It is not a coincidence that the province of Alicante ranks near the bottom for GDP per capita in Spain. As a result, many municipalities report income levels well below the national average. In a region with 23 towns exceeding 20,000 residents, only Sant Joan d’Alacant surpasses the Spainwide per-capita income average, while most others sit near the lower end of the spectrum.
This is the new edition of Urban Indicators, published annually by the INE, which positions Alicante’s neighborhoods once again among the less affluent in major Spanish cities. The report also highlights that some data, including 2020 income figures, reflect the pandemic’s impact on tourism and the resulting income declines across many populations.
According to INE data, Torrevieja moved ahead of Almoradí as the municipality with the lowest net income per capita, at 8,417 euros, about 3,852 euros below the national average of 12,269 euros for the same period. Vega Baja stands among the ninth poorest populations in Spain among cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants, or second only to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Cádiz when considering those classified as cities.
Almoradi registers 8,479 euros per capita, placing the province near the bottom; Crevillent follows with 8,839 euros; Calpe with 8,995; and l’Alfàs del Pi with 9,246.
They also fall below the 10,000-euro-per-capita threshold. Aspe is at 9,393 euros; Guardamar del Segura or similar markets around the region report 9,406 euros; Dolores stands at 9,452; Petrer at 9,660; Elche at 9,839; and Benidorm at 9,891. The Marina Baixa tourism hub exemplifies the pandemic’s effect this year, with average incomes dipping by more than 560 euros due to the halt in tourism activity caused by the coronavirus.
Benidorm led the decline in rents within the Alicante state context as the epidemic took its toll.
As discussed by a University of Alicante Applied Economics professor, a substantial portion of residents in these coastal towns are temporary occupants whose income is not captured in the study. Permanent residents typically work in tourism or agriculture, often in low-wage roles, which pulls down overall area incomes. A similar pattern appears in Lower and Middle Vinalopó, where labor-intensive work and industry with low wages characterize much of the local economy.
Conversely, wealthier populations cluster around the metropolitan area of Alicante, where advanced services and utilities concentrate. Yet Sant Joan still posts 12,318 euros, above the national average, while Campello records 11,973 euros; Alicante city 11,676; and Mutxamel 11,634. A shift also appears at the provincial level, with higher incomes in the interior contributing to a more complex regional picture.
In the provinces with higher incomes, the balance tips toward Ib or the inland districts, each reporting around 11,500 euros, aided by a stronger industrial sector in plastics and metals, among other industries.
The wealth gap broadens at the national level as well. Níjar registers 7,801 euros as the lowest net income in the country, while Alarcón climbs to more than three times that amount, around 26,009 euros, topping the list of the wealthiest locales.
Other indicators
Beyond economics, Torrevieja ranks as the tenth city in Spain for lower life expectancy, at 81.1 years, compared with 85.4 years in Majadahonda, the longest-lived municipality. Vega Baja also has the highest share of foreign residents, accounting for 40.7% of its population. Benidorm follows with 29.6% of residents holding a foreign passport.
Juan XXIII and Virgen del Remedio neighborhoods are among the capital city’s most economically challenged areas. The INE study offers neighborhood-level indicators for 17 large Spanish cities, revealing pockets of poverty within the capital and across other major urban centers. Alicante’s 4-A region, which includes Juan XXIII, ranks as the third lowest-income region among these large cities, behind only the Polígono Sur in Seville and the Los Pajaritos neighborhood in Seville, with per-capita incomes of 6,503, 5,816, and 6,043 euros respectively. Alicante’s 5-A region, including Virgen del Remedio, sits eighth among the lowest-income regions with 7,579 euros. These numbers stand in sharp contrast to Madrid’s El Viso at 40,815 euros per person, the wealthiest neighborhood in the country. Of the fifteen highest-income neighborhoods, ten are in Madrid, four in Barcelona, and one in Vitoria. This distribution underscores the broader pattern of wealth concentration across Spain.