ES · VALENCIALocal facts

Living in Valencia.

Spain's third-largest city, on the Mediterranean coast: a mild climate with roughly eight pleasant months a year, mid-range Spanish rents well below Madrid and Barcelona, clean urban-background air by Spanish standards, and a dense cluster of internationally accredited schools (IB, Cambridge, French AEFE and German Abitur) across the metro area.

VerifiedJul 4, 2026Updated Aug 14, 2026

Population 840,792

INE — Cifras oficiales de población de los municipios españoles (Revisión del Padrón Municipal), table 2903, series València/Total (DPOP21796)

Official source

Data as of: Jan 1, 2025
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Official INE municipal population for the city of València (municipality 46250) at 1 Jan 2025, from the Cifras oficiales table 2903 JSON API (servicios.ine.es/wstempus/js/es/DATOS_TABLA/2903), series DPOP21796 = 840,792. Cross-checked against the same table's Hombres (399,746) + Mujeres (441,046) = 840,792. NOTE: the table's first 'Valencia/València. Total' series (DPOP21046 = 2,758,633) is the PROVINCE total, not the city — the city is a separate series.
Notes: The 1 Jan 2024 figure in the same official series is 825,948 (definitive, approved by Real Decreto). The 1 Jan 2025 figure of 840,792 is the INE cifras-oficiales value now published in table 2903; early-2026 press reports cited a provisional 841,169 (INE) vs 844,424 (municipal padrón) pending an allegation procedure.

· Europe/Madrid· Spain rules apply

ES · VALENCIA

At a glance

The headline numbers for Valencia — each with its own source and freshness. A live official figure is not the same as a survey estimate or a 30-year climate normal.

Cost of living

7.8/10

$941/mo

Rent, 1–3 bed

7.0/10

$649–$1,796

/mo

Freelancer tax

5.3/10

28.4%

Safety

9.6/10

0.72/100k

Air quality

7.0/10

12.4 µg/m³

Internet

5.0/10

50 Mbps

English

5.0/10

Moderate

Private health

9.1/10

$821/yr

What the tags meanofficial — live figure from a government or authorityopen data — open dataset (Eurostat, EEA, M-Lab, UdSC…)survey — survey or index estimatecurated — SettleMetric-assembled estimate — open the source for the method

What it costs you per month

A planning estimate: real asking rent plus a cost-of-living basket scaled to your household. Not a quote.

Household

Lifestyle

Location

Estimated total

$1,588/mo

≈ $19,056 / year

Where it goes

Rent (1-bed)$649
Food & non-alcoholic drinks$205
Transport$147
Restaurants & eating out$128
Utilities (water, electricity, gas)$66
Recreation & culture$64
Clothing & footwear$54
Health (out-of-pocket)$52
Household goods$48
Insurance & financial services$48
Personal care & misc.$47
Communications$42
Education$21
Alcohol & tobacco$17
Living costs$939

Rent from the asking-rent matrix below. Living costs scale a one-person basket ($939/mo) by household size and lifestyle; the equivalence factors are our assumption. Schooling and one-off setup are excluded.

Cost of living

What a single person spends each month — food, utilities, transport, eating out and the rest — excluding rent.

Typical monthly spending (national average)

INE — Encuesta de Presupuestos Familiares 2024 (household budget survey)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: INE EPF 2024 per-household COICOP category spending, rent removed (imputed rent €9,299 stripped from the housing group, utilities kept), divided by average household size 2.50 to a per-capita non-rent basket, converted at EUR/USD 1.1399. Categories sum to the ~$941/mo cost-of-living aggregate. National per-capita basis — living alone in Madrid/Barcelona runs higher.

total939 USD/mo

01Food & non-alcoholic drinks205 USD

02Transport147 USD

03Restaurants & eating out128 USD

04Utilities (water, electricity, gas)66 USD

05Recreation & culture64 USD

06Clothing & footwear54 USD

07Health (out-of-pocket)52 USD

08Household goods48 USD

09Insurance & financial services48 USD

10Personal care & misc.47 USD

11Communications42 USD

12Education21 USD

13Alcohol & tobacco17 USD

Spain's household-budget basket for a single person, excluding rent. Non-rent costs vary little between cities — the city-specific part is rent, shown under Housing below.

01Cost of living (single, excl. rent)country-level941USD/month, single person, excluding rent7.8

What this measures

Monthly cost of a defined single-person basket (food, transport, utilities, mobile+internet, modest leisure) excluding rent, curated from national statistics office price data and large local retailers' published prices, converted to USD at the ECB rate recorded in fx-rates. The method field of each value itemizes the basket inputs.

Lower is betterUSD/month, single person, excluding rentre-verified every 365 days

Curated by SettleMetric

INE — Encuesta de Presupuestos Familiares 2024 (household budget survey), rent stripped

Data as of: Dec 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: INE EPF 2024 average household spending by COICOP group (total €34,044/hh). Housing group €11,029 reduced to utilities only (imputed rent €9,299 removed), leaving a non-rent basket of €24,746/hh. Divided by average household size 2.50 (€34,044 ÷ €13,626 per-person) → €9,905/person/yr = €825/mo; converted at EUR/USD 1.1399 (ECB 2026-07-02) → $941/mo. Cross-checked against Eurostat comparative price levels (Spain ≈ 92% of EU27; ≈ 1.28× Poland, whose figure is $753).
Notes: National per-capita non-rent basket. A person living alone typically spends somewhat more per head (fixed costs not shared) — this figure is the reproducible household-survey floor. City files (Madrid/Barcelona) run higher; Valencia/smaller cities lower.

Housing

What it costs to rent, by apartment type and location.

Asking rent by apartment type & location

idealista city rental index for Valencia (14.1 €/m²/month, May 2026) + idealista by-district average asking rents (April 2026 report)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: May 31, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Base rent per type = idealista city rental index 14.1 €/m²/month (May 2026) × representative long-term-rental floor area: studio 35 m² (€493.5), 1BR 50 m² (€705, matches rent-1br-center), 2BR 70 m² (€987), 3BR 95 m² (€1,339.5). Center/outside multipliers derived from idealista's April 2026 by-district average asking rents vs the city average €1,716: center = mean of Ciutat Vella (€1,890) and L'Eixample (€2,147) = €2,018.5 → ×1.176; outside = mean of Patraix (€1,287), Benimaclet (€1,486), Jesús (€1,392), Olivereta (€1,305), La Saïdia (€1,453) = €1,384.6 → ×0.807. EUR→USD at 1.1399 (data/fx-rates.json, ECB EUR base 2026-07-02). E.g. 1BR center = 705 × 1.176 × 1.1399 = $945; studio outside = 493.5 × 0.807 × 1.1399 = $454. idealista pages are bot-protected (HTTP 403), so both the city €/m² and the by-district averages are taken from idealista's own published reporting (via idealista report pages / press summaries) rather than fetched from the live page.
Notes: ALL cells are DERIVED, not directly observed: idealista publishes a city €/m² and separately by-district average total rents, but never a studio/1BR/2BR/3BR × center/outside grid. Room split = city €/m² × representative floor area; center/outside split = district-average-rent ratios (which mix apartment sizes, so the multiplier captures location premium, not a like-for-like size-controlled figure). Center = Ciutat Vella + L'Eixample (task definition); outside = outer districts Patraix, Benimaclet, Jesús, Olivereta, La Saïdia. 1BR-center ($945) sits ~18% above the city-average 1BR of rent-1br-center ($804), as expected.

ALL cells are DERIVED, not directly observed: idealista publishes a city €/m² and separately by-district average total rents, but never a studio/1BR/2BR/3BR × center/outside grid. Room split = city €/m² × representative floor area; center/outside split = district-average-rent ratios (which mix apartment sizes, so the multiplier captures location premium, not a like-for-like size-controlled figure). Center = Ciutat Vella + L'Eixample (task definition); outside = outer districts Patraix, Benimaclet, Jesús, Olivereta, La Saïdia. 1BR-center ($945) sits ~18% above the city-average 1BR of rent-1br-center ($804), as expected.

Apartment	Central	Outside centre
Studio	661 USD/mo	454 USD/mo
1-bedroom	945 USD/mo	649 USD/mo
2-bedroom	1,323 USD/mo	908 USD/mo
3-bedroom	1,796 USD/mo	1,232 USD/mo

Climate

Temperature and rainfall through the year, plus air quality.

Monthly normals — Valencia

NOAA/WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991–2020 — Valencia/Aeropuerto (WMO 8284), NCEI accession 0253808

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2020
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: WMO 1991–2020 station normals (public domain), Daily_Minimum_Temperature and Daily_Maximum_Temperature (Mean, °C) and Precipitation_Total (Sum, mm). Station: Valencia/Aeropuerto (Manises), WMO 8284, lat 39°29'06"N, lon 0°28'29"W, elev 56 m — the standard WMO synoptic station for Valencia.

Daytime high °CNighttime low °CRainfall mm

Average day/night temperature (lines, left axis) and total rainfall (bars, right axis) for each month — 1991–2020 normals. Hover a month for exact figures.

Month by month
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Daytime high °C	16.7°	17.5°	19.7°	21.7°	25.0°	28.5°	31.0°	31.4°	28.4°	24.8°	20.0°	17.1°
Nighttime low °C	4.6°	5.2°	7.3°	9.7°	13.1°	17.1°	20.1°	20.5°	17.4°	13.4°	8.5°	5.4°
Rainfall mm	35	27	37	36	37	21	7	12	61	57	45	47

01Climate comfort8pleasant months/year8.0

What this measures

Number of months whose 1991–2020 climate normals satisfy: mean daily maximum between 15°C and 28°C and monthly precipitation under 150mm. Computed from the city's climate-normals indicator; the raw normals are stored alongside so users can judge by their own taste.

Higher is betterpleasant months/yearre-verified every 3650 days

Curated by SettleMetric

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals (NOAA/WMO 1991–2020, Valencia/Aeropuerto 8284)

Data as of: Dec 31, 2020
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Months whose 1991–2020 normals have mean daily max 15–28°C and precipitation < 150 mm: Jan (16.7), Feb (17.5), Mar (19.7), Apr (21.7), May (25.0), Oct (24.8), Nov (20.0), Dec (17.1) = 8. Jun–Sep excluded (max 28.4–31.4°C).

02Air quality (PM2.5)12.4µg/m³, annual mean PM2.57.0

What this measures

Annual mean fine-particulate (PM2.5) concentration for the city, latest available year. Anchors follow the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³ → 10) through the EU limit value territory (25 µg/m³ → 2). Preferred source: European Environment Agency city-level air quality data; outside Europe: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database or the national monitoring network.

Lower is betterµg/m³, annual mean PM2.5re-verified every 730 days

Open data

Generalitat Valenciana — Red Valenciana de Vigilancia y Control de la Contaminación Atmosférica, open data 'Mediciones diarias de contaminantes atmosféricos y ozono 2024' (station València-Vivers, 46250043)

Data as of: Dec 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Mean of daily PM2.5 values for 2024 at the València-Vivers urban-background station (46250043), computed from the 12 official monthly CSVs of the GVA open dataset: 277 valid daily means across all 12 calendar months, mean = 12.44 µg/m³ (rounded 12.4). Vivers is the Valencia city urban-background station used by MITECO's national exposure index (IME). Corroborated by València-Avd. França (traffic, 46250047): 10.45 µg/m³ over 341 days; and the national IME 2022–2024 population-weighted mean of 11.5 µg/m³ (MITECO). Excluded València-Pista de Silla (5.97 µg/m³) as implausibly low for a traffic site (likely instrument/sizing difference).
Notes: Urban-background annual mean, 75.7% daily coverage (below the 90% EU-compliance threshold but above the 75% EEA minimum; all 12 months represented, so not seasonally biased). About 2.5× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³), within the current EU limit (25) but above the 2030 EU limit (10). The EEA European city air quality viewer (the criterion's first-choice source) could not be queried directly (interactive tool, no static per-city export); this national-network computation is the transparent fallback.

Safety

How safe daily life is, from official crime statistics.

01Homicide ratecountry-level0.7intentional homicides per 100,000/year9.6

What this measures

Intentional homicide victims per 100,000 population, latest available year. Country level: UNODC national series. City level: official municipal/police statistics where published; otherwise null (country value shown as country-level).

Lower is betterintentional homicides per 100,000/yearre-verified every 730 days

Open data

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101, per 100k)

Data as of: Dec 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Latest year 2024 = 0.72 per 100k (2023: 0.69; 2022: 0.69). Spain is among the safer EU countries for intentional homicide.

Crime by offence typecountry-levelpolice-recorded per 100,000 · 2024

Eurostat — police-recorded offences by category (crim_off_cat, ICCS, unit P_HTHAB)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 12, 2026
Notes: Police-recorded offences per 100,000 inhabitants, 2024 (ICCS categories: theft 0502, burglary 0501, robbery 0401, serious assault 020111, drug offences 0601, sexual violence 0301). Intentional homicide (0.72, same Eurostat 2024 series) is the scored safety headline shown separately. Recording practices and legal definitions differ between countries, so read the levels as context, not a league table.

01Theft451per 100k

02Burglary293per 100k

03Robbery130per 100k

04Serious assault59.1per 100k

05Drug offences44.3per 100k

06Sexual violence40.4per 100k

Police-recorded offences per 100,000 inhabitants, 2024 (ICCS categories: theft 0502, burglary 0501, robbery 0401, serious assault 020111, drug offences 0601, sexual violence 0301). Intentional homicide (0.72, same Eurostat 2024 series) is the scored safety headline shown separately. Recording practices and legal definitions differ between countries, so read the levels as context, not a league table.

Hate crime (police-recorded)country-levelpolice-recorded · 2024

OSCE ODIHR Hate Crime Reporting — Spain (official police-recorded)

Official source

Data as of: Dec 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Notes: OSCE ODIHR 2024: 1,808 hate crimes recorded by police; the bias breakdown sums exactly to the total, with 804 racist/xenophobic — the largest category (also anti-LGBTI 528, gender-based 181). ODIHR caveat: police figures include some offences outside the OSCE definition (e.g. incitement/slander) that could not be excluded; a further 147 ideology-motivated offences were excluded. Not comparable across countries.

1,808

recorded by police

804

racist / xenophobic

OSCE ODIHR 2024: 1,808 hate crimes recorded by police; the bias breakdown sums exactly to the total, with 804 racist/xenophobic — the largest category (also anti-LGBTI 528, gender-based 181). ODIHR caveat: police figures include some offences outside the OSCE definition (e.g. incitement/slander) that could not be excluded; a further 147 ideology-motivated offences were excluded. Not comparable across countries.

Infrastructure

Internet speed and how parcels get to your door.

01Domestic delivery qualitycountry-levelGood7.0

What this measures

Quality of in-country parcel delivery. excellent = nationwide next-day widely available, dense parcel-locker network, real-time tracking standard; good = 1–3 day delivery, lockers in major cities; basic = reliable but slow (3–7 days), mostly to-door or post-office pickup; poor = unreliable delivery, street addresses often unusable, informal workarounds common. Classified from official service/coverage data of the national postal operator and the two largest private carriers; inputs itemized in each value's method field.

Rated by category—re-verified every 730 days

Curated by SettleMetric

Correos official (network of delivery points, Citypaq lockers) + private carriers

Data as of: Dec 31, 2025
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Correos ~13,000 attention/pickup points (2,380 offices + rural points + 2,115+ Citypaq lockers, plus new Punto Correos convenience points, end-2025); SEUR, MRW, GLS, DHL, UPS, Correos Express operate nationwide with tracking; 24–48h delivery standard in cities. Locker density lower than the most locker-dense EU markets, so classified 'good' rather than 'excellent'.
Notes: Reliable, tracked 1–3 day domestic delivery with a growing parcel-locker network (Citypaq); to-door and PUDO pickup both common.

02International delivery easecountry-levelMinor friction7.0

What this measures

Ease of receiving goods from abroad. seamless = major international carriers deliver door-to-door, meaningful duty-free de-minimis threshold, customs clearance predictable in days; minor-friction = carriers present but low de-minimis, extra paperwork or routine delays; significant-friction = frequent customs holds, high brokerage fees, some marketplaces refuse to ship; unreliable = parcels regularly lost or blocked, informal import channels dominate. De-minimis thresholds and clearance rules from the national customs authority (official source, cite the regulation); carrier presence from carriers' official pages.

Rated by category—re-verified every 365 days

Official source

Agencia Tributaria (Aduanas) — envíos hasta 150 euros; EU Reg. 2026/382 removal of the €150 customs-duty exemption

Data as of: Jul 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Intra-EU shipping is frictionless (single market, all major carriers). Non-EU imports: the €150 duty-free threshold was removed EU-wide on 2026-07-01 — a temporary flat €3-per-item customs duty applies to ≤€150 consignments (until 2028); VAT already collected at checkout via IOSS since 2021. Predictable but no longer duty-free; DHL/UPS/FedEx/SEUR clear customs routinely.

03Internet speedcountry-level50.4Mbps, median fixed download5.0

What this measures

Median fixed-broadband download speed over the trailing 6 months from M-Lab NDT open data (CC0), aggregated at country or city level. Not comparable with Ookla figures (different test methodology) — do not mix sources within this criterion.

Higher is betterMbps, median fixed downloadre-verified every 365 days

Open data

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Spain

Data as of: Dec 31, 2023
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Median of 344 daily country medians, 9,298,577 tests (2023 — latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API; 2024 file is partial at 86 days with a similar 52.5 Mbps median).
Notes: M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion. Spain has extensive FTTH coverage; real advertised fibre speeds are far higher than this test-based median.

Healthcare

What comprehensive private medical cover costs.

01Private healthcare costcountry-level821USD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-old9.1

What this measures

Median of at least three publicly quoted annual premiums for comprehensive private medical insurance (outpatient + inpatient, ~$100k coverage, small deductible) for a healthy 35-year-old resident foreigner, from local and international insurers. Method field lists the insurers quoted.

Lower is betterUSD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-oldre-verified every 365 days

Curated by SettleMetric

Sanitas / Adeslas / DKV comprehensive (with-hospitalization) individual plans — market midpoint; insurers quote on request

Data as of: Jul 4, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Comprehensive Spanish private health policies (póliza de salud) include outpatient AND hospitalization/inpatient by default. For a healthy 35-year-old, full-cover plans run ≈ €45–52/mo with modest copays and ≈ €65–90/mo copay-free (Sanitas, Adeslas, DKV — 2026 published ranges). Comprehensive midpoint ≈ €60/mo ≈ €720/yr ≈ $821 at EUR/USD 1.1399 (range ≈ $615–$1,230/yr).
Notes: Residents in the contributory system have public healthcare (Sistema Nacional de Salud); private cover is optional and widely bought for speed/choice. Premiums are quoted on request and vary by province (Madrid/Barcelona highest) and copay structure, so this is a curated market midpoint on a comprehensive (outpatient+inpatient) basis, not a single public quote.

Money & crypto

Crypto rules and how freely personal money moves.

01Crypto regulationcountry-levelLegal regulated8.0

What this measures

Own classification of the legal status of holding, trading and cashing out cryptocurrency for individuals: legal-friendly (legal with clear, favourable rules or explicit tax exemptions), legal-regulated (legal under standard licensing/AML and taxation), restricted (partial bans: payments or banking access prohibited), banned (holding/trading prohibited). Classified from national regulators' and central banks' official positions.

Rated by category—re-verified every 180 days

Official source

Agencia Tributaria — compra y venta de monedas virtuales: tributación en el IRPF; CNMV/Banco de España MiCA supervision

Data as of: Jul 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Holding/trading legal for individuals. Gains on disposal (to fiat OR crypto-to-crypto swaps, which ARE taxable, unlike Poland) are savings income (renta del ahorro) taxed 19–30% under IRPF; FIFO applies. EU MiCA fully applicable in Spain from 1 July 2026 (CASPs licensed/supervised by CNMV and Banco de España); DAC8 reporting from 2026. Buying with fiat is not a taxable event.

02Financial control levelcountry-levelLow10.0

What this measures

Own composite of state control over personal money flows: currency/capital controls (IMF AREAER), restrictions on foreign accounts and transfers, mandatory income declaration scope for residents, cash payment limits, banking access for foreigners. Low = free movement of personal funds and easy non-resident banking; very-high = strict capital controls and pervasive reporting. Method field on each value lists the inputs used.

Rated by category—re-verified every 365 days

Curated by SettleMetric

Agencia Tributaria — límite de pagos en efectivo (Ley 11/2021); eurozone member, no capital controls

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Composite: eurozone member, euro fully convertible, no currency/capital controls (free EU capital movement). Cash-payment limit €1,000 per transaction when a party acts as business/professional (Ley 11/2021), €10,000 for non-resident private individuals. Standard EU CRS/DAC bank reporting and DAC8 for crypto; Modelo 720 declaration of foreign assets >€50,000 exists (informational). No exchange restrictions on personal funds; non-residents can open bank accounts (NIE required).
Notes: Modelo 720 foreign-asset reporting (>€50,000) is an information duty; EU Court struck down its disproportionate penalty regime in 2022, penalties since aligned to general rules. Overall personal money movement is free (low control) by the criterion's definition.

Language

How far English gets you in daily life and services.

01English proficiencycountry-levelModerate5.0

What this measures

Own banding of how far English gets a resident in daily life (government offices, healthcare, housing, services). Informed by EF EPI band (research source, cited with attribution, not republished) plus official language status and service-sector realities. Values are our bands, not EF scores.

Rated by category—re-verified every 730 days

Research

EF EPI 2025 (Spain rank 36/123, score 540 — Moderate band)

Data as of: Nov 1, 2025
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First; Spain score 540, Moderate band, weakest in speaking 462). English is workable in tourist/hospitality zones and among younger urban professionals, but limited in government offices, healthcare, and everyday services outside big cities — a moderate rating for daily life.

Education

International schooling options for families.

01International schools14accredited international schools, count8.3

What this measures

Count of international schools in the metro area accredited by or member of IB, CIS, COBIS, or an equivalent national-curriculum-abroad body (verified against the accreditor's public registry, not aggregator sites).

Higher is betteraccredited international schools, countre-verified every 730 days

Curated by SettleMetric

Accreditor registries — IB (ibo.org find-an-ib-school), Cambridge International, AEFE (aefe.gouv.fr), German Auslandsschulwesen/ZfA

Data as of: Jul 4, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Count of distinct Valencia metro-area schools each verified against at least one listed accreditor (deduplicated). IB (ibo.org profiles): American School of Valencia (Puçol), Complejo Educativo Mas Camarena (Paterna), Colegio Camarena Valterna (Paterna), El Plantío International School (Paterna, also Cambridge), Colegio Internacional Ausiàs March (Picassent), Colegio CEU San Pablo Valencia, IALE International School, Shackleton International School (also Cambridge). Cambridge International: Caxton College (Puçol), Cambridge House British International School (Rocafort), British School of Valencia (official Cambridge exam centre). AEFE: Lycée Français International de Valence (Paterna). German Auslandsschulwesen/ZfA (German Abitur): Deutsche Schule Valencia. British College La Cañada (Paterna, British/Cambridge). = 14 distinct schools.
Notes: Verified FLOOR, not an exhaustive census: IB (ibo.org), AEFE (aefe.gouv.fr) and German ZfA registries were cross-checked; several Cambridge schools are confirmed but the Cambridge and CIS/COBIS registries are behind bot protection, so additional Cambridge/CIS members likely exist (British School of Valencia notes 8 'Cambridge Advantage Premium' centres in the Valencia region alone). Metro-area basis (Valencia city plus Paterna, Rocafort, Puçol, Picassent, Bétera, La Cañada). ±3 uncertainty.

Demographics

Who else lives here — the share of foreign residents and the largest national communities, from official statistics.

Openness to foreignerscountry-levelVery openGallup MAI 7.44/9 · 2016 · WVS w7 · KCL 13% reject foreign neighbours

What this measures

How accepting the resident population is of migrants and foreigners — the inverse of xenophobia, a real concern for someone relocating. Our own five-band reading (very-open / open / moderate / reserved / low) informed primarily by the Gallup Migrant Acceptance Index (0–9 scale: three questions on migrants living in the country, becoming neighbours, and marrying into the family; 2019 wave), cross-checked where available with the World Values Survey wave 7 / European Values Study 2017 question on whether people would not want immigrants or foreign workers as neighbours (a higher share = more hostile). Banding guide against the Gallup 0–9 score: ≥7.0 very-open, 5.5–7.0 open, 4.0–5.5 moderate, 2.5–4.0 reserved, below 2.5 low (the 2019 global average of 5.21 sits in 'moderate'). Country level only: no credible city-level survey of attitudes to foreigners exists, so on city pages the country reading is shown as country context. Gallup is a research source cited with attribution, not republished in bulk; the raw index score/year and any cross-check figure are carried inside each value. Value shape: { band, gallupMai?, gallupYear?, unwantedNeighborPct?, unwantedNeighborSource? }. Display-only: attitudinal, survey-based and ~2019 vintage, so it is shown as honest context and never folded into the composite score.

Reference data—re-verified every 1825 days

Research

Gallup Migrant Acceptance Index, first wave (2016–2017 Gallup World Poll) — full 139-country table (research, attribution)

Data as of: Aug 23, 2017
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Notes: Gallup MAI 7.44/9 (2016/2017 wave) — among the 20 most-accepting countries worldwide. Cross-check — World Values Survey wave 7 (via King’s College London’s cross-country analysis): 13% said they would not want immigrants or foreign workers as neighbours (mid-range for Western Europe). Band: very-open.

Who lives therecountry-levelforeign residents 14.1%

INE — Censo Anual de Población / Estadística Continua de Población, 1 Jan 2025

Official source

Data as of: Jan 1, 2025
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: 6,911,971 foreign nationals of 49,128,297 residents = 14.1% (INE, 1 Jan 2025). Basis = foreign citizenship on the population register (padrón), which captures registered residents including most long-term migrants. 19.3% of residents are foreign-born (higher, includes naturalized citizens).

Largest communities of foreign residents6,911,971 total

INE — Censo Anual de Población, foreign population by nationality, 1 Jan 2025

Official source

Data as of: Jan 1, 2025
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: INE 1 Jan 2025 foreign-population-by-nationality counts; shares = count ÷ 6,911,971 total foreign nationals. Top 10 shown; the register covers many more nationalities.
Notes: Latin American (Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Honduras, Ecuador) and Moroccan communities dominate, plus large Romanian and Italian EU groups. Ukrainians (177,929) include temporary-protection beneficiaries registered in the padrón.

01Morocco14%968,999

02Colombia9.8%676,534

03Romania8.8%609,270

04Italy5.5%377,809

05Venezuela5%345,777

06United Kingdom3.9%266,462

07China3.4%238,372

08Peru2.9%202,105

09Ukraine2.6%177,929

10Honduras2.1%148,585

Latin American (Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Honduras, Ecuador) and Moroccan communities dominate, plus large Romanian and Italian EU groups. Ukrainians (177,929) include temporary-protection beneficiaries registered in the padrón.

How you can stay

How you can legally enter and stay. These apply across Spain.

All requirements & citizenship filter

What you'd pay in taxes

The tax schemes a freelancer can choose from. Rules are national, the same in Valencia as anywhere in Spain.

Full schemes & calculator

See what you would keep

Your income against Spain's real tax schemes — the same engine as the full calculator.

Annual gross incomeCurrencyper monthBusiness expenses: 0%

1 Beckham regime — special impatriate tax (flat 24%)
45,600 EURnet/year
24.0% burden
2 Autónomo — estimación directa simplificada (RETA + IRPF)
40,767 EURnet/year
32.1% burden

Who is Valencia for?

The same place reads differently depending on why you move. Each lens pulls the facts that matter most for that plan — with sources, and the trade-offs stated plainly.

Contract or freelance in tech, billing clients abroad.

Works in your favour

Cost of living (single, excl. rent)$941/mo

INE — Encuesta de Presupuestos Familiares 2024 (household budget survey), rent stripped

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: INE EPF 2024 average household spending by COICOP group (total €34,044/hh). Housing group €11,029 reduced to utilities only (imputed rent €9,299 removed), leaving a non-rent basket of €24,746/hh. Divided by average household size 2.50 (€34,044 ÷ €13,626 per-person) → €9,905/person/yr = €825/mo; converted at EUR/USD 1.1399 (ECB 2026-07-02) → $941/mo. Cross-checked against Eurostat comparative price levels (Spain ≈ 92% of EU27; ≈ 1.28× Poland, whose figure is $753).
Notes: National per-capita non-rent basket. A person living alone typically spends somewhat more per head (fixed costs not shared) — this figure is the reproducible household-survey floor. City files (Madrid/Barcelona) run higher; Valencia/smaller cities lower.

Domestic delivery qualityGood

Correos official (network of delivery points, Citypaq lockers) + private carriers

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2025
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Correos ~13,000 attention/pickup points (2,380 offices + rural points + 2,115+ Citypaq lockers, plus new Punto Correos convenience points, end-2025); SEUR, MRW, GLS, DHL, UPS, Correos Express operate nationwide with tracking; 24–48h delivery standard in cities. Locker density lower than the most locker-dense EU markets, so classified 'good' rather than 'excellent'.
Notes: Reliable, tracked 1–3 day domestic delivery with a growing parcel-locker network (Citypaq); to-door and PUDO pickup both common.

Watch-outs

Freelancer tax burden28.4%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (BOE-A-2026-7296 RETA + Agencia Tributaria IRPF scale)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Best realistically-eligible scheme for a solo IT freelancer = es-autonomo-estimacion-directa at €60,000 revenue with 10% (€6,000) expenses. RETA cuota tramo 14 (base 1,732.03 × 31.5%) = 6,547.08/yr; difícil-justificación 2,000 (notional); IRPF base 39,902.92 (after mínimo personal 5,550) → 10,465.58. Total levies 17,012.66 / 60,000 = 28.4%. The Beckham regime (flat 24%) is NOT open to ordinary freelancers, only to eligible employed/relocated impatriates — see es-beckham-impatriate.

Internet speed50 Mbps

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Spain

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2023
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Median of 344 daily country medians, 9,298,577 tests (2023 — latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API; 2024 file is partial at 86 days with a similar 52.5 Mbps median).
Notes: M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion. Spain has extensive FTTH coverage; real advertised fibre speeds are far higher than this test-based median.

English proficiencyModerate

EF EPI 2025 (Spain rank 36/123, score 540 — Moderate band)

Research

Data as of: Nov 1, 2025
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First; Spain score 540, Moderate band, weakest in speaking 462). English is workable in tourist/hospitality zones and among younger urban professionals, but limited in government offices, healthcare, and everyday services outside big cities — a moderate rating for daily life.

Relocating with a partner and school-age children.

Works in your favour

International schools14

Accreditor registries — IB (ibo.org find-an-ib-school), Cambridge International, AEFE (aefe.gouv.fr), German Auslandsschulwesen/ZfA

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 4, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Count of distinct Valencia metro-area schools each verified against at least one listed accreditor (deduplicated). IB (ibo.org profiles): American School of Valencia (Puçol), Complejo Educativo Mas Camarena (Paterna), Colegio Camarena Valterna (Paterna), El Plantío International School (Paterna, also Cambridge), Colegio Internacional Ausiàs March (Picassent), Colegio CEU San Pablo Valencia, IALE International School, Shackleton International School (also Cambridge). Cambridge International: Caxton College (Puçol), Cambridge House British International School (Rocafort), British School of Valencia (official Cambridge exam centre). AEFE: Lycée Français International de Valence (Paterna). German Auslandsschulwesen/ZfA (German Abitur): Deutsche Schule Valencia. British College La Cañada (Paterna, British/Cambridge). = 14 distinct schools.
Notes: Verified FLOOR, not an exhaustive census: IB (ibo.org), AEFE (aefe.gouv.fr) and German ZfA registries were cross-checked; several Cambridge schools are confirmed but the Cambridge and CIS/COBIS registries are behind bot protection, so additional Cambridge/CIS members likely exist (British School of Valencia notes 8 'Cambridge Advantage Premium' centres in the Valencia region alone). Metro-area basis (Valencia city plus Paterna, Rocafort, Puçol, Picassent, Bétera, La Cañada). ±3 uncertainty.

Homicide rate0.72/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101, per 100k)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Latest year 2024 = 0.72 per 100k (2023: 0.69; 2022: 0.69). Spain is among the safer EU countries for intentional homicide.

Private healthcare cost$821/yr

Sanitas / Adeslas / DKV comprehensive (with-hospitalization) individual plans — market midpoint; insurers quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 4, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Comprehensive Spanish private health policies (póliza de salud) include outpatient AND hospitalization/inpatient by default. For a healthy 35-year-old, full-cover plans run ≈ €45–52/mo with modest copays and ≈ €65–90/mo copay-free (Sanitas, Adeslas, DKV — 2026 published ranges). Comprehensive midpoint ≈ €60/mo ≈ €720/yr ≈ $821 at EUR/USD 1.1399 (range ≈ $615–$1,230/yr).
Notes: Residents in the contributory system have public healthcare (Sistema Nacional de Salud); private cover is optional and widely bought for speed/choice. Premiums are quoted on request and vary by province (Madrid/Barcelona highest) and copay structure, so this is a curated market midpoint on a comprehensive (outpatient+inpatient) basis, not a single public quote.

Air quality (PM2.5)12.4 µg/m³

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Mean of daily PM2.5 values for 2024 at the València-Vivers urban-background station (46250043), computed from the 12 official monthly CSVs of the GVA open dataset: 277 valid daily means across all 12 calendar months, mean = 12.44 µg/m³ (rounded 12.4). Vivers is the Valencia city urban-background station used by MITECO's national exposure index (IME). Corroborated by València-Avd. França (traffic, 46250047): 10.45 µg/m³ over 341 days; and the national IME 2022–2024 population-weighted mean of 11.5 µg/m³ (MITECO). Excluded València-Pista de Silla (5.97 µg/m³) as implausibly low for a traffic site (likely instrument/sizing difference).
Notes: Urban-background annual mean, 75.7% daily coverage (below the 90% EU-compliance threshold but above the 75% EEA minimum; all 12 months represented, so not seasonally biased). About 2.5× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³), within the current EU limit (25) but above the 2030 EU limit (10). The EEA European city air quality viewer (the criterion's first-choice source) could not be queried directly (interactive tool, no static per-city export); this national-network computation is the transparent fallback.

Optimising tax, banking and crypto rules.

Works in your favour

Crypto regulationLegal regulated

Agencia Tributaria — compra y venta de monedas virtuales: tributación en el IRPF; CNMV/Banco de España MiCA supervision

Official source

Data as of: Jul 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Holding/trading legal for individuals. Gains on disposal (to fiat OR crypto-to-crypto swaps, which ARE taxable, unlike Poland) are savings income (renta del ahorro) taxed 19–30% under IRPF; FIFO applies. EU MiCA fully applicable in Spain from 1 July 2026 (CASPs licensed/supervised by CNMV and Banco de España); DAC8 reporting from 2026. Buying with fiat is not a taxable event.

Financial control levelLow

Agencia Tributaria — límite de pagos en efectivo (Ley 11/2021); eurozone member, no capital controls

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Composite: eurozone member, euro fully convertible, no currency/capital controls (free EU capital movement). Cash-payment limit €1,000 per transaction when a party acts as business/professional (Ley 11/2021), €10,000 for non-resident private individuals. Standard EU CRS/DAC bank reporting and DAC8 for crypto; Modelo 720 declaration of foreign assets >€50,000 exists (informational). No exchange restrictions on personal funds; non-residents can open bank accounts (NIE required).
Notes: Modelo 720 foreign-asset reporting (>€50,000) is an information duty; EU Court struck down its disproportionate penalty regime in 2022, penalties since aligned to general rules. Overall personal money movement is free (low control) by the criterion's definition.

Watch-outs

Freelancer tax burden28.4%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (BOE-A-2026-7296 RETA + Agencia Tributaria IRPF scale)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Best realistically-eligible scheme for a solo IT freelancer = es-autonomo-estimacion-directa at €60,000 revenue with 10% (€6,000) expenses. RETA cuota tramo 14 (base 1,732.03 × 31.5%) = 6,547.08/yr; difícil-justificación 2,000 (notional); IRPF base 39,902.92 (after mínimo personal 5,550) → 10,465.58. Total levies 17,012.66 / 60,000 = 28.4%. The Beckham regime (flat 24%) is NOT open to ordinary freelancers, only to eligible employed/relocated impatriates — see es-beckham-impatriate.

Prioritising safety, air, and an easy daily life.

Works in your favour

Homicide rate0.72/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101, per 100k)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Latest year 2024 = 0.72 per 100k (2023: 0.69; 2022: 0.69). Spain is among the safer EU countries for intentional homicide.

Air quality (PM2.5)12.4 µg/m³

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Mean of daily PM2.5 values for 2024 at the València-Vivers urban-background station (46250043), computed from the 12 official monthly CSVs of the GVA open dataset: 277 valid daily means across all 12 calendar months, mean = 12.44 µg/m³ (rounded 12.4). Vivers is the Valencia city urban-background station used by MITECO's national exposure index (IME). Corroborated by València-Avd. França (traffic, 46250047): 10.45 µg/m³ over 341 days; and the national IME 2022–2024 population-weighted mean of 11.5 µg/m³ (MITECO). Excluded València-Pista de Silla (5.97 µg/m³) as implausibly low for a traffic site (likely instrument/sizing difference).
Notes: Urban-background annual mean, 75.7% daily coverage (below the 90% EU-compliance threshold but above the 75% EEA minimum; all 12 months represented, so not seasonally biased). About 2.5× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³), within the current EU limit (25) but above the 2030 EU limit (10). The EEA European city air quality viewer (the criterion's first-choice source) could not be queried directly (interactive tool, no static per-city export); this national-network computation is the transparent fallback.

Climate comfort8/12 mo

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals (NOAA/WMO 1991–2020, Valencia/Aeropuerto 8284)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2020
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Months whose 1991–2020 normals have mean daily max 15–28°C and precipitation < 150 mm: Jan (16.7), Feb (17.5), Mar (19.7), Apr (21.7), May (25.0), Oct (24.8), Nov (20.0), Dec (17.1) = 8. Jun–Sep excluded (max 28.4–31.4°C).

Cost of living (single, excl. rent)$941/mo

INE — Encuesta de Presupuestos Familiares 2024 (household budget survey), rent stripped

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: INE EPF 2024 average household spending by COICOP group (total €34,044/hh). Housing group €11,029 reduced to utilities only (imputed rent €9,299 removed), leaving a non-rent basket of €24,746/hh. Divided by average household size 2.50 (€34,044 ÷ €13,626 per-person) → €9,905/person/yr = €825/mo; converted at EUR/USD 1.1399 (ECB 2026-07-02) → $941/mo. Cross-checked against Eurostat comparative price levels (Spain ≈ 92% of EU27; ≈ 1.28× Poland, whose figure is $753).
Notes: National per-capita non-rent basket. A person living alone typically spends somewhat more per head (fixed costs not shared) — this figure is the reproducible household-survey floor. City files (Madrid/Barcelona) run higher; Valencia/smaller cities lower.