Report · Catalonia · INE 2023

Where rent is unaffordable in Catalonia

Rent in Santa Margarida de Montbui is almost identical to Barcelona (€883 vs €884). But per capita income is 35% lower. Result: 84% of income goes to rent. INE data (income 2021, rent 2023).

84,1%

Sta. Margarida de Montbui

883€/mes · renda 12.594€/any

41,0%

Sant Just Desvern

864€/mes · renda 25.286€/any

Top 10 — Municipalities with the highest rent burden

% of annual per capita income represented by monthly rent × 12

1

Santa Margarida de Montbui

883€/mes · 12.594€/any

84.1%2

Santa Coloma de Gramenet

874€/mes · 12.584€/any

83.3%3

Badia del Vallès

874€/mes · 12.664€/any

82.8%4

Canovelles

879€/mes · 12.923€/any

81.6%5

L'Hospitalet de Llobregat

898€/mes · 13.302€/any

81%6

Vilanova del Camí

897€/mes · 13.529€/any

79.6%7

Sant Adrià de Besòs

868€/mes · 13.268€/any

78.5%8

Salt

698€/mes · 10.843€/any

77.2%9

Tordera

869€/mes · 13.712€/any

76.1%10

La Llagosta

866€/mes · 13.766€/any

75.5%

The 5 most affordable municipalities (for contrast)

Key findings

1

9 of the 10 municipalities with the highest burden are in the province of Barcelona — all in the metropolitan or peri-urban area.

2

The paradox: Sant Cugat del Vallès pays €907/month in rent (more than Barcelona) but with an income of €24,748/year, the burden is only 44%.

3

Salt (Girona) is the extreme case outside Barcelona: €698/month — relatively cheap — but with an income of only €10,843/year, the burden reaches 77%.

Related report

Biggest rent increases (2023)

Related report

Where rent fell (2023)

Methodology note

The affordability ratio is calculated as (estimated rent × 12) / net per capita income × 100. Per capita income is the average net income per person per year, including the entire population (workers, retirees, etc.), not just employees. Source: INE Household Income Distribution Atlas (2021 data) and INE IPVA rent index (2023 data). Cross-year comparison may introduce minor distortions. 2023 data is the most recent published by INE. The IPVA index is published with approximately 18 months' lag from the reference year.

Source: INE Atlas Renda ↗ · INE IPVA ↗

Recommended citation:

UrbanStatsLab (2024). Where rent is unaffordable in Catalonia. Data: INE Atlas Renta + INE IPVA.

https://urbanstatslab.com/en/informe/esforc-lloguer-catalunya-2023/