Almería · Andalucía
Almería
An underrated Moorish port city — 'mirror of the sea' under its Nasrid rulers — refreshingly untouristed next to Andalucía's bigger cities.
Why people fall for Almería
Portrait drawn from Lonely Planet & The Rough Guide.
At the foot of a stark grey mountain in the heart of Almería province.
On the table. A sophisticated dining scene, including a plethora of fantastic tapas bars.
Worth the trip
- The Alcazaba, probably the best-surviving example of Moorish military fortification in Spain, once holding gardens, palaces and some 20,000 people
- The fortress-like Catedral
- The Barrio de la Chanca cave quarter
- The Desierto de Tabernas ('Wild West' film sets) and Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Níjar nearby
A little history
Founded by the Phoenicians; as Al-Mariyat ('Mirror of the Sea') under the Nasrids it was a flourishing, modern metropolis, later declining after the Reconquista and bombed as the last Republican stronghold in the Civil War.
Who it suits: History and architecture travellers · Those wanting an authentic Andalucian city without the crowds
Who Almería is for — and who it isn't
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities and read off where Almería lands.
Good for
- Retiring couples 99th percentile of 8,132 towns a hospital in town · only 25 rainy days a year
- Remote-working couples 99th percentile of 8,132 towns 11 km from the sea · 204,772 people
- American retirees 98th percentile of 8,132 towns a hospital in town · only 25 rainy days a year
- Families with school-age kids 97th percentile of 8,132 towns 11 km from the sea · a hospital in town
- Budget-first coastal settlers 97th percentile of 8,132 towns 11 km from the sea · a hospital in town
- Heat-averse settlers 90th percentile of 8,132 towns 11 km from the sea · a hospital in town
The numbers
The decision data — each figure placed among all Spanish municipalities that report it ("top 10%" always means good, also where lower is better). Regional overlays and estimates are labelled, and where there's no local reading we say so plainly.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 14.1°C top 2% of 8,131 towns 6.3°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 30.9°C bottom 43% of 8,131 towns 0.7°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 25 days top 1% of 8,088 towns 64% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 8.5 h/day top 1% of 3,829 towns 17% more than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 30 top 32% of 8,033 towns 26 below the Spanish average (56)
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €1,675/m² top 36% of 306 towns 24% less than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Net income per person
- €13,372 bottom 35% of 8,059 towns 8% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 27.3% top 42% of 6,605 towns
Schools
- Schools in town
- 195 top 1% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 9 km top 7% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 457 #16 of 17 regions, −22 vs national 24 below the Spanish average (481)
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 0 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
- Nearest health centre
- 7.2 km top 38% of 7,025 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 173 days #17 of 17 regions, +70 days vs national 60% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 10 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 99% top 8% 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%)
Who lives here
- Population
- 204,772
- Born in Spain
- 84.4% 4.4% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 2.3% 1.5% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 0.79 per 1,000
Numbers: SpainScore town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. 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.
The year, month by month
AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.
How does Almería 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 Almería against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 36 min from Roquetas de Mar, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Almería for you →Nearby towns
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