Salary effort · INCASOL + INE · 2025
Spain's 20 municipalities where rent consumes most of your salary
Villanueva de la Cañada spends 37.3% of annual gross salary on rent. 751 municipalities analysed. INCASOL 2025 data and INE 2022 provincial salary.
751
municipalities
27,1%
avg effort
37.3%
maximum (worst)
In Villanueva de la Cañada, rent consumes 37.3% of annual gross salary. Madrid occupies 18 of the top 20 spots: rent exceeds €1,000 per month across the entire metropolitan ring, while the provincial salary (€34,410) hasn't kept pace. Donostia / San Sebastián takes third place at 36.2% — the only non-Madrid municipality in the top five, with the Basque Country's most expensive rent (€1,062) and the highest provincial salary in the ranking (€35,170). Even that isn't enough. The only Andalusian entry in the top 20 is Alhaurín el Grande (Málaga, 14th): a rent of €765 that doesn't seem outrageous, but against Andalusia's provincial salary (€26,090), the effort reaches 35.2%.
Top 20 municipalities by rent effort
% of annual gross salary spent on monthly rent × 12
| # | Municipality | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Villanueva de la CañadaComunidad de Madrid | 37.3% |
| 2 | ValdemoroComunidad de Madrid | 36.3% |
| 3 | Donostia / San SebastiánPaís Vasco | 36.2% |
| 4 | ValdemorilloComunidad de Madrid | 36.2% |
| 5 | NavalcarneroComunidad de Madrid | 36.1% |
| 6 | AranjuezComunidad de Madrid | 36.0% |
| 7 | MecoComunidad de Madrid | 36.0% |
| 8 | GalapagarComunidad de Madrid | 35.7% |
| 9 | ParlaComunidad de Madrid | 35.7% |
| 10 | Villanueva del PardilloComunidad de Madrid | 35.7% |
| 11 | GetafeComunidad de Madrid | 35.5% |
| 12 | CiempozuelosComunidad de Madrid | 35.3% |
| 13 | Villaviciosa de OdónComunidad de Madrid | 35.3% |
| 14 | Alhaurín el GrandeAndalucía | 35.2% |
| 15 | AlpedreteComunidad de Madrid | 35.2% |
| 16 | Collado VillalbaComunidad de Madrid | 35.2% |
| 17 | Humanes de MadridComunidad de Madrid | 35.2% |
| 18 | San Lorenzo de El EscorialComunidad de Madrid | 35.2% |
| 19 | MadridComunidad de Madrid | 35.1% |
| 20 | PintoComunidad de Madrid | 35.1% |
Analysis
Madrid's dominance in this ranking reflects the data structure: INE salaries are calculated at provincial level, meaning all Madrid municipalities share the same salary reference (€34,410 per year). Rankings between them mainly reflect rent differences: Villanueva de la Cañada leads because it has the most expensive rent in the entire region (€1,069/month) — pricier than the capital itself. There is no escape from high rent in Madrid's metropolitan ring.
Donostia / San Sebastián illustrates why salary effort is more informative than absolute rent. With €1,062 monthly rent and a provincial salary of €35,170 — the highest in Spain — one might expect a comfortable ratio. It isn't: 36.2% puts it third nationally. Basque Country salaries are the highest in Spain, but Donostia's rents have scaled just as fast.
Methodology
Salary effort is calculated as (estimated monthly rent × 12) / annual gross salary × 100. Rent comes from INCASOL (2025). Salary is the median annual gross salary by province, from the INE Wage Structure Survey (2022). Since salary is provincial, municipalities in the same province share the same salary figure — rankings mainly reflect rent differences within each province.
How to cite
UrbanStatsLab (2025). "Spain's 20 municipalities where rent consumes most of your salary". INCASOL 2025 and INE 2022 data. urbanstatslab.com
The other side
Where rent is most affordable