Balears, Illes · Baleares
Palma
A go-ahead, cosmopolitan commercial hub and capital of the Balearics — a world away from the heaving tourist enclaves of the surrounding bay.
Living in Palma
Palma is the cosmopolitan capital of the Balearics — a genuine city of 443,000 on the bay of Mallorca, a world away from the package resorts around it, crowned by a vast seaside Gothic cathedral. It's a deeply international city: only about seven in ten residents are Spanish-born, with huge Latin American communities and thousands of German, British and Swedish settlers. The climate is warm Mediterranean, hot summers near 32°C, mild winters around 11°C and reliable sun. It has hospitals of its own, a beach in the city and an airport fifteen minutes away — though beyond Mallorca everything means a flight, and in summer the island fills.
Palma'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 Palma's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 98% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
A go-ahead, cosmopolitan commercial hub and capital of the Balearics — a world away from the heaving tourist enclaves of the surrounding bay. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 11.2°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 2.06 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €9.84/m²·mo
Higher than 91% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
A go-ahead, cosmopolitan commercial hub and capital of the Balearics — a world away from the heaving tourist enclaves of the surrounding bay. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 11.2°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 105 days
- Registered long-let rent €9.84/m²·mo
Higher than 75% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
A go-ahead, cosmopolitan commercial hub and capital of the Balearics — a world away from the heaving tourist enclaves of the surrounding bay. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — a settled international community and 5 km from the sea.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 100%
- Drive to nearest airport 17 min
- Registered long-let rent €9.84/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 31.6°C
Higher than 70% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
A go-ahead, cosmopolitan commercial hub and capital of the Balearics — a world away from the heaving tourist enclaves of the surrounding bay. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 5 km from the sea and a settled international community.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 31.6°C
- Rainy days a year 51 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 69
- Winter average temp 11.2°C
Higher than 63% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
A go-ahead, cosmopolitan commercial hub and capital of the Balearics — a world away from the heaving tourist enclaves of the surrounding bay. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 5 km from the sea and a settled international community.
- PISA maths (region) 471
- Registered long-let rent €9.84/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Nearest international school 4 km
Higher than 60% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
A go-ahead, cosmopolitan commercial hub and capital of the Balearics — a world away from the heaving tourist enclaves of the surrounding bay. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — a settled international community and 5 km from the sea.
- Registered long-let rent €9.84/m²·mo
- Net income per person €16,181
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 31.6°C
What is the climate like in Palma?
Palma's reported winter average is 11.2°C, while July–August highs reach 31.6°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 11.2°C top 15% of 8,131 towns 3.4°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 31.6°C bottom 31% of 8,131 towns 1.4°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 51 days top 21% of 8,088 towns 26% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 7.7 h/day top 32% of 3,829 towns 6% more than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 69 bottom 32% of 8,033 towns 12 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)
- 0.35 ha/km² bottom 29% of 8,132 towns 1.96 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 10 bottom 11% of 8,132 towns 4 above the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 13.8% top 1% of 8,130 towns 9.1% below 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 Palma?
Palma's nearest health centre is 1.8 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
- 1.8 km top 9% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 105 days #11 of 17 regions, +2 days vs national 3% less than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Palma?
Palma's reported nearest international school is 4 km.
Schools
- Schools in town
- no local data
- Nearest international school
- 4 km top 2% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 471 #11 of 17 regions, −8 vs national 10 below the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Palma?
Palma's reported home price is €3,789/m², while registered long-let rent is €9.84/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €3,789/m² appraisal (valor tasado) bottom 7% of 306 towns 72% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €9.84/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €7.49/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €12.8/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 3.12% bottom 6% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €16,181 top 24% of 8,059 towns 12% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 22.7% bottom 30% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Palma?
the Balearics 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 the Balearics region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Palma?
Palma's reported population is 443,196.
Who lives here
- Population
- 443,196
- Born in Spain
- 69.7% 19.1% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 6% 2.2% above the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 2.06 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Palma?
Palma is a reported 17 min drive from the nearest airport, with 98% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 17 min top 2% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 98% top 12% of 8,132 towns 19% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 100% top 1% of 8,132 towns 17% 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 Palma 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 Palma against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 25 min from Calvià, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Palma 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 the school and ask about places for incoming families.
- Confirm health-centre registration and opening hours in person.
Nearby towns
Other places we profile within easy reach.