Tarragona · Cataluña
Tarragona
The first city settled by the Romans on the Iberian Peninsula, sited on a rocky hill sheer above the sea, with the most remarkable amphitheatre on the Costa Daurada.
Living in Tarragona
Tarragona is a Roman city with a beach — 143,000 people on a rocky hill above the Costa Daurada, where the first Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula, Tarraco, left an amphitheatre perched over the sea, a Roman circus and world-class mosaics. Below the monuments it's a working port city, only about seven in ten residents Spanish-born, with a very large Moroccan community. The climate is warm dry Mediterranean, summers around 30°C and mild winters near 10°C. It has hospitals of its own, a beach in the city, and Reus and its airport both twenty minutes away — history, sea and services all in one.
Tarragona'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 Tarragona'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.
The first city settled by the Romans on the Iberian Peninsula, sited on a rocky hill sheer above the sea, with the most remarkable amphitheatre on the Costa Daurada. 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 1.37 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €7.5/m²·mo
Higher than 90% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
The first city settled by the Romans on the Iberian Peninsula, sited on a rocky hill sheer above the sea, with the most remarkable amphitheatre on the Costa Daurada. 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 €7.5/m²·mo
Higher than 78% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
The first city settled by the Romans on the Iberian Peninsula, sited on a rocky hill sheer above the sea, with the most remarkable amphitheatre on the Costa Daurada. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 3 km from the sea and a settled international community.
- Schools in town 74
- PISA maths (region) 469
- Registered long-let rent €7.5/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 76% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
The first city settled by the Romans on the Iberian Peninsula, sited on a rocky hill sheer above the sea, with the most remarkable amphitheatre on the Costa Daurada. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — a settled international community and 3 km from the sea.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 99%
- Drive to nearest airport 23 min
- Registered long-let rent €7.5/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30°C
Higher than 64% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
The first city settled by the Romans on the Iberian Peninsula, sited on a rocky hill sheer above the sea, with the most remarkable amphitheatre on the Costa Daurada. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — a settled international community and 3 km from the sea.
- Registered long-let rent €7.5/m²·mo
- Net income per person €15,847
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30°C
Higher than 57% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
The first city settled by the Romans on the Iberian Peninsula, sited on a rocky hill sheer above the sea, with the most remarkable amphitheatre on the Costa Daurada. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 3 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 Tarragona?
Tarragona'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)
- 1.86 ha/km² bottom 12% of 8,132 towns 0.45 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 3 bottom 32% of 8,132 towns 3 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 Tarragona?
Tarragona'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 Tarragona?
Tarragona has 74 schools in town; the nearest international school is 2 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 74 top 1% 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 Tarragona?
Tarragona's reported home price is €1,838/m², while registered long-let rent is €7.5/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €1,838/m² appraisal (valor tasado) top 43% of 306 towns 17% less than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €7.5/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €5.98/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €9.38/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 4.9% top 21% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €15,847 top 30% of 8,059 towns 9% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 18% bottom 12% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Tarragona?
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 Tarragona?
Tarragona's reported population is 143,260.
Who lives here
- Population
- 143,260
- Born in Spain
- 72.7% 16.1% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 3.1% 0.7% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 1.37 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Tarragona?
Tarragona is a reported 23 min drive from the nearest airport, with 96% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 23 min top 4% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 96% top 22% of 8,132 towns 17% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 99% top 14% 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 Tarragona 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 Tarragona against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 18 min from Reus, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Tarragona 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.