Teruel · Aragon

Alcañiz

The capital of Lower Aragon, known for spectacular Holy Week ceremonies with tamborrada drum-playing, and the birthplace of filmmaker Luis Buñuel.

16,447 residents~101 min to Zaragoza
Alcañiz, Teruel
Photo: Fqll · CC BY-SA 4.0

Living in Alcañiz

Alcañiz is a market town of some 16,000 in the olive-and-orchard country of Lower Aragón, of which it is the historic capital. It is known for the thunderous drumming of its Holy Week — the tamborrada — and as the birthplace of the filmmaker Luis Buñuel. Summers are hot and dry with highs near 32°C, winters cool at around 8°C. There's a hospital in town, but it sits well inland: Zaragoza, the nearest city, is about an hour and forty minutes off, so day-to-day life leans on the town itself.

Alcañiz's Spainability Scores — by who's moving

Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities. Each score is Alcañiz's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.

Retiree Spainability Score 81

Higher than 81% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.

The capital of Lower Aragon, known for spectacular Holy Week ceremonies with tamborrada drum-playing, and the birthplace of filmmaker Luis Buñuel. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.

  • Winter average temp 7.6°C
  • Drive to a hospital 0 min
  • Surgical wait (region) 132 days
  • Registered long-let rent €4.5/m²·mo
American-retiree Spainability Score 66

Higher than 66% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.

The capital of Lower Aragon, known for spectacular Holy Week ceremonies with tamborrada drum-playing, and the birthplace of filmmaker Luis Buñuel. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.

  • Winter average temp 7.6°C
  • Drive to a hospital 0 min
  • U.S.-born residents 0.06 per 1,000
  • Registered long-let rent €4.5/m²·mo
Family Spainability Score 52

Higher than 52% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.

The capital of Lower Aragon, known for spectacular Holy Week ceremonies with tamborrada drum-playing, and the birthplace of filmmaker Luis Buñuel. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — a hospital in town and 16,447 people.

  • Schools in town 12
  • PISA maths (region) 487
  • Registered long-let rent €4.5/m²·mo
  • Drive to a hospital 0 min
Remote-work Spainability Score 46

Higher than 46% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.

The capital of Lower Aragon, known for spectacular Holy Week ceremonies with tamborrada drum-playing, and the birthplace of filmmaker Luis Buñuel. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 16,447 people and a hospital in town.

  • 100 Mbps+ coverage 86%
  • Drive to nearest airport 109 min
  • Registered long-let rent €4.5/m²·mo
  • Summer high (Jul–Aug) 31.7°C
Budget-coastal Spainability Score 31

Higher than 31% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.

The capital of Lower Aragon, known for spectacular Holy Week ceremonies with tamborrada drum-playing, and the birthplace of filmmaker Luis Buñuel. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — 16,447 people and a hospital in town.

  • Registered long-let rent €4.5/m²·mo
  • Net income per person €13,816
  • Summer high (Jul–Aug) 31.7°C
Heat-averse Spainability Score 30

Higher than 30% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.

The capital of Lower Aragon, known for spectacular Holy Week ceremonies with tamborrada drum-playing, and the birthplace of filmmaker Luis Buñuel. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — a hospital in town and a real food scene.

  • Summer high (Jul–Aug) 31.7°C
  • Rainy days a year 45 days
  • Summer water stress (WEI+) 10
  • Winter average temp 7.6°C

What is the climate like in Alcañiz?

Alcañiz's reported winter average is 7.6°C, while July–August highs reach 31.7°C.

Climate

Winter average temp
7.6°C top 43% of 8,131 towns 0.2°C below the Spanish average (7.8°C)
Summer high (Jul–Aug)
31.7°C bottom 30% of 8,131 towns 1.5°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
Rainy days a year
45 days top 11% of 8,088 towns 34% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
Sunshine
no local data
Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
10 top 12% of 8,033 towns 46 below the Spanish average (56)
River-flood depth (T=100, town centre) estimated
0 m top 1% of 8,129 towns 0.04 m below the Spanish average (0.04 m)
River-flood risk score estimated
0 top 1% of 8,129 towns about the Spanish average (0)
Wildfire burn rate (2010–23)
0.16 ha/km² bottom 40% of 8,132 towns 2.15 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
Forest fires (2010–23)
7 bottom 15% of 8,132 towns 1 above the Spanish average (6)
High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
26% bottom 18% of 8,130 towns 3.1% above the Spanish average (22.9%)

The year, month by month

AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.

vs London: +1.5h December daylight½ the rain~8°C hotter summers
-5° 15° 25° 35° 50 0 mm 11° 13° 17° 20° 24° 10° 29° 14° 32° 17° 31° 17° 27° 13° 21° 15° 11° day high night low JFMAMJJASOND
day high → night low (°C) rain (mm/month, right axis) Measured at the ALCAÑIZ station.

How good is healthcare in Alcañiz?

Alcañiz's nearest health centre is 4.7 km away, and the reported hospital drive is 0 min.

Healthcare

Drive to a hospital
0 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
Nearest health centre
4.7 km top 25% of 8,132 towns
Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
132 days #13 of 17 regions, +29 days vs national 22% more than the Spanish average (108 days)

What are schools like in Alcañiz?

Alcañiz has 12 schools in town; the nearest international school is 88 km away.

Schools

Schools in town
12 top 5% of 7,042 towns
Nearest international school
88 km bottom 16% of 8,132 towns
PISA maths (region) regional estimate
487 #7 of 17 regions, +8 vs national 6 above the Spanish average (481)

How much does it cost to live in Alcañiz?

Alcañiz's reported asking price is €1,308/m².

Cost & economy

Home price
no local data
Asking price
€1,308/m² asking · Fotocasa Jun 2026 · small sample
Registered long-let rent
€4.5/m²·mo
Registered rent p25
€3.7/m²·mo
Registered rent p75
€5.5/m²·mo
Registered-rent yield
no reliable sale-price data — yield not imputed
Net income per person
€13,816 bottom 42% of 8,059 towns 5% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
Income growth ’18–’23
22.6% bottom 30% of 6,605 towns

Which languages are used in schools in Alcañiz?

Spanish is the only region-wide official language in Aragón, and Spanish-medium teaching is the public-school default. Individual bilingual and international programmes can use other languages, so check the specific school. See the Aragón region guide for the wider regional context.

What is the community like in Alcañiz?

Alcañiz's reported population is 16,447.

Who lives here

Population
16,447
Born in Spain
82.1% 6.7% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
Born elsewhere in EU/UK
6% 2.2% above the Spanish average (3.8%)
U.S.-born residents
0.06 per 1,000

How easy is it to get around Alcañiz?

Alcañiz is a reported 109 min drive from the nearest airport, with 86% fibre-to-home coverage.

Getting around

Drive to nearest airport
109 min bottom 19% of 8,132 towns
Fibre-to-home coverage
86% bottom 40% of 8,132 towns 7% above the Spanish average (79%)
100 Mbps+ coverage
86% bottom 30% of 8,132 towns 3% above the Spanish average (83%)
Nearest airport Lleida-Alguaire Airport (ILD) — 109 min drive · domestic routes only — nearest international hub: Valencia Airport (VLC), ~186 min

Numbers: Spainability town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Registered long-let rent is SERPAVI declared-contract data; its p25–p75 values show the observed band. Registered-rent yield is gross, excludes costs and is never imputed. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.

How does Alcañiz fit you?

These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Alcañiz against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 101 min from Zaragoza, if that's your anchor.

Take the quiz — rank Alcañiz for you →

Questions to verify locally

  • Ask whether current long-let rents match the registered-contract figure.
  • Ask what recent sales closed at; the published figure is asking price.
  • Test fibre speed at the exact address, not the town average.
  • Visit local schools and confirm places for incoming families.
  • Confirm health-centre registration and opening hours in person.

Nearby towns

Other places we profile within easy reach.

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