SpainScore rankings · Updated July 2026
Best places to retire in Spain
Ranked for a sun-seeking retiring couple who want the coast nearby and a hospital close at hand.
How we ranked this
We answered our own 17-question quiz as a retiring couple who told the quiz they want sunshine and warm-but-not-scorching weather, to be near the coast, with a hospital close at hand and a reasonable cost of living. Then we ran every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities through the same scoring engine the quiz uses, and kept the top-ranked towns that have a full data profile.
- Data INE census (population, origins), AEMET climate normals, regional PISA scores, and the Health Ministry's SISLE waiting lists — each town compared against the Spanish average.
- Reproducible Feed the same persona into our engine and you get this exact order. No hand-picking, no affiliate deals.
- What we don't score We don't score the expat social scene, golf, or whether a town 'feels' retirement-friendly — only measurable things: climate, coast distance, hospital drive-time, cost and regional waiting lists.
The ranking
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A hospital in town; only 30 rainy days a year; 14°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Spanish immersion (few foreigners).
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A hospital in town; only 33 rainy days a year; 13°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Spanish immersion (few foreigners).
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A hospital in town; only 18 rainy days a year; 18.8°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Short specialist waitlists.
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A hospital in town; 13.1°C average winters; only 44 rainy days a year.
Honest tradeoff: Spanish immersion (few foreigners).
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A hospital in town; only 34 rainy days a year; 12.7°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Spanish immersion (few foreigners).
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A hospital in town; only 43 rainy days a year; 12.3°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Spanish immersion (few foreigners).
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A hospital in town; only 35 rainy days a year; 13.1°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Spanish immersion (few foreigners).
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A hospital in town; only 25 rainy days a year; 14.1°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Short surgical waitlists.
Compare the top 8
| # | Town | Winter avg | Summer high | Drive to hospital | Home price | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cartagena | 14°C | 30.1°C | 0 min | €1,496/m² | 4 km |
| 2 | Elx/Elche | 13°C | 30.5°C | 0 min | €1,684/m² | 11 km |
| 3 | Arrecife | 18.8°C | 29°C | 0 min | €1,947/m² | 2 km |
| 4 | Formentera | 13.1°C | 30.1°C | 0 min | no data | 5 km |
| 5 | Murcia | 12.7°C | 34.4°C | 0 min | €1,575/m² | 28 km |
| 6 | Castelló de la Plana/Castellón de la Plana | 12.3°C | 30.6°C | 0 min | €1,527/m² | 3 km |
| 7 | Alacant/Alicante | 13.1°C | 30.9°C | 0 min | €2,265/m² | 12 km |
| 8 | Almería | 14.1°C | 30.9°C | 0 min | €1,675/m² | 11 km |
Values from the SpainScore dataset (INE / AEMET / regional sources). "no data" = we don't have that number for this town and never guess it.
Questions
Where is the best place to retire in Spain?
For a retiree who wants sun, warmth and coast access, our engine favours the Mediterranean and southern coasts — but the 'best' place depends on your own priorities on cost, healthcare and community. Take the quiz for a ranking tuned to your answers.
What matters most when choosing where to retire in Spain?
For most retirees: winter warmth, hospital proximity, cost of living and how easily family can visit. We weight climate and healthcare access heavily for this list and show each town's tradeoffs plainly.
This is a generic generic retiring couple
Get your ranking, not this one →
This list scores one representative persona. Answer a dozen honest questions and we score all 8,132 municipalities against your priorities — climate, cost, healthcare, community, getting home — with the tradeoffs shown as plainly as the wins.
Take the 3-minute quiz →Updated July 2026. Re-generated from the SpainScore dataset on each data release — the ranking is reproducible, not editorial.