MADRID – The municipality with the highest income in Spain has an average annual income of €26,008. This is in stark contrast to the municipality at the other end of the spectrum with the lowest average annual income of €6,785.
These are respectively the municipalities of Pozuelo de Alarcón in the Madrid region and the municipality of El Palmar de Troya (Seville) in Andalucia. More than 2,000 inhabitants live in Pozuelo de Alarcón with the highest average annual income per person. The data is from 2020 and derived from the Atlas of Household Income Distribution (ADRH). It provides income level and distribution indicators per person and household and supplements this information with demographic indicators.
The National Institute of Statistics (INE) uses data from the Tax Authorities and the Provincial Treasury to compile income indicators, which link the income to the recipient’s place of residence.
After the municipality of Madrid, the following places complete the top three of the list of cities with the highest annual income: Matadepera, in Catalonia, with €22,806; and Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, at €22,224 per year.
Nine of the 10 municipalities with the highest annual income in Spain are located in Madrid and Catalonia. Only Getxo (Basque Country) manages to break this statistic and position itself as the tenth richest municipality in Spain.
At the other end of the spectrum, El Palmar de Troya (Andalucia), at €6,785, Iznalloz (Andalucia), at €7,036, and Albuñol (Andalucia), averaging €7,061 per year, are the poorest municipalities in the country.
The Basque Country is the richest region
The Basque Country stands out because of its geographical location. 88.8% of the municipalities are among the 25% with the highest income (more than €13,637) in Spain, followed by Catalonia with 49.1%.
Andalucia is the poorest region
At the other extreme are Andalucia, where 83.3% of the municipalities belong to the 25% of municipalities with the lowest income (less than €10,393) and Extremadura (83.0%).
The provincial capitals with the highest percentage of high average annual net incomes per inhabitant are Donostia/San Sebastián (57.6%), Girona (41.0%) and Madrid (39.8%). At the bottom, Guadalajara (3.4%), Huelva (2.8%) and Pontevedra (1.6%) are the provincial capitals with the lowest percentage of high net incomes.
The provincial capitals with the highest percentage of sections with very low average annual net income per inhabitant (below the first decile) are Melilla (31.8%), Ceuta (25.0%) and Alicante. (22.9%).
The ten richest municipalities
- Pozuelo de Alarcon (Madrid) – €57,956 disposable income; €79,327 gross.
- Ruidaneres (Catalonia) – €52,940 disposable; €67,302 gross.
- Boadilla del Monte (Madrid) – €45,797 disposable; €61,592 gross.
- Matadepera (Catalonia) – €44,284 disposable; €59,395 gross.
- Teia (Catalonia) – €42,264 disposable; €54,322 gross.
- Alcobendas (Madrid) – €41,921 disposable; €55,694 gross.
- Sant Cugat del Valles (Catalonia) – €41,190 disposable; €55,249 gross.
- Torrelodons (Madrid) – €41,038 euros disposable; €54,210 gross.
- Sant Just Desvern (Catalonia) – €40,462 disposable; €54,641 gross.
- Majadahonda (Madrid) – €40,435 disposable; €53,488 euros gross.
The ten municipalities with the lowest income
- Colomera (Andalucia) – €11,789 disposable income; €12,638 gross.
- Huesa (Andalucia) – €11,791 euros disposable; €12,743 gross.
- Ahigal (Extremadura) – €11,869 disposable; €12,806 gross.
- Higuera de Vargas (Extremadura) – €11,883 disposable; €13,024 gross.
- Fuenlabrada de los Montes (Extremadura) – €11,923 disposable; €12,900 gross.
- Piornal (Extremadura) – €11,966 disposable; €13,193 gross.
- Algarinejo (Andalucia) – €12,201 disposable; €12,937 gross.
- Oliva in Mérida (Extremadura) – €12,050 disposable; €12,964 gross.
- Cambil (Andalucia) – €12,070 disposable; €13,090 gross.
- Puebla de Obando (Extremadura) – €12,097 disposable; €13,182 gross.
Also read: Tax rate for highest incomes in Spain is fourth highest in Europe
