A ranking that barely moves
The National Statistics Institute (INE) published its Atlas de Distribución de Renta de los Hogares with 2024 data on Monday, 19 October. Net income per person across Spain rose 6.1% to 15,948 euros, while gross income per person climbed 6.8% to 19,716 euros. Net income per household averaged 40,605 euros, up 5.9% on the previous year. The atlas assigns income to each recipient's place of residence, which allows the data to be broken down to the level of a neighbourhood. Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid) again ranked first among municipalities with more than 2,000 inhabitants, with 32,612 euros per person.
Matadepera (Barcelona) placed second with 28,607 euros, followed by Boadilla del Monte (Madrid) with 28,382 euros. Torrelodones (Madrid) at 26,573 euros and Getxo (Biscay) at 26,472 euros completed the top five. The same three leaders held the top places for the fourth consecutive year, and each gained roughly 2,000 euros on its 2023 average.
The poorest municipalities
At the other end, Iznalloz (Granada) recorded the lowest figure among municipalities above 2,000 inhabitants, at 9,153 euros per person. El Palmar de Troya (Seville) followed with 9,321 euros, then Albuñol (Granada) with 9,343 euros, Chozas de Canales (Toledo) with 9,547 euros and La Mojonera (Almería) with 9,650 euros. Andalusia accounts for 12 of the 15 municipalities with the lowest average income in Spain. In the province of Córdoba, San Sebastián de los Ballesteros led with 16,452 euros per person, while Nueva Carteya registered 10,684 euros, the lowest figure in the province.
Regional and provincial contrasts
Gipuzkoa had the highest provincial average at 20,790 euros, ahead of Bizkaia (19,858 euros) and Madrid (19,277 euros). The lowest were Almería (12,244 euros), Huelva (12,765 euros) and Jaén (12,835 euros). Barcelona province registered 17,884 euros, while Girona (15,986 euros), Lleida (15,608 euros) and Tarragona (15,296 euros) saw average income rise by less than the national average. Madrid's average gain exceeded 1,100 euros. Some 89.7% of Basque municipalities sat in the top income quarter, above 17,157 euros, and 71.3% in Navarra did the same. In Murcia, 91.1% of municipalities fell in the bottom quarter, below 13,407 euros, and in Andalusia the share was 83.9%.
The Balearic Islands had the third-highest share of high-income municipalities at 46.3%, and their average net income rose 6.4% to 17,158 euros from 16,118 euros. In the Canary Islands, 36.2% of residents live in the low-income bracket, or 803,584 people, down from 36.6% in 2023. That places the archipelago fifth in the country, behind Murcia (58.7%), Extremadura (57.5%), Andalusia (56%) and Castilla-La Mancha (45.7%).
Inside the cities
Among provincial capitals, San Sebastián had the highest share of census sections with very high income at 60.3%, followed by Madrid at 39.3% and Bilbao at 33.9%. Soria and Cuenca recorded 0.0%, and Guadalajara 1.7%. Income gaps also run inside cities: in Madrid the main divide runs between a wealthy north and a poorer south, while in Seville it runs east to west. For the gross household income data, the national median stands at 45,100 euros, and the poorest 20% of neighbourhoods fall below 36,700 euros.
What the figures measure
The atlas uses tax data from the Agencia Tributaria and the foral tax authorities, and it is published with a two-year lag. It leaves out the informal economy. The figures are per inhabitant, counting minors and people without income, so they do not equal a typical salary. Some areas show no data because of statistical secrecy rules.