Málaga · Andalucía
Benalmádena
A major Costa del Sol seaside resort west of Torremolinos, popular with families for its theme parks and aquariums and known for near-year-round mild temperatures.
.jpg){kind=link}
The case for Benalmádena
- only 42 rainy days a year
- 15.1°C average winters
- AGP airport 30 minutes away
- Málaga — a 100,000+ city — 26 minutes by road
- AVE high-speed rail about 17 minutes away
- official bathing water 2 km away
- 260 restaurants and cafés
- 28 schools in town
- 14% of residents are under 15 — more children than the typical Spanish town
No adjectives, no opinions — every line is a measured value from the data below, shown only when Benalmádena genuinely earns it. Distances marked "as the crow flies" are straight-line estimates.
Benalmádena'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 Benalmádena's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 99% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
A major Costa del Sol seaside resort west of Torremolinos, popular with families for its theme parks and aquariums and known for near-year-round mild temperatures. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 15.1°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 4.44 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €10.1/m²·mo
Higher than 90% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
A major Costa del Sol seaside resort west of Torremolinos, popular with families for its theme parks and aquariums and known for near-year-round mild temperatures. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 15.1°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 173 days
- Registered long-let rent €10.1/m²·mo
Higher than 88% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
A major Costa del Sol seaside resort west of Torremolinos, popular with families for its theme parks and aquariums and known for near-year-round mild temperatures. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 6 km from the sea and a settled international community.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 28.6°C
- Rainy days a year 42 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 30
- Winter average temp 15.1°C
Not scored for families — excluded by this tight-budget profile's affordability gate: the registered rent here (€10.08/m²·mo) is in the priciest 10% nationally.
A major Costa del Sol seaside resort west of Torremolinos, popular with families for its theme parks and aquariums and known for near-year-round mild temperatures. Worth a look for a family with school-age kids.
- Schools in town 28
- PISA maths (region) 457
- Registered long-let rent €10.1/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Not scored for remote workers — excluded by this tight-budget profile's affordability gate: the registered rent here (€10.08/m²·mo) is in the priciest 10% nationally.
A major Costa del Sol seaside resort west of Torremolinos, popular with families for its theme parks and aquariums and known for near-year-round mild temperatures. Worth a look for a remote-working couple.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 100%
- Drive to nearest airport 30 min
- Registered long-let rent €10.1/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 28.6°C
Not scored for budget-first coastal settlers — excluded by this tight-budget profile's affordability gate: the registered rent here (€10.08/m²·mo) is in the priciest 10% nationally.
A major Costa del Sol seaside resort west of Torremolinos, popular with families for its theme parks and aquariums and known for near-year-round mild temperatures. Worth a look for coastal living on a budget.
- Registered long-let rent €10.1/m²·mo
- Net income per person €13,418
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 28.6°C
What is the climate like in Benalmádena?
Benalmádena's reported winter average is 15.1°C, while July–August highs reach 28.6°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 15.1°C top 1% of 8,131 towns 7.3°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 28.6°C top 26% of 8,131 towns 1.6°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 42 days top 6% of 8,088 towns 39% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- no local data
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 30 top 32% of 8,033 towns 26 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)
- 0.37 ha/km² bottom 28% of 8,132 towns 1.94 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 2 bottom 42% of 8,132 towns 4 below the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 24.5% bottom 28% of 8,130 towns 1.6% 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.
How good is healthcare in Benalmádena?
Benalmádena's nearest health centre is 2.3 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
- 2.3 km top 12% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 173 days #17 of 17 regions, +70 days vs national 60% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Benalmádena?
Benalmádena has 28 schools in town; the nearest international school is 2 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 28 top 2% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 2 km top 1% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 457 #16 of 17 regions, −22 vs national 24 below the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Benalmádena?
Benalmádena's reported home price is €3,761/m², while registered long-let rent is €10.1/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €3,761/m² appraisal (valor tasado) bottom 7% of 306 towns 70% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €10.1/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €7.98/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €12.8/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 3.22% bottom 9% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €13,418 bottom 37% of 8,059 towns 7% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 28.2% top 36% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Benalmádena?
Spanish is the only region-wide official language in Andalusia, 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 Andalusia region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Benalmádena?
Benalmádena's reported population is 78,787.
Who lives here
- Population
- 78,787
- Born in Spain
- 62.3% 26.5% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 12.9% 9.1% above the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 4.44 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Benalmádena?
Benalmádena is a reported 30 min drive from the nearest airport, with 97% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 30 min top 7% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 97% top 17% of 8,132 towns 18% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 100% top 11% of 8,132 towns 16% above the Spanish average (83%)
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 Benalmádena 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 Benalmádena against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 8 min from Torremolinos, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Benalmádena for you →Questions to verify locally
- Ask whether current long-let rents match the registered-contract figure.
- Request recent comparable sales before relying on the appraisal figure.
- 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.
- Ask an insurer how the mapped flood or wildfire exposure affects cover.
Nearby towns
Other places we profile within easy reach.