Salary needed to buy a home in Spain: the map of the 60 main cities in 2026
San Sebastián requires a monthly net salary of €5,074. Zamora, €1,279. Between these two extremes lies the current map of housing affordability in Spain.
What the data tells us:
- The Spanish average stands at €1,999 net per month per household, equivalent to approximately €35,000 gross per year.
- San Sebastián, Madrid and Barcelona are the only three cities in the study above €4,000 net per month.
- In 14 cities, more than €2,500 net per month is needed to buy an average home.
- Only in Zamora and Lugo are the required monthly net earnings close to a net minimum wage.
Map of the salary needed to afford a home in Spain
This map answers the question of how much a person or family needs to earn per month to buy a house in each major Spanish city, ensuring that no more than 35% of their income goes toward their mortgage payments.
Three groups, three levels of access to housing
Major cities concentrate the highest figures
San Sebastián (€5,074), Madrid (€4,574) and Barcelona (€4,485) lead the national ranking. Bilbao (€3,185), Getafe (€2,950), L’Hospitalet (€2,896), Badalona (€2,705), Valencia (€2,675) and Seville (€2,566) complete the group of major cities and metropolitan areas where the salary threshold for access exceeds €2,500 net per month, or sits very close to that level.
What sets this group of cities apart is not only the price per square metre, but also the concentration of demand: administrative capital status, economic hubs and metropolitan areas with strong demographic pressure. The result is a higher salary threshold for access, placing these cities at the top end of the national map.
The coast: two realities along the same shoreline
The Mediterranean tells two parallel stories:
Marbella (€3,532), Benidorm (€2,813) and Palma de Mallorca (€3,477) show how international demand can raise the salary needed to access an average home.
In contrast, Castellón (€1,338), Almería (€1,727) and Murcia (€1,526) remain at more contained access levels within Spain’s coastal markets.
Inland Spain as an affordable refuge
Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León and Galicia concentrate the cities with the lowest required salaries in the study.
Zamora (€1,279), Lugo (€1,322), Ciudad Real (€1,323) and Palencia (€1,339) form the map of “decompressed Spain”: markets with lower demographic pressure and more contained housing prices.
Full ranking of the 60 cities
Assumptions
The data reflects the monthly net earnings required for a person or household to allocate 35% of their income to payments on a standard mortgage to buy an average home of 100 m² of built area in each of the 50 provincial capitals and 10 other locations selected by population and sales volume.
The calculation assumes that the mortgage covers 80% of the total property value and follows a French amortisation system.
The calculation uses a maximum affordability ratio of 35%, a level commonly considered reasonable for housing payments.
The analysis does not include the prior savings needed to cover the deposit, taxes, purchase-related expenses or other initial transaction costs.
Source: IMIE Local Markets by Tinsa/Accumin Intelligence, Q1 2026.
Methodology: The calculations in this report are based on the IMIE Local Markets series, produced by our Research Department. Accumin Intelligence combines these data with analytical models and market knowledge to turn information into actionable insight.
Gerardo Raído