During the latest Employment Commission, Madrid City Council member Enma López of the PSOE delivered a stark reminder to the government team in a tone reminiscent of Yolanda Díaz, saying, I will share some information. The figure she cited was striking: 25,800 young adults aged 25-34 were active a year ago, then disappeared from the map. They left because Madrid failed to create opportunities, López argued. The El Periódico de España, part of the Princess Ibérica group, requested the statistics of the Active Population Survey (EPA) for late 2022 from the Almeida City Council, to which the socialist mayor referred. López contributed, but the result highlighted persistent housing affordability challenges for young Spaniards seeking places to live. [INE] [Source: INE]
According to the EPA data for that quarter, Madrid’s active population aged 25-34 ended the year at 357,400. In contrast, the same period in 2021 recorded 375,100, a drop of 17,700. [INE]
The pre-pandemic quarter reveals an even higher figure of 390,000, a key factor in the population decline. In the election quarter that brought a change of direction for the City Council, Madrid ranked second in 2019 with 372,100 young residents, nearly 4% lower than in 2020. The accompanying graphs illustrate population trends across the provinces at a glance. [INE]
The City Council did not respond to the newspaper’s request to assess these figures, which show Madrid losing 32,600 residents aged 25-34 from 2020 to 2022, even as INE municipal register data show Madrid gaining around 14,000 inhabitants in 2021 compared with 2018. [INE]
Madrid’s youth outflow is not an isolated phenomenon; Barcelona shows a similar, troubling pattern. At the start of Ada Colau’s second term, 220,700 young residents aged 24-35 lived in Barcelona in the second quarter of 2019. By mid-2020 and through 2021, the 24-35 cohort fell to 204,000; then, in 2021 and 2022, it dropped further to 201,200 and 171,300, respectively. [INe] A net migration of 49,400 young workers from 2019 to 2022 and 32,900 during the pandemic to 2022 marks an 16.11% decline. City officials describe this as “stability” after a late-2010s population decline, while urban sociologist Jose Ariza de la Cruz calls it a sign of a major urban challenge. Census data also show Madrid and Barcelona enduring population shifts, with Madrid adding about 14,000 inhabitants between 2018 and 2021 and Barcelona showing a similar trend in recent years. [INE]
Where do they end?
Immigrant destinations are varied. Many young workers move to capitals for face-to-face employment opportunities, but they do not abandon the urban core entirely. They often settle in surrounding towns where rents are more affordable, effectively building a life on the urban outskirts. [INE]
The red belt around Madrid—Getafe, Fuenlabrada, Alcorcón and Leganés—shows population retention or modest growth, while western suburbs like Boadilla del Monte, Majadahonda, and Pozuelo de Alarcón, plus Rivas Vaciamadrid to the southeast, report population gains that are modest but real. Around Barcelona, towns such as Badalona, Castelldefels, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Sabadell, and Terrassa show increases in the low thousands, far from the expansion seen in the capitals themselves. [INE]
Barcelona’s city council notes that housing costs clearly influence out-migration of young residents, though it also acknowledges that the age group tends to pursue education or work abroad after finishing studies. Idealista data show rent prices in Barcelona up more than 20% by February 2023 compared with the previous year, with nearby towns showing smaller but still notable rises. Madrid also saw rent growth, with Getafe leading a surge around the capital. [Idealista] [Source: Idealista]
Reports indicate a broader response: public housing construction remains relatively underused in both Madrid and Barcelona, though Barcelona has made some progress and faces less available land than Madrid. The pandemic reshaped housing expectations; many people, especially younger workers, spent lockdowns in provincial towns or rural areas where remote work permitted it. INE’s housing variation statistics for 2021 show that over 90,000 people moved from state capitals to smaller municipalities, a trend researchers say reflects a shift toward remote work and a desire for less dense living environments. [INE]
Sociologist Ariza de la Cruz notes that those preferring rural settings can still be drawn back to cities as job ecosystems mature, but the appeal may be temporary. The longer-term pattern appears to hinge on cities developing targeted employment opportunities that attract a specific population. Others moved to larger or smaller cities beyond Madrid and Barcelona; INE figures indicate 21% chose cities like Bilbao, Valencia, and Valladolid, which have since shown population gains. [INE]
Valencia’s city hall shared data showing Valencia’s 25-29 age group rising from 35,000 in mid-2019 to 37,900 in 2021, despite pandemic lows. Bilbao’s 25-34 active population increased slightly from 32,700 to 32,800 between 2021 and 2022, with INE housing data highlighting a positive balance for many residents in 2021. Valladolid reported overall population growth into 2022, even as the 25-34 group faced a negative balance. Barcelona and Madrid both show positive overall trends, albeit with differing speeds and scales. [INE]
Why are young people leaving? A case study from Valladolid shows a 29-year-old returning home from Madrid to Medina del Campo, choosing telework and local living costs over the capital’s higher rents and broader leisure options. Madrid’s cost of living, especially for housing and leisure, remains a decisive factor for many. Idealista data compare Barcelona’s average rent for a 60-square-meter apartment at 1,164 euros with Madrid’s 996 euros, underscoring regional affordability differences. In some cases, individuals like Diana, a 26-year-old who left Madrid for Logroño, cited salary-to-cost realities and personal identity considerations as drivers of relocation. [Idealista] [Source: Idealista]
Both Madrid and Barcelona are drawing more residents from different regions due to purchasing power and investment signals from regional governments. Analysts note that Madrid’s international outreach and tax incentives for foreign investment attract wealth and influence housing markets, while other Spanish cities compete for talent with their own cultural and economic offerings. As researchers observe, the dynamic mirrors a broader global pattern where capital cities attract investment and skilled workers, yet housing costs push some residents toward secondary markets. [Ariza de la Cruz] [Source: Ariza de la Cruz]