Best places to retire in Spain 2026

If you retire to Spain on the non-lucrative visa, which asks for €2,400 a month, your money goes furthest in Murcia, Almuñécar and Torrevieja. A 70 m² flat on a long-term lease is listed at €734 to €1,000 a month there today, which leaves at least €1,400 for everything else, and all three have a public hospital, an airport with UK flights and a January average above 11°C. After Murcia, Seville, Alicante and Valencia are the best-value big cities; Málaga and Palma pass every test but cost more.

We did not pick these from a brochure. We took the places Google and the main retirement guides name most often, checked each one against four things our retirement clients always ask about, and ranked the ones that pass by how much of the €2,400 is left after rent.

Best places to retire in Spain, ranked by what €2,400 a month buys

A place makes the list if it passes four basics: a public general hospital within 20 km, an airport with direct UK flights within 90 km, a January average of 11°C or more, and at least 1,000 Britons and Americans already registered as residents. The ones that pass are ranked by rent, because on a fixed income rent decides almost everything else. Rent is what landlords ask today for a 70 m² flat on a long-term lease, the same size in every place, so the figures compare like with like.

Everything else in a retiree’s budget (food, bills, transport, health insurance) costs much the same across Spain, so the rent gap is the real difference. On Murcia’s rent you keep €1,666 a month; in Barcelona you would keep €282. For a fuller monthly budget, see our breakdown of the cost of living in Spain.

Where to retire in Spain: every place that passed, up close

1. Murcia: the most money left over

€734 a month for a 70 m² flat, the lowest rent of any place on the list, leaves €1,666 of the visa’s €2,400 for everything else. Murcia is a regional capital of close to half a million people, so the big public hospital (Morales Meseguer) is 0.6 km from the centre and there is a high-speed rail station. It is inland: hotter summers than the coast, a January average of 11.3°C, and the beaches of the Mar Menor under an hour away. The English-speaking circle is smaller than on the coast (2,156 Britons and 299 Americans in 2025).

2. Almuñécar: warm winters for less

Almuñécar is the surprise here. Google’s AI answer in the US puts it at the top of its list, and the numbers back it up: a January average of 13.3°C, one of the warmest on the mainland, and €904 a month in rent. That leaves €1,496. The price of a small town is distance. Motril’s hospital is 15.3 km away and Málaga airport 72 km. About 1,142 Britons and Americans live here.

3. Torrevieja: the Costa Blanca on a budget

Torrevieja is the Costa Blanca at close to inland prices: €1,000 a month, €1,400 left over. It has one of the largest British communities in Spain (4,383 people), its own university hospital 6.1 km away and Alicante airport 35 km away. One warning. Many flats here are holiday lets, so make sure a listing really is a twelve-month lease.

4. Seville: big-city life for about €1,000

After Murcia, Seville is the cheapest big city on our list: €1,009 a month, against €1,289 in Valencia and €2,118 in Barcelona. A university hospital sits 1.9 km from the centre, the AVE runs to Madrid, and UK flights leave from an airport 9 km away. Winters are mild (11.2°C in January). Summers are brutal. The English-speaking community is small for a city this size, 1,743 Britons and Americans in 2025, so choose it for city life rather than a ready-made expat circle.

5. Orihuela (incl. Orihuela Costa): the biggest British community in Spain

Orihuela, the municipality that includes Orihuela Costa, has more registered Britons than any other in Spain (8,780 in 2025). Rent across the municipality averages €1,011, the Vega Baja hospital is 8.3 km away and the inland town has a high-speed rail station.

6. Alicante: the balanced pick

Alicante is the balanced pick. Big hospital 2.6 km away. Airport 9 km from the centre, with UK flights all year. Rent of €1,116, so €1,284 stays in your pocket. Our retirement clients ask about it more than almost anywhere else, and the 1,804 Britons and Americans in the city are only part of the story: many more live in the towns along the coast either side.

7. Dénia: a hospital in town, an airport far away

Dénia has its own public hospital (4.3 km from the centre) and rent of €1,116 for our standard flat. The drawback is distance: at 85 km, it is the furthest from an airport of any place that passed. About 1,258 Britons are registered.

8. Nerja: small town, mild January

Nerja has one of the warmest winters on the mainland (13.3°C in January) and a close-knit British community of 1,474. A flat here runs to €1,121. It is further from the airport than the towns west of Málaga (56 km), and the Axarquía hospital in Vélez-Málaga is 18.9 km away.

9. Valencia: the city Americans are choosing

Valencia costs more, €1,289 for our standard flat, but gives you a big city with a beach. You also get a university hospital 1.8 km from the centre, an airport 9 km away and fast trains to Madrid. Retirees name it in their emails to us more than any city except Barcelona. Americans have noticed too: 3,179 were registered in 2025, behind only Madrid and Barcelona. See our guide to retiring in Valencia.

10. Benalmádena: Costa del Sol, close to the airport

Benalmádena, between Málaga and Fuengirola, rents for €1,313 and is 9 km from the airport. It has its own public high-resolution hospital, 0.7 km from the centre, with a 24-hour emergency department. It is run by Málaga’s Virgen de la Victoria university hospital, about 17 km away, which takes the cases it cannot treat. Its British community numbers 3,306.

11. Málaga: the best-connected coast

Málaga has the mildest January of the big mainland cities (12.5°C) and the best-connected airport in the south, 9 km from the centre, with seasonal nonstops from Newark (New York). So why only number 11? Rent. €1,324 a month leaves €1,076. If you can live with that, the public hospital is 1.2 km away and there is more on retiring in Málaga.

12. Mijas: British neighbours in their thousands

Mijas has one of the largest British communities in Spain, 7,541 people in 2025, roughly one resident in twelve. Rent sits just above Málaga’s at €1,334. The airport is only 15 km away. The nearest public hospital is the high-resolution hospital in Benalmádena, 7.3 km away, which has a 24-hour emergency department, but Mijas is served by the larger Hospital Costa del Sol, about 21 km away. Mijas stretches from the old village down to La Cala on the coast, so ask which health centre and hospital a given address is assigned to before you sign a lease.

13. Fuengirola: Málaga by local train

In Fuengirola a flat of our standard size costs €1,338, Málaga airport 18 km away and a local train into the city. 4,322 Britons are registered here. The nearest public hospital is the high-resolution one in Benalmádena, 8.6 km away, with a 24-hour emergency department, but Fuengirola’s own reference hospital is the Hospital Costa del Sol in Marbella, just over 20 km away.

14. Arona (south Tenerife): the warmest winter on the list

Arona, in the south of Tenerife, has the warmest January on the list (18.6°C). The Hospital del Sur is 3.6 km away and Tenerife South airport 12 km. Rent is €1,376, and 3,758 Britons were counted in the 2025 census.

15. Benidorm: a holiday town that passes every test

Benidorm is better known for package holidays, yet it passes every test. Rent is €1,387, the Marina Baixa hospital in La Vila Joiosa is 6.2 km away and Alicante airport 47 km. 3,065 Britons are registered here. The tower blocks put some people off, and that is the main thing to weigh.

16. Palma de Mallorca: island life with a city attached

Palma is the island option with a real city attached. Son Espases, the island’s university hospital, is 5.2 km away and the airport 8 km from the centre, with UK flights all year and seasonal nonstops from the US. Only Marbella costs more to rent on this list: €1,542 a month, leaving €858. See our guide to moving to Mallorca.

17. Marbella: only if you have more than the minimum

Marbella passes every service test (the Hospital Costa del Sol is 2.8 km away, Málaga airport 39 km) but rent takes €1,923 of the €2,400, leaving €477. On the minimum visa income it only works if you already own a home there or have more coming in.

Famous places that just missed

Some names on every retirement list fail at least one of the four tests. That does not make them bad places to live. It tells you what you give up.

• Granada is cheap (€792 for 70 m²) and has a large hospital 0.9 km from the centre, but January averages 7.0°C at the city’s AEMET station. For a warmer version, look at Almuñécar on the coast, an hour away.
• Madrid has the most Americans of any city in Spain (10,423 in 2025) and year-round nonstop flights to the US, but January averages 6.5°C and a 70 m² flat costs €1,807, which leaves €593.
• Barcelona misses on winter (8.8°C in January) and, above all, on money: €2,118 a month for 70 m² leaves €282 of the €2,400. If your heart is still set on it, read our guide to retirement in Barcelona.
• Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has an ideal winter (16.1°C) and fair rent (€1,138), but only 892 Britons and Americans registered in 2025, just under our 1,000 line. Arona, in the south of Tenerife, is the Canary Islands option that passes.
• Santa Cruz de Tenerife has one of the warmest winters we measured (18.3°C) and rent of €1,051, but a small English-speaking community (397 in 2025) and no UK flights from its own airport: Tenerife South is 57 km away.
• Almería is the cheapest place we checked (€698 for 70 m²) with a warm winter (12.8°C), but only 364 Britons and Americans were registered there in 2025. Good value if you speak some Spanish or want to learn.
• Castellón de la Plana rents for €728 and has a hospital 0.6 km from the centre, but few English speakers (435 in 2025). Its small airport has flights to London, and Valencia’s is about an hour away.
• Bilbao misses on winter (9.5°C in January) and on community (589 Britons and Americans in 2025), though healthcare and rent (€1,237) are good for a big city.
• Cádiz has a warm winter (12.9°C) and rent of €1,012, but a small English-speaking community (273 in 2025). Jerez airport, 31 km away, has seasonal UK flights.

Calpe, which Google’s US answer pairs with Jávea, fails on healthcare: the nearest public general hospital is in Dénia, 21.8 km away in a straight line. It suits people who are happy to drive to hospital appointments.

We could not get a fair rent figure for Jávea (Xàbia) this month, so it is not ranked, although it passes all four tests.

How our list compares with Google and other guides

Ask Google where to retire in Spain and it names the Costa Blanca (Alicante, Jávea, Torrevieja), the Costa del Sol (Málaga, Nerja, Marbella), Valencia, and Murcia and Seville as cheaper options; searches from the US add Almuñécar and Calpe. 9 of those 11 are on our list: Jávea has no fair rent figure this month and Calpe misses on hospital distance. The UK answer also mentions Galicia and Asturias, which are greener and cooler: most of their cities average less than 11°C in January. The difference is the order: most lists lead with the famous names, while we lead with what is left of €2,400 once the rent is paid, which is why Murcia and Almuñécar come out on top and Marbella at the bottom.

Best cities to retire in Spain for Americans and Britons

Americans and Britons settle in different places. By the 2025 census, most registered Americans live in the big cities: Madrid (10,423), Barcelona (7,720) and Valencia (3,179), then Seville, Málaga and Alicante. Britons are most numerous in Orihuela (8,780, mostly Orihuela Costa), Barcelona, Mijas, Madrid, Rojales, Marbella, Jávea and Torrevieja, mostly on the coast. Our own enquiry records show the same split: retirees who write to us name Barcelona and Valencia most often, then Alicante, Málaga and Madrid.

Our 2025 short below covers five of the places retirees ask us about most. It was made before we applied our four tests and today’s rents, which is why Barcelona, the video’s number one, is not on the list above.

For Americans, flights matter as much as the community. Madrid and Barcelona have nonstop flights to the US all year; Málaga and Palma have seasonal nonstops in summer. From Valencia, Alicante, Seville or Murcia you connect through Madrid, Barcelona or a European hub. There is more on this in our guide to Americans living in Spain.

Remember that Britons moving to Spain now, or who were not living here by the end of 2020, apply for the same non-lucrative visa as Americans. UK state pensioners can also register the S1 form in Spain to use the public health system.

Where is the cheapest place to retire in Spain?

Of the places we checked, the lowest rents are in Almería (€698), Castellón de la Plana (€728), Murcia (€734) and Granada (€792) for a 70 m² flat. Only Murcia also passes the other three tests; Almería and Castellón miss because very few English speakers live there, and Granada because of the cold winter. If budget matters most, our guide to the cheapest cities to live in Spain ranks all the provincial capitals.

Best coastal towns in Spain to retire: where winters are warmest

If a mild winter is the reason you are moving, the Canary Islands are in a class of their own, then the coast east of Málaga. January averages from AEMET: Arona (south Tenerife) 18.6°C, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 18.3°C, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 16.1°C, Almuñécar 13.3°C, Nerja 13.3°C, Cádiz 12.9°C. For comparison, Madrid averages 6.5°C. More on island life in our guide to moving to the Canary Islands.

If you want to retire by the sea, most of our list is already on the coast: Almuñécar, Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Alicante, Dénia, Nerja, Benalmádena, Málaga, Mijas, Fuengirola, Arona, Benidorm, Palma and Marbella, plus Valencia with its city beaches. Murcia and Seville are the inland exceptions. Murcia is the cheapest place on the list, and Seville the cheapest big city after it.

Retirement villages and communities in Spain

Purpose-built retirement villages of the American kind are rare in Spain. When our retired clients talk about a retirement community, they usually mean an urbanización: a residential estate near the coast where many of the neighbours are retired Britons and other Europeans, often with a shared pool and its own clubs and bars. The largest British communities on our list are in Orihuela, mostly Orihuela Costa (8,780 British residents), Mijas (7,541), Marbella (4,844), Torrevieja (4,383) and Fuengirola (4,322). Source: INE census, 1 January 2025.

Rent on an estate for a few months before you buy there. Some estates fill up in winter and empty in summer, others the other way round, and a season is enough to know whether the community suits you. A care home (residencia) is a different decision, usually made years later and close to the hospital you already use.

Healthcare and safety in these towns

To get the retirement visa you need private health insurance with no co-payments, unless you are a UK state pensioner with an S1, so in year one you will usually use private clinics wherever you live. After a year of legal residence you can join the public system through the Convenio Especial, a monthly payment that is higher once you are 65. That is why we measured the distance to the nearest public general hospital. The one you are assigned to depends on your address, so check it before you sign a lease.

On safety, the Interior Ministry’s crime figures for 2025 need reading with care, because crimes against visitors are counted too and tourist towns look worse per resident: Torrevieja, Marbella and Benidorm have more recorded crime per 1,000 residents than Castellón de la Plana, Cádiz and Almería, the lowest of the places we checked.

How to retire in Spain: the visa behind the €2,400

Spain has no visa called a retirement visa. Non-EU retirees use the non-lucrative visa, which asks you to show passive income of 400% of the IPREM, Spain’s public income benchmark: €2,400 a month or €28,800 a year for the main applicant in 2026, plus €600 a month for each family member. Pensions, rental income and investment returns count; savings can also be used. The visa does not allow any work, in Spain or remotely for a foreign employer.

Retiring to Spain from outside the EU comes down to five steps:

1. Choose the town. The table above is a start, and the quiz below narrows it to your budget and climate.
2. Apply for the non-lucrative visa at the Spanish consulate that covers the place you live, before you move. Our page on Spain retirement visa requirements lists every document.
3. Within a month of arriving, apply for your TIE card and register at the town hall (empadronamiento).
4. Apply to renew in the last two months of your first year. Each renewal runs for two years, and you need to have spent more than 183 days a year in Spain. Our guide to renewing the non-lucrative visa covers the paperwork.
5. Plan your tax. More than 183 days a year in Spain makes you tax resident, and Spain then taxes your worldwide income. See our guide to Spanish tax.

EU citizens do not need a visa: within three months of arriving they register as residents, showing health cover and enough income to live on. Britons who were not living in Spain by the end of 2020 follow the non-EU route above.

The rent in the table comes out of that €2,400, which is why a place like Murcia leaves room to breathe and Barcelona does not. Our Spain immigration lawyers have handled retirement visas since 2010, and we can check your income, your health insurance and the town you have in mind before you apply. The full checklist is in our Spain retirement visa guide, and if you are also thinking of buying, see our guide to buying a house in Spain or contact us.