Alicante has emerged as a notable destination for professionals who previously worked primarily in Madrid, signaling a real shift in Spain’s regional labor dynamics. The Generalitat leader, Ximo Puig, has highlighted changes in the labor market between the capital and the Costa Blanca. In recent years, migration flows between the provincial capital and Alicante have turned positive for the province, marking a rare reversal in traditional patterns.
In practical terms, over the past two years Alicante has attracted more active professionals leaving Madrid in search of better employment prospects. This trend runs counter to the historic direction of movement and has helped spur the growth of remote work practices and a growing technology sector in the region.
These insights come from the Labor Market Mobility study, produced annually by the Tax Administration. The report tracks immigration movements between Spanish provinces using withholding statements filed by employers. It only accounts for workers who have been employed in both referenced years.
The facilities of one technology company that relocated to Alicante as part of the Distrito Digital initiative underscore this shift in momentum.
The balance
Overall, the data show Alicante retaining a stable level of exchange with other regions. In the past year, 8,733 workers arrived while 8,725 left. This is notably lower than the pandemic year of 2020, when transfers were extraordinarily high (12,911 arrivals and 11,868 departures). Yet the result represents a meaningful change from pre-pandemic years, when the province consistently recorded a negative balance since records began in 2013.
While the recovery is evident, the most striking change is the volume of exchanges with Madrid, which traditionally sent more workers away than it received. For instance, around a hundred people moved from Alicante to Madrid in 2019, but in the opposite direction more workers began moving to Alicante than leaving. Historical negative balances in Madrid were around 400 professionals in 2018, nearly 500 in 2017, and just under 600 in 2016.
The expansion zone in Madrid’s northern corridor has also shown its share of movement, illustrating a broader pattern of interprovincial labor flow.
There is also a notable shift in the type of workers relocating from Alicante. Ignacio Jimenez Ranedo, a former rector and professor emeritus of the UA, notes that sometimes talent heads toward Madrid, drawn by offers from large companies. Yet many others move into trades or industries that demand less formal education, supporting a meaningful human capital transfer from the province to the capital.
Community of Madrid–Valencia: a high-intensity but asymmetrical link
Since the epidemic, the relationship between Madrid and Valencia has become more dynamic but not equally balanced. In 2020, 2,074 Madrid departures were recorded. By the following year, 2,580 workers arrived from Madrid to Alicante, and in the most recent period 1,861 entered compared with 1,666 leaving.
The expansion zone in Madrid’s north skyline serves as a visual reminder of how these flows weave through the broader regional economy.
Monthly salary
The study does not disclose the occupations involved, but it provides a clear snapshot of earnings by comparing movers with the rest of the country. When looking at all migration movements across provinces, those moving to Alicante earned marginally higher salaries on average than those leaving the province, at approximately 21,773 euros versus 21,683 euros. Although the difference is small, it marks a shift from the pre-pandemic period; in 2019, arrivals earned about 19,185 euros in contrast to 21,526 euros for those who left Alicante—a sign that the profile of professionals drawn to Alicante is changing.
It should be noted that the province still shows a negative balance with neighboring Valencia and with Barcelona. For example, 312 more workers arrived from Alicante than proceeded elsewhere, while Catalonia’s capital attracted more professionals than it sent to Alicante, by about 124 workers.
Nonetheless, mobility appears financially advantageous overall, as salaries for both movers into Alicante and those from other provinces who settled there tended to exceed the national average of 20,130 euros for non-movers.
Migration trends also reveal gender differences. Tax Office statistics show that men are more likely to migrate than women. In the recent year, 3,932 women left Alicante for other provinces, compared with 4,793 men. On the arrival side, 5,042 men moved in versus 3,691 women.
In sum, the data point to a dynamic labor market in Alicante, characterized by a higher intake of talent from Madrid than in prior years, a growing importance of remote work, and a wage pattern that favors movers over non-movers in many cases. These shifts contribute to a more diversified set of opportunities within the province while reflecting broader regional connections across Spain.