Tarragona · Cataluña
Salou
A former village transformed into a prestigious residential and tourist center, its main appeal being beaches ranging from vast sand stretches to small coves.
Living in Salou
Salou is a Costa Daurada package resort of 31,000, a former fishing village transformed into a wall of hotels and apartments along a long sandy beach sheltered by its cape, with smaller coves at the edges. It's strikingly international: barely 57% of residents were born in Spain, with Argentine, Ukrainian, Senegalese and British communities among the mix. The climate is easy Mediterranean, warm summers around 30°C and mild winters near 10°C. It has its own hospital, with Reus a quarter-hour inland and its airport under half an hour — a full-on resort town with services and transport close at hand.
Salou'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 Salou'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 American retirees.
A former village transformed into a prestigious residential and tourist center, its main appeal being beaches ranging from vast sand stretches to small coves. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 10.4°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 1.39 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €8.22/m²·mo
Higher than 93% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
A former village transformed into a prestigious residential and tourist center, its main appeal being beaches ranging from vast sand stretches to small coves. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 10.4°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 142 days
- Registered long-let rent €8.22/m²·mo
Higher than 90% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
A former village transformed into a prestigious residential and tourist center, its main appeal being beaches ranging from vast sand stretches to small coves. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 5 km from the sea and a settled international community.
- Schools in town 11
- PISA maths (region) 469
- Registered long-let rent €8.22/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 90% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
A former village transformed into a prestigious residential and tourist center, its main appeal being beaches ranging from vast sand stretches to small coves. 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 26 min
- Registered long-let rent €8.22/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30°C
Higher than 83% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
A former village transformed into a prestigious residential and tourist center, its main appeal being beaches ranging from vast sand stretches to small coves. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — a settled international community and 5 km from the sea.
- Registered long-let rent €8.22/m²·mo
- Net income per person €14,097
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30°C
Higher than 78% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
A former village transformed into a prestigious residential and tourist center, its main appeal being beaches ranging from vast sand stretches to small coves. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 5 km from the sea and a settled international community.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30°C
- Rainy days a year 48 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 73
- Winter average temp 10.4°C
What is the climate like in Salou?
Salou's reported winter average is 10.4°C, while July–August highs reach 30°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 10.4°C top 19% of 8,131 towns 2.7°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 30°C top 45% of 8,131 towns 0.2°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 48 days top 13% of 8,088 towns 31% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 7.3 h/day bottom 47% 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
- 22.5% top 46% of 8,130 towns 0.3% 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 Salou?
Salou's nearest health centre is 1.1 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
- 1.1 km top 5% 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 Salou?
Salou has 11 schools in town; the nearest international school is 2 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 11 top 6% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 2 km top 1% 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 Salou?
Salou's reported home price is €2,555/m², while registered long-let rent is €8.22/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €2,555/m² appraisal (valor tasado) bottom 33% of 306 towns 16% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €8.22/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €6.71/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €10.1/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 3.86% bottom 31% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €14,097 bottom 47% of 8,059 towns 3% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 23.6% bottom 36% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Salou?
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 Salou?
Salou's reported population is 31,018.
Who lives here
- Population
- 31,018
- Born in Spain
- 57.3% 31.5% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 7.2% 3.4% above the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 1.39 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Salou?
Salou is a reported 26 min drive from the nearest airport, with 99% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 26 min top 5% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 99% top 9% of 8,132 towns 20% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 100% top 9% of 8,132 towns 16% 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 Salou 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 Salou against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 15 min from Reus, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Salou 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.