The cost story in Alicante is surprising. A recent comparison of living costs across Spain’s provincial capitals shows that Alicante’s most expensive item is a loaf of bread paired with a liter of milk, while the cheapest item is a basic beer. The takeaway: residents pay more than the national average for housing, gas and transportation, yet they enjoy lower costs for taxes, insurance, and some utilities.
The Kelisto savings platform prepared this analysis, which measures how far a consumer must stretch to buy 17 everyday items across 50 state capitals plus Ceuta and Melilla. The study groups costs into six categories: housing (purchase and rental), taxes (including IBI, road tax, and garbage charges), household bills (home and auto insurance, electricity, and gas), public and private transportation (bus fare, taxi, and fuel), shopping (cart value, bread, and milk), and entertainment (movie ticket and beer).
The study also factors in the average household income. To determine affordability, every variable is compared to the national average across all municipalities. The results for Alicante are especially revealing.
Overall, the shopping cart as a whole runs below the national average by about 2.3 percent. Yet certain staples diverge from this trend: bread and milk cost notably more — 6.8 percent and 3.3 percent higher, respectively — while beer is about 10.7 percent cheaper.
Lack of supply pushes rental home price to all-time high in Alicante province
Housing stands out as the major expense, with rents climbing to levels well above the regional average. In Alicante, rent is about 22.8 percent higher, driven by a persistent shortage of supply. The city ranks among the top in the country for rental entry restrictions, and while buying costs edge up only slightly by about 0.6 percent, the rent gap remains the dominant factor in the housing category.
Other housing-related categories also push costs higher. Public and private transportation costs follow the same pattern, with bus tickets up by 15.8 percent, placing Alicante sixth in the region for bus prices, and taxi fares up by 12.7 percent. Fuel costs are roughly 2.5 percent higher, which makes private vehicle use less economical.
Leisure expenses also tip upward, with cinema tickets about 9.1 percent more than the national average. Electricity costs, while only modestly higher at around 0.3 percent, still contribute to the broader consumption burden.
Despite these higher costs in some categories, Alicante shows relative savings in others. Urban waste collection fees are at least 68.4 percent cheaper, placing the city second in this category nationwide. Property taxes (IBI) are about 22.2 percent cheaper, and the vehicle tax for mechanical traction is roughly 1.9 percent cheaper.
The trend continues with overall housing affordability still lagging behind the national average by about 2.8 percent, while car costs remain about 2.7 percent above the national norm.
Gas stands out as one bright spot, with prices nearly 21.3 percent lower than the national average in government accounts, helping to soften some transport expenses for residents.
Average income per household
The study highlights that the typical Alicante household brings in about 26,274 euros per year, placing the city toward the lower end of the spectrum in the national comparison, roughly 47th in the rankings.
When all analyzed costs are weighed together, Alicante lands around the middle of the pack. It ranks 33rd in the country for overall cost of living among the capitals, with a balance roughly 3.4 points below the national average.
Among the other Valencian Community capitals, Valencia sits as the seventh most expensive capital city, about 18.8 points above the average, while Castellón is 23rd, just 1.17 points below average.
On the national scale, San Sebastián, Barcelona, and Madrid remain among the most expensive cities, posting cost-of-living indices well above the average. Conversely, Lugo, Palencia, and Zamora rank as some of the most affordable, with Lugo showing prices modestly below the average.
Shopping cart softens its rise but stays above 12% in Alicante
The analysis notes that the costliest rental markets are San Sebastián, Barcelona, and Madrid, while the cheapest include Zamora and Jaén. In the rental market, Barcelona and Madrid top the list, with Lugo, Teruel, Cáceres, Zamora, and Ourense at the lower end.
In taxes, IBI peaks in Soria, Tarragona, and Lleida, with Pamplona and Vitoria enjoying the lowest rates. San Sebastián leads road tax costs, followed by Barcelona, Ceuta, Ciudad Real, and Granada, while Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Melilla appear cheapest. Alicante and Soria sit lower in the spectrum.
Shopping cart costs show San Sebastián at the top for the cheapest milk and bread? No — the most expensive liter of milk is in San Sebastián, while the bread basket peaks in San Sebastián and Palma de Mallorca. Toledo and Almería record the lowest bread costs. Beer prices top in Almería and are lowest in Ávila.
The most expensive bus fares occur in Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, with Lugo, Ceuta, and Ourense offering the lowest fares. Taxi prices peak in San Sebastián and Teruel, with the lowest in Lugo and Zaragoza.
Estefanía González, Kelisto’s spokesperson, explains that the cities with the highest salaries tend to show higher overall living costs; it also reinforces the stereotype that the north is pricier than the south, or that small capitals are cheaper.