Barcelona · Cataluña
Cardona
A medieval hilltop village clinging to a castle-crowned slope above a salt mountain, cradle of the powerful Cardona family, 'lords of salt.'
Living in Cardona
Cardona is a medieval hill village of 4,500 in inland Catalonia, clinging to a slope beneath a great castle and collegiate church, above the extraordinary salt mountain that made the local Cardona family 'lords of salt' — the old mine is now a visitable geological park of translucent stalactites. It's a largely Spanish-born town with a Moroccan community, at around 550m in the Cardener country. Summers are warm near 32°C, winters cold around 8°C. A hospital is about half an hour away and Manresa a little more; otherwise it's a quiet, self-contained interior town.
Cardona'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 Cardona's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 79% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
A medieval hilltop village clinging to a castle-crowned slope above a salt mountain, cradle of the powerful Cardona family, 'lords of salt.'. A strong pick for American retirees — 27 min to a hospital and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 7.7°C
- Drive to a hospital 27 min
- U.S.-born residents 0.44 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €4.02/m²·mo
Higher than 70% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
A medieval hilltop village clinging to a castle-crowned slope above a salt mountain, cradle of the powerful Cardona family, 'lords of salt.'. A strong pick for a retiring couple — 27 min to a hospital and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 7.7°C
- Drive to a hospital 27 min
- Surgical wait (region) 142 days
- Registered long-let rent €4.02/m²·mo
Higher than 42% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
A medieval hilltop village clinging to a castle-crowned slope above a salt mountain, cradle of the powerful Cardona family, 'lords of salt.'. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 27 min to a hospital and low cost of living (registered rent ~€4.02/m²·mo).
- Schools in town 5
- PISA maths (region) 469
- Registered long-let rent €4.02/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 27 min
Higher than 41% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
A medieval hilltop village clinging to a castle-crowned slope above a salt mountain, cradle of the powerful Cardona family, 'lords of salt.'. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 27 min to a hospital and low cost of living (registered rent ~€4.02/m²·mo).
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 88%
- Drive to nearest airport 88 min
- Registered long-let rent €4.02/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 31.6°C
Higher than 30% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
A medieval hilltop village clinging to a castle-crowned slope above a salt mountain, cradle of the powerful Cardona family, 'lords of salt.'. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 27 min to a hospital and 73 km from the sea.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 31.6°C
- Rainy days a year 54 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 73
- Winter average temp 7.7°C
Higher than 29% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
A medieval hilltop village clinging to a castle-crowned slope above a salt mountain, cradle of the powerful Cardona family, 'lords of salt.'. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — 27 min to a hospital and low cost of living (registered rent ~€4.02/m²·mo).
- Registered long-let rent €4.02/m²·mo
- Net income per person €15,730
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 31.6°C
What is the climate like in Cardona?
Cardona's reported winter average is 7.7°C, while July–August highs reach 31.6°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 7.7°C top 42% of 8,131 towns 0.1°C below the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 31.6°C bottom 32% of 8,131 towns 1.4°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 54 days top 25% of 8,088 towns 22% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine estimated
- 7.2 h/day bottom 31% of 3,829 towns about the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 73 bottom 31% of 8,033 towns 16 above 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 ha/km² top 1% of 8,132 towns 2.31 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 0 top 1% of 8,132 towns 6 below the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 29.2% bottom 4% of 8,130 towns 6.3% 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 Cardona?
Cardona's nearest health centre is 1.9 km away, and the reported hospital drive is 27 min.
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 27 min top 36% of 8,132 towns
- Nearest health centre
- 1.9 km top 10% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 142 days #16 of 17 regions, +39 days vs national 32% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Cardona?
Cardona has 5 schools in town; the nearest international school is 50 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 5 top 12% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 50 km bottom 42% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 469 #12 of 17 regions, −10 vs national 12 below the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Cardona?
Cardona's reported registered long-let rent is €4.02/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- no local data
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €4.02/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €3.02/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €5.28/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- no reliable sale-price data — yield not imputed
- Net income per person
- €15,730 top 31% of 8,059 towns 9% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 16.8% bottom 10% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Cardona?
Catalonia has a co-official regional language, and public schools commonly use regional-language immersion or bilingual models rather than Spanish-only teaching. The exact classroom language depends on the school and programme, so confirm the current model before enrolling. See the Catalonia region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Cardona?
Cardona's reported population is 4,540.
Who lives here
- Population
- 4,540
- Born in Spain
- 89.6% 0.8% above the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 1% 2.8% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 0.44 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Cardona?
Cardona is a reported 88 min drive from the nearest airport, with 70% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 88 min bottom 35% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 70% bottom 20% of 8,132 towns 9% below the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 88% bottom 34% of 8,132 towns 5% 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 Cardona 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 Cardona against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 34 min from Manresa, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Cardona for you →Questions to verify locally
- Ask whether current long-let rents match the registered-contract figure.
- Request comparable sales; neither appraisal nor asking data is published.
- 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.
- Test the reported airport drive at the time you would travel.
Nearby towns
Other places we profile within easy reach.