After a long pause and letting go of the events of 2020, Valencia’s community saw per capita income rise notably in the last year, yet the level remains well below the national average and the wealthier regions. The gap has widened slightly compared to pre-pandemic conditions. This trend is clear from the latest regional accounting published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) on Monday, which once again highlights the persistent differences among Spain’s autonomous communities.
In the Community of Valencia, last year’s GDP per capita stood at 22,289 euros, marking a 1,509 euro improvement from 2020 when activity was stifled by restrictions to curb the coronavirus spread. Despite the uptick, per capita income remains 834 euros below the pre Covid-19 level, underscoring the uneven recovery across regions.
Within this context, the headline takeaway remains the substantial distance separating Valencians from the national well-being average. For 2021, Valencian per capita income was 87.4 percent of the national figure, equating to 25,498 euros. In practical terms, this means every Valencian earned about 3,209 euros less than the average Spaniard that year.
Low productivity compounds the issue, keeping Valencia away from Spain’s overall income level. Since 2019, the last year before the pandemic, GDP per capita in Valencia hovered at about 87.5 percent of the national level. While the regional economy declined less severely than many other regions in 2020, the rebound settled back toward that gap in 2021, reaching 87.4 percent on the same basis. It should be noted that the widening gap is partly a result of population growth in the Community over the past year, which influences the distribution of wealth created. When wealth distribution is considered, the countrywide redistribution barely improved.
Compared with the rest of the autonomous communities, Valencia remains closer to the back of the pack than the leading regions. Valencians were about 3,383 euros richer than those in Andalusia, where GDP per capita reached 18,906 euros, but they trailed Madrid by roughly 12,532 euros, given Madrid’s income level at 34,821 euros. Other notable standings show the Basque Country at 32,430 euros; Navarre at 31,024 euros; Catalonia at 29,942 euros; and Aragon at 28,912 euros.
Regional accounts from INE still lack province-level GDP estimates, leaving it uncertain whether Alicante exhibits per capita income levels below those of other communities. In 2019 the province stood at 19,944 euros per person, about 75.4 percent of the national average. That figure fell to 17,999 euros in 2020 due to the pandemic downturn.
Nominal GDP growth by autonomous communities in 2021 shows a recovery pattern, with Valencia posting a modest uptick compared to the national average. While the Balearic Islands experienced the strongest gains at 10.7 percent and the Canary Islands rose 7 percent, Valencia’s economy grew at a rate slightly above the national average, with a 5.6 percent rise. Other regional performances varied, with Navarra at 5.9 percent and Castilla y León at 4.3 percent, while Ceuta and Melilla posted about 4 percent increases.
Looking ahead, industry indicators from major lenders suggested a cautious outlook. A report from BBVA projected that Valencia’s GDP could rise by about 1 percent in the following year, but warned that tourism may face constraints. The sectors most resilient to prior restrictions showed the strongest rebounds. Trade and hospitality, which suffered steep declines in 2020, rebounded in 2021 with a 14.4 percent increase after a 22.9 percent drop the previous year. Yet the recovery remains incomplete as full normalization did not occur until early 2022.
Manufacturing rebounded from a 13.8 percent decrease to an 8.2 percent increase. The construction sector remained the laggard, showing a negative 3.4 percent change, while activities linked to services, administration, and information technology posted solid gains. Agriculture grew by about 2.4 percent, and the public administration’s efficiency edged up by 1.9 percent. Overall, the data reflect a mixed but improving trajectory for Valencia’s economy, with sectoral performances illustrating the uneven return to pre-pandemic norms.