Murcia · Murcia
Cartagena
An ancient port with a sublime position at the end of a deep natural harbour — Carthaginian rulers' principal base on the Iberian Peninsula, so important the city was named after Carthage itself.
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Living in Cartagena
Cartagena is a historic port city of 220,000 at the end of a deep natural harbour ringed by hills — Hannibal's Iberian capital, later a great Roman port, and today a city where a restored Roman theatre sits beside Modernista mansions and old mine-scarred hills. The setting is arid and warm: barely 260mm of rain a year, hot summers around 30°C tempered by the sea, and notably mild winters averaging 14°C. It's a real working city, mostly Spanish-born with a large Moroccan community and a sizeable British contingent of some 2,400. It has hospitals of its own, a beach within a few kilometres, and the region's airport barely twenty minutes away.
Cartagena'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 Cartagena's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 97% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
An ancient port with a sublime position at the end of a deep natural harbour — Carthaginian rulers' principal base on the Iberian Peninsula, so important the city was named after Carthage itself. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 14°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 103 days
- Registered long-let rent €5.42/m²·mo
Higher than 94% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
An ancient port with a sublime position at the end of a deep natural harbour — Carthaginian rulers' principal base on the Iberian Peninsula, so important the city was named after Carthage itself. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 14°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 0.68 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €5.42/m²·mo
Higher than 90% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
An ancient port with a sublime position at the end of a deep natural harbour — Carthaginian rulers' principal base on the Iberian Peninsula, so important the city was named after Carthage itself. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — a settled international community and 4 km from the sea.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 98%
- Drive to nearest airport 24 min
- Registered long-let rent €5.42/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30.1°C
Higher than 83% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
An ancient port with a sublime position at the end of a deep natural harbour — Carthaginian rulers' principal base on the Iberian Peninsula, so important the city was named after Carthage itself. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 4 km from the sea and a settled international community.
- Schools in town 107
- PISA maths (region) 463
- Registered long-let rent €5.42/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 81% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
An ancient port with a sublime position at the end of a deep natural harbour — Carthaginian rulers' principal base on the Iberian Peninsula, so important the city was named after Carthage itself. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — a settled international community and 4 km from the sea.
- Registered long-let rent €5.42/m²·mo
- Net income per person €13,126
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30.1°C
Higher than 57% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
An ancient port with a sublime position at the end of a deep natural harbour — Carthaginian rulers' principal base on the Iberian Peninsula, so important the city was named after Carthage itself. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 4 km from the sea and a settled international community.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30.1°C
- Rainy days a year 30 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 259
- Winter average temp 14°C
What is the climate like in Cartagena?
Cartagena's reported winter average is 14°C, while July–August highs reach 30.1°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 14°C top 3% of 8,131 towns 6.3°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 30.1°C top 46% of 8,131 towns 0.1°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 30 days top 1% of 8,088 towns 57% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- no local data
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 259 bottom 1% of 8,033 towns 203 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)
- 1.28 ha/km² bottom 15% of 8,132 towns 1.02 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 28 bottom 4% of 8,132 towns 22 above the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 24.2% bottom 30% of 8,130 towns 1.3% 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 Cartagena?
Cartagena's nearest health centre is 1 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
- 1 km top 5% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 103 days #10 of 17 regions, at the national mark 4% less than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Cartagena?
Cartagena has 107 schools in town; the nearest international school is 18 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 107 top 1% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 18 km top 19% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 463 #15 of 17 regions, −16 vs national 18 below the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Cartagena?
Cartagena's reported home price is €1,496/m², while registered long-let rent is €5.42/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €1,496/m² appraisal (valor tasado) top 26% of 306 towns 32% less than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €5.42/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €4.2/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €6.8/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 4.35% top 42% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €13,126 bottom 32% of 8,059 towns 9% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 24.9% bottom 43% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Cartagena?
Spanish is the only region-wide official language in Murcia, 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 Murcia region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Cartagena?
Cartagena's reported population is 220,400.
Who lives here
- Population
- 220,400
- Born in Spain
- 84.1% 4.7% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 2.5% 1.4% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 0.68 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Cartagena?
Cartagena is a reported 24 min drive from the nearest airport, with 95% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 24 min top 4% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 95% top 25% of 8,132 towns 16% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 98% top 26% of 8,132 towns 15% 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 Cartagena 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 Cartagena against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 53 min from Murcia, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Cartagena 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 about summer rental crowds and parking near the coast.
Nearby towns
Other places we profile within easy reach.