Although in theory no one is forbidden from choosing where to live, the reality is that people tend to cluster by city and then spread into neighborhoods based on what they can afford. The core truth is simple: rent and home ownership depend on the person’s finances. Each year the Tax Administration publishes a detailed snapshot of wealth distribution across major Spanish cities. It reveals where income concentrates and where it lags. In that light, Alicante and Elche have not stood out as among the strongest performers.
Again this year, some neighborhoods in Alicante and Elche appear among the lower income segments in a study covering 62 municipalities with more than 200,000 residents in Spain. The Nou Alacant area, including neighborhoods like Virgen del Carmen and Colonia Requena, along with portions of John XXIII in 2021, show the second lowest average income per taxpayer at 15,760 euros. In some districts, levels are almost as low as those seen in the Torreblanca district of Seville, where the figure drops to about 10,780 euros.
The zip codes that include the Carrus neighborhood and the area around Barcelona Square were again tied to low income in Elche, with third lowest figures at 15,959 euros. Other areas such as Garden City-Virgen del Remedio ranked fifth in the city with about 17,562 euros, while Altamira-El Toscar stood ninth in Elche.
Some numbers seem strikingly small. In contrast, La Moraleja in Alcobendas, near Madrid, shows an average income of about 191,000 euros per resident, marking it as the wealthiest neighborhood in the two provinces studied. San Juan Beach, by comparison, averages around 40,778 euros per taxpayer, placing it far down in the ranking.
Impact of the epidemic on income patterns
The study, based on income tax returns filed by residents, shows that inequalities are more pronounced in Alicante than in Elche. The gap between the wealthiest areas of the capital, such as San Juan Beach, and the most modest districts like Nou Alacant-Virgen del Carmen, reached a wide margin. In Elche, the poorest neighborhood Carrús reported the lowest incomes, while the rural Valverde area encompassed the highest figures, illustrating a stark contrast of about 16,239 euros in the period analyzed.
If the data are read in a broader context, the epidemic’s effects become clear for both cities. In Alicante, the center lost its traditional lead as the area with the highest income in favor of the beachfront district of San Juan. This shift aligns with new housing developments and the movement of residents who relocated during the health crisis. In 2021, more than one in eight residents in this postal code earned above the 60,000 euro threshold for the top income tax bracket.
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The income data also reflect a general improvement in revenue for the year after the downturn caused by lockdowns in 2020. In Virgen del Carmen, reported income continued to ease, falling from 17,600 euros in 2019 to 16,713 in 2020 and to 15,760 euros in 2021, underscoring the lasting impact of the epidemic on certain districts.
In Elche, the epidemic initially disrupted rankings as Valverde briefly ceded the top spot as the city’s wealthiest district to La Gaul-Bonavista, a shift that began to reverse in 2021 as economic activity recovered.