Gipuzkoa · País Vasco
Tolosa
Famous for a fervent six-day carnival — considered by Basques superior to San Sebastián's, and the only one to keep its tradition alive through the Franco era.
Living in Tolosa
Tolosa is a Basque town of 20,000 in the green hills south of San Sebastián, famous for a fervent six-day February carnival — the only one to survive intact through the Franco years — and for its food: prized pintxos, Ibarra pickled peppers, Tolosa black beans, and the biggest market in the Basque Country every Saturday. It's mostly Basque and Spanish-born, with Nicaraguan, Moroccan and Honduran communities. The climate is cool and very wet, with mild winters around 9°C, cool summers near 26°C and rain on some 153 days a year. It has its own hospital, and San Sebastián and its airport are both about half an hour away.
Tolosa'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 Tolosa's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 65% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
Famous for a fervent six-day carnival — considered by Basques superior to San Sebastián's, and the only one to keep its tradition alive through the Franco era. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 9.3°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 0.65 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €9.01/m²·mo
Higher than 60% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
Famous for a fervent six-day carnival — considered by Basques superior to San Sebastián's, and the only one to keep its tradition alive through the Franco era. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 20 km from the sea and mild 25.9°C summer highs.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 25.9°C
- Rainy days a year 153 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 6
- Winter average temp 9.3°C
Higher than 54% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
Famous for a fervent six-day carnival — considered by Basques superior to San Sebastián's, and the only one to keep its tradition alive through the Franco era. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 9.3°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 64 days
- Registered long-let rent €9.01/m²·mo
Higher than 42% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
Famous for a fervent six-day carnival — considered by Basques superior to San Sebastián's, and the only one to keep its tradition alive through the Franco era. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 20 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Schools in town 12
- PISA maths (region) 482
- Registered long-let rent €9.01/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 33% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
Famous for a fervent six-day carnival — considered by Basques superior to San Sebastián's, and the only one to keep its tradition alive through the Franco era. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 20,121 people and a hospital in town.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 98%
- Drive to nearest airport 38 min
- Registered long-let rent €9.01/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 25.9°C
Higher than 24% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
Famous for a fervent six-day carnival — considered by Basques superior to San Sebastián's, and the only one to keep its tradition alive through the Franco era. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — 20,121 people and a hospital in town.
- Registered long-let rent €9.01/m²·mo
- Net income per person €19,863
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 25.9°C
What is the climate like in Tolosa?
Tolosa's reported winter average is 9.3°C, while July–August highs reach 25.9°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 9.3°C top 28% of 8,131 towns 1.5°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 25.9°C top 9% of 8,131 towns 4.3°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 153 days bottom 1% of 8,088 towns 123% more than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- no local data
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 6 top 6% of 8,033 towns 50 below 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)
- 0.15 ha/km² bottom 40% of 8,132 towns 2.16 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 2 bottom 42% of 8,132 towns 4 below the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 23.5% bottom 41% of 8,130 towns 0.7% 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 Tolosa?
Tolosa's nearest health centre is 1.5 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
- 1.5 km top 8% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 64 days #2 of 17 regions, −39 days vs national 41% less than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Tolosa?
Tolosa has 12 schools in town; the nearest international school is 21 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 12 top 5% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 21 km top 23% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 482 #9 of 17 regions, +3 vs national 1 above the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Tolosa?
Tolosa's reported asking price is €3,777/m².
Cost & economy
- Home price
- no local data
- Asking price
- €3,777/m² asking · Fotocasa Jun 2026 · small sample
- Registered long-let rent
- €9.01/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €7.62/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €10.9/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- no reliable sale-price data — yield not imputed
- Net income per person
- €19,863 top 3% of 8,059 towns 37% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 21.3% bottom 23% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Tolosa?
the Basque Country 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 Basque Country region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Tolosa?
Tolosa's reported population is 20,121.
Who lives here
- Population
- 20,121
- Born in Spain
- 86.1% 2.7% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 1.3% 2.6% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 0.65 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Tolosa?
Tolosa is a reported 38 min drive from the nearest airport, with 97% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 38 min top 13% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 97% top 20% of 8,132 towns 18% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 98% top 24% 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 Tolosa 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 Tolosa against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 28 min from Donostia/San Sebastián, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Tolosa for you →Questions to verify locally
- Ask whether current long-let rents match the registered-contract figure.
- Ask what recent sales closed at; the published figure is asking price.
- 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.
Nearby towns
Other places we profile within easy reach.