37 | A Coruña Galician peninsula city with urban beaches and a Roman lighthouse | 69 | $2,200* | 67.5 Mbps | 5/12 | Tower of Hercules · Riazor and Orzán beaches |
| 38 | Santiago de Compostela End of the Camino: a granite university city under frequent rain | 69 | $2,200* | 67.8 Mbps | 4/12 | Cathedral and the Camino de Santiago · UNESCO granite old town |
| 39 | Vigo Galicia's biggest city: a working Atlantic port with the Cíes Islands offshore | 66 | $2,200* | 43.7 Mbps | 5/12 | Cíes Islands · Europe's largest fishing port |
* national estimate
National figures shared by every city
These come from country-level sources and apply to every city in Spain; city pages add the local numbers.
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Homicide rate | 0.73 per 100,000 people | Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), 2024 |
| Political stability | 69 (percentile, World Bank WGI) | Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), 2025 |
| Health coverage index | 84 (WHO UHC index, 0–100) | UHC service coverage index, 2023 |
| Life expectancy | 82.7 years | Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, 2021 |
| Human Development Index | 0.918 | Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), 2023 |
| English proficiency | moderate | EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), 2024 |
| Starlink | available | Starlink availability map, 2026-10 |
Visas and entry
What three common passports get at the border, from the passport index. Pick your own passport on the ranker for the full picture.
| Passport | Entry rule |
|---|---|
| US passport | 90 days visa-free |
| EU passport | freedom of movement |
| UK passport | 90 days visa-free |
Compare cities in Spain
Head-to-head pages for the pairs people look at most.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Spain good for digital nomads?
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife scores 77/100 under balanced weights, which ranks it 1 of 1,000 cities in the dataset. Spain's 39 cities average 72.4/100. Strongest factors in Santa Cruz de Tenerife: climate and healthcare; weakest: cost of living.
- What is the cheapest city in Spain for a remote worker?
- Seville, at about $1,435 a month for one person including rent (WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages), 2026-09). Barcelona is the most expensive city-priced option at $2,694.
- Does Spain have a digital nomad visa?
- Yes: the International teleworking visa (digital nomad visa). Minimum income $2,741/month. Details, documents and official sources are in the Spain visa guide.
- How long can a US, EU or UK citizen stay in Spain without a visa?
- US passport: 90 days visa-free. EU passport (Germany as reference): freedom of movement. UK passport: 90 days visa-free. Source: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), 2026-02.
- Which city in Spain has the fastest internet?
- San Sebastián, with a measured median download of 93.8 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024). Measured speeds run below advertised plans everywhere; 40 Mbps measured is already good.
- How safe is Spain?
- Spain records 0.73 homicides per 100,000 people (Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), 2024) and sits at the 69th percentile for political stability (World Bank WGI, 2025). These are national figures; city pages note local caveats.
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