Watercolor illustration of Galicia, Spain

Region · Spain

Living in Galicia

Galicia is Atlantic Spain: winters average 8.9°C and summers stay comparatively mild — 26°C highs against a hotter national norm — across roughly 121 rainy days a year. The trade is grey, wet spells rather than reliable sun, but summer water stress runs low (WEI+ 6 vs a national 56). As Spain's south dries out, that green-and-watered profile is a genuine climate-refuge trait. On our six settler profiles, Galicia is worth a look if you're heat-averse settlers (ranks #1 of 17 regions), and probably not the one if you're retiring couples (#12 of 17).

On the wallet: homes run about €1,650/m² (18% below the national average (€2,024/m²)); median net income is about €13,641 per person (4% below the national average (€14,279)).

Public healthcare here means a mean surgical wait around 73 days (29% below the national average (103 days)), with 5.7% of the surgical list waiting over six months — a real, published number, not a brochure claim.

We publish 28 of Galicia's 313 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 506 — 17 points above the national average (489)

Surgery wait 73 days — 29% below the national average (103 days)

Homes €1,650/m² — 18% below the national average (€2,024/m²)

Who Galicia 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 Galicia'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

Heat-averse settlers #1 of 17 regions
Families with school-age kids #1 of 17 regions
couple_starting_family #2 of 17 regions
Remote-working couples #2 of 17 regions
Budget-first coastal settlers #2 of 17 regions
budget_inland #3 of 17 regions
english_speaker #5 of 8 regions
year_round_mild #5 of 17 regions

Probably skip if you want

Retiring couples #12 of 17 regions
investor #12 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 Galicia

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: 8.9°C #10 of 17 regions · +1.1°C vs national 1.1 °C above the national average (7.8°C)
Summer high: 26.0°C #4 of 17 regions · −4.2°C vs national 4.2 °C below the national average (30.2°C)
Rainy days a year: 121 days #15 of 17 regions · +52 days vs national 76% above the national average (69 days)
Sunshine: 5.7 h/day #14 of 17 regions · −1.5 h/day vs national 21% below the national average (7.2 h/day)
Summer water stress (WEI+): 6 #1 of 16 regions · −51 vs national 51 points below the national average (56)

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

Schools

PISA maths: 486 #8 of 17 regions · +7 vs national 7 points above the national average (479)
PISA reading: 485 #7 of 17 regions · +7 vs national 7 points above the national average (478)
PISA science: 506 #1 of 17 regions · +17 vs national 17 points above the national average (489)

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

Healthcare

Surgical wait: 73 days #3 of 17 regions · −30 days vs national 29% below the national average (103 days)
Waiting over 6 months: 5.7% #3 of 17 regions · −11 pts vs national 11 pts below the national average (16.6%)
Specialist consult wait: 63 days #4 of 17 regions · −32 days vs national 34% below the national average (95 days)

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

Cost & economy

Median net income / person: €13,641 #11 of 17 regions · −€638 vs national 4% below the national average (€14,279)
Median home price: €1,650/m² #7 of 17 regions · −€374/m² vs national 18% below 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: 90.4% 1.7 pts above the national average (88.8%)
Born elsewhere in EU/UK: 3.4% 0.4 pts below the national average (3.8%)

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

Tax posture (2025)

Wealth tax light: 50% bonificación — halves the state-scale wealth-tax bill (a real, if reduced, annual cost).
Inheritance & gifts none: €1,000,000 reduction per heir for spouse/children (Grupo I & II) — effectively no inheritance tax below €1M, taxed on the excess above.
Buying resale (ITP): General transfer tax around 9% — General ~8–10% depending on year/band; commonly cited general housing rate ~9% in 2026 summaries. Reduced rates for under-36 / rural / large families.
Buying new-build: IVA/IGIC around 10%; AJD around 1.5%.
Annual property tax (IBI): Municipal rates typically 0.4–1.1% of cadastral value — set by each town, not the region.

With only a 50% wealth-tax bonificación, high net worth can face combined wealth tax plus state ITSGF above ~€3M net worth. 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 Galicia, by what you're after

The same engine as the quiz, run over Galicia'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 Galicia for families

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

Viveiro 5 km from the sea · 15,091 people
Pontedeume 13 km from the sea · a settled international community
Guarda, A 2 km from the sea · a settled international community
Laxe 9 km from the sea · low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.14/m²·mo)
Sanxenxo 1 km from the sea · 29 min to a hospital

Best towns in Galicia for mild summers

ranked on the July–August average high

Laxe 9 km from the sea · mild 23°C summer highs
Pontedeume 13 km from the sea · mild 23.6°C summer highs
Viveiro 5 km from the sea · mild 22.1°C summer highs
Camariñas 14 km from the sea · low cost of living (registered rent ~€2.48/m²·mo)
Guarda, A 2 km from the sea · a settled international community

Best-value towns in Galicia

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

Laxe low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.14/m²·mo) · a settled international community
Pontedeume a settled international community · 13 km from the sea
Camariñas low cost of living (registered rent ~€2.48/m²·mo) · 14 km from the sea
Guarda, A a settled international community · 2 km from the sea
Viveiro 5 km from the sea · 15,091 people

Town profiles in Galicia

We profile 28 of Galicia's 313 municipalities in depth — numbers plus an honest portrait. More as we cover them.

Compare Galicia with…

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

See how Galicia's towns rank for you

These are Galicia'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 Galicia as one to watch, so your results surface its best towns for you.

Take the quiz — rank Galicia for you →

Overview