Watercolor illustration of the Canary Islands, Spain

Region · Spain

Living in the Canary Islands

the Canary Islands sits between Spain's extremes on climate: winters near 15.7°C, summer highs around 26.2°C, and roughly 35 rainy days a year. Summer water stress reads WEI+ 0 against a national 56. On our six settler profiles, the Canary Islands is worth a look if you're year_round_mild (ranks #1 of 17 regions).

On the wallet: homes run about €2,016/m² (about the national average (€2,024/m²)); median net income is about €13,285 per person (7% below the national average (€14,279)).

Public healthcare here means a mean surgical wait around 106 days (3% above the national average (103 days)), with 17.4% of the surgical list waiting over six months — a real, published number, not a brochure claim.

We publish 9 of the Canary Islands's 88 municipalities in depth so far — the ones with a full guide portrait to sit alongside the numbers, weighted toward the milder-summer north. Every figure below is shown against the national reference, gaps included.

Schools PISA science 473 — 16 points below the national average (489)

Surgery wait 106 days — 3% above the national average (103 days)

Homes €2,016/m² — about the national average (€2,024/m²)

Who the Canary Islands is for — and who should look elsewhere

Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities, then took the median score of the Canary Islands's towns and ranked it among Spain's 17 comunidades. It answers "how does the typical town here score, versus the typical town elsewhere?"

Good to explore if you're

year_round_mild #1 of 17 regions
investor #1 of 17 regions
Retiring couples #4 of 17 regions
Remote-working couples #4 of 17 regions
winter_sun #4 of 17 regions
british_retiree #5 of 8 regions
british_settler #5 of 8 regions
Families with school-age kids #5 of 17 regions
Budget-first coastal settlers #5 of 17 regions
Heat-averse settlers #6 of 17 regions
American retirees #6 of 17 regions
english_speaker #6 of 8 regions
couple_starting_family #6 of 17 regions

Ranked 1–17 by the median national percentile of the region's municipalities for each profile (higher median = better place to explore). Hover a town's own page for the town-level version.

The numbers for the Canary Islands

Region-level data, each figure against the national reference. Where a figure is a comunidad-autónoma reading rather than a town measurement, we say so under the card.

Climate

Winter average: 15.7°C #1 of 17 regions · +7.9°C vs national 7.9 °C above the national average (7.8°C)
Summer high: 26.2°C #5 of 17 regions · −4°C vs national 4 °C below the national average (30.2°C)
Rainy days a year: 35 days #2 of 17 regions · −33 days vs national 49% below the national average (69 days)
Sunshine: 7.8 h/day #5 of 17 regions · +0.5 h/day vs national 7% above the national average (7.2 h/day)
Summer water stress (WEI+): no data

Aggregated from the region's municipalities (AEMET/derived); summer water stress is a river-basin (WEI+) reading.

Schools

PISA maths: 447 #17 of 17 regions · −32 vs national 32 points below the national average (479)
PISA reading: 463 #15 of 17 regions · −15 vs national 15 points below the national average (478)
PISA science: 473 #16 of 17 regions · −16 vs national 16 points below the national average (489)

PISA 2022, reported per comunidad autónoma (INEE). National reference = the mean across the 17 comunidades.

Healthcare

Surgical wait: 106 days #12 of 17 regions · +3 days vs national 3% above the national average (103 days)
Waiting over 6 months: 17.4% #10 of 17 regions · +0.7 pts vs national 0.7 pts above the national average (16.6%)
Specialist consult wait: 162 days #17 of 17 regions · +67 days vs national 70% above the national average (95 days)

Public waiting lists, SISLE-SNS Dic 2025 (2025-12-31), per comunidad autónoma.

Cost & economy

Median net income / person: €13,285 #12 of 17 regions · −€994 vs national 7% below the national average (€14,279)
Median home price: €2,016/m² #11 of 17 regions · −€8/m² vs national about the national average (€2,024/m²)

Median across the region's municipalities (INE net income; Catastro-derived sale price).

Who lives here

Born in Spain: 77.3% 11.5 pts below the national average (88.8%)
Born elsewhere in EU/UK: 8.4% 4.6 pts above the national average (3.8%)

Share of residents by place of birth, averaged across the region's municipalities (INE).

Tax posture (2025)

Wealth tax standard: Applies the state wealth-tax scale with no general bonificación — a real annual wealth tax above the €700k exemption.
Inheritance & gifts none: 99.9% bonificación for spouse, children and parents (Grupo I & II) — inheritance is effectively negligible.
Buying resale (ITP): General transfer tax around 6.5% — General ITP ~6.5% on resale. New builds: IGIC (not IVA) typically 7% + AJD.
Buying new-build: IVA/IGIC around 7%; AJD around 0.75%.
Annual property tax (IBI): Municipal rates typically 0.4–1.1% of cadastral value — set by each town, not the region.

State ITSGF above ~€3M net worth; wealth tax paid is credited against it. Source: primary source. General posture, not personal tax advice — thresholds, reduced rates and reliefs change and depend on your circumstances. ITP/AJD figures are regional general rates for budgeting, not a quote.

Best towns in the Canary Islands, by what you're after

The same engine as the quiz, run over the Canary Islands's towns and filtered to the ones we profile in depth. Top of each list, in the engine's order — not hand-picked.

Best towns in the Canary Islands for families

schools, coast and cost, scored for remote-working parents

Icod de los Vinos 12 km from the sea · a settled international community
Arrecife 2 km from the sea · a settled international community
Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las 3 km from the sea · a settled international community
Puerto de la Cruz 13 km from the sea · a settled international community
Candelaria 4 km from the sea · a settled international community

Best towns in the Canary Islands for mild summers

ranked on the July–August average high

Icod de los Vinos 12 km from the sea · a settled international community
Puerto de la Cruz 13 km from the sea · a settled international community
Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las 3 km from the sea · a settled international community
Candelaria 4 km from the sea · a settled international community
Orotava, La 7 km from the sea · a settled international community

Best-value towns in the Canary Islands

cheap to buy in, but still a real town with services

Puerto de la Cruz a settled international community · 31,589 people
Icod de los Vinos a settled international community · 24,675 people
Arrecife a settled international community · 2 km from the sea
Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las a settled international community · 3 km from the sea
Adeje a settled international community · 8 km from the sea

Town profiles in the Canary Islands

We profile 9 of the Canary Islands's 88 municipalities in depth — numbers plus an honest portrait. More as we cover them.

Compare the Canary Islands with…

Torn between two regions? Head-to-head, data-only — climate, cost, schools, health waits and tax, side by side.

the Canary Islands vs the Balearics →

See how the Canary Islands's towns rank for you

These are the Canary Islands's regional numbers. Whether it fits you depends on your priorities — winter sun or mild summers, short medical waits, a city or a village, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on what you care about — and we'll flag the Canary Islands as one to watch, so your results surface its best towns for you.

Take the quiz — rank the Canary Islands for you →

Overview