Balance and mobility between Alicante and nearby regions
Spain has seen shifts in where professionals choose to live and work, with Alicante drawing more active workers from Madrid in recent years. The movement reflects a broader trend: people are increasingly seeking opportunities beyond traditional hubs, and remote work has become more common. In Alicante, this has contributed to a growing presence of technology firms and a more distributed pattern of employment across the Costa Blanca.
The analysis comes from the Labor Market Mobility study, an annual effort by the Tax Administration. This report documents immigration movements between Spanish provinces based on withholding statements reported by employers. It focuses on transfers where workers were employed in both the origin and destination in successive years and does not capture every single migration, only those tied to formal payroll records.
The post focuses on the facilities created by technology companies that relocated to Alicante as part of the district known as Distrito Digital, illustrating how local ecosystems attract professional talent and investment.
Balance
Overall, the latest figures indicate Alicante maintained a steady level of labor exchanges with other regions. A total of 8,725 workers departed the province while 8,733 arrived. This is notably smaller than the pandemic peak years, when departures reached 11,868 and arrivals 12,911, but it marks a shift from pre-pandemic years. Historically, the province ran a negative balance since data tracking began in 2013. The recent numbers show a healthier dynamic, even as the province continues to balance inflows and outflows with neighboring regions.
One of the most important shifts appears in exchanges with Madrid, which began attracting more workers than it sent to Alicante. For example, around 100 residents from Alicante moved to Madrid in 2019, while a smaller number from Madrid relocated to Alicante. Earlier years show larger negative balances: about 400 professionals left Madrid for Alicante in 2018, nearly 500 in 2017, and almost 600 in 2016. These patterns illustrate a turning point where Madrid becomes a net importer of labor from Alicante rather than a sole supplier.
A prominent figure in the Alicante labor story is the broader trend of talent leaving traditional hubs for opportunities in Alicante, including roles that may require different levels of education. This migration, noted by a former university rector and professor emeritus, underscores a shift in human capital flows from the province to Madrid and vice versa.
Community ties: Madrid-Valencia and the regional impact
In the post-epidemic period, the relationship between Madrid and Valencia has become intense though uneven. Instead of the previous pattern where Madrid saw large outflows to Alicante, recent years show more workers arriving from Madrid to Alicante. In the most recent period, 2,580 workers moved from Madrid to Alicante and 1,861 entered, while 1,666 exited to other destinations. The shift demonstrates a more reciprocal flow between the two economic centers and Alicante’s growing attractiveness as a hub for skilled labor.
Monthly salary
The study does not reveal the specific occupations involved, but it provides a clear snapshot of earnings across migration flows. When assessing all provinces, workers who arrived in Alicante earned slightly higher average salaries than those who left Alicante for other regions. Specifically, arrivals averaged about 21,773 euros, while departures averaged 21,683 euros. Although the gap is modest, it marks a notable shift from the pre-pandemic period when arrivals in 2019 earned around 19,185 euros and departures about 21,526 euros, signaling that the profile of migrants to Alicante has evolved toward higher-paid roles.
Nonetheless, the province still records a negative balance with some neighbors such as Valencia and Catalonia. For instance, more workers arrived from neighboring Valencia than left to Valencia; however, Barcelona reported a larger net inflow into its province than Alicante did, suggesting a mixed pattern of interregional mobility. In general, mobility appears to pay off, as the salaries of both Alicante’s new arrivals and those who settled in the region from other provinces exceeded the national average of about 20,130 euros for non-movers.
The data also show gender differences in mobility. Tax Office statistics indicate men migrate more often than women: 4,793 men moved to provinces other than Alicante, compared with 3,932 women. Among arrivals, 5,042 men reached Alicante while 3,691 women did the same. These figures reflect broader labor market dynamics and the evolving role of gender in regional migration patterns.