Pontevedra · Galicia
Vigo
Galicia's biggest city and Spain's chief fishing port, primarily a freight and industrial hub — the main gateway to the Illas Cíes.
Living in Vigo
Vigo is Galicia's biggest city — 296,000 people on the southern shore of its magnificent ría, Spain's chief fishing port and a working industrial hub more than a tourist town, though its granite old town climbs handsomely from the harbour where oysters are shucked on street tables. It's the gateway to the idyllic Illas Cíes, a short boat ride out. Most residents are Galician and Spanish-born, with a very large Venezuelan community. The climate is mild but seriously wet — soft winters around 10°C, cool summers near 25°C and nearly 1,700mm of rain a year. It has hospitals, city beaches, and an airport under twenty minutes away.
Vigo'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 Vigo's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 98% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
Galicia's biggest city and Spain's chief fishing port, primarily a freight and industrial hub — the main gateway to the Illas Cíes. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 3 km from the sea and mild 25.1°C summer highs.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 25.1°C
- Rainy days a year 126 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 7
- Winter average temp 9.9°C
Higher than 93% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
Galicia's biggest city and Spain's chief fishing port, primarily a freight and industrial hub — the main gateway to the Illas Cíes. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 3 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Schools in town 177
- PISA maths (region) 486
- Registered long-let rent €7.61/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 87% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
Galicia's biggest city and Spain's chief fishing port, primarily a freight and industrial hub — the main gateway to the Illas Cíes. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 3 km from the sea and 295,735 people.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 100%
- Drive to nearest airport 18 min
- Registered long-let rent €7.61/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 25.1°C
Higher than 81% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
Galicia's biggest city and Spain's chief fishing port, primarily a freight and industrial hub — the main gateway to the Illas Cíes. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 9.9°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 1.33 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €7.61/m²·mo
Higher than 77% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
Galicia's biggest city and Spain's chief fishing port, primarily a freight and industrial hub — the main gateway to the Illas Cíes. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 9.9°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 73 days
- Registered long-let rent €7.61/m²·mo
Higher than 72% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
Galicia's biggest city and Spain's chief fishing port, primarily a freight and industrial hub — the main gateway to the Illas Cíes. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — 3 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Registered long-let rent €7.61/m²·mo
- Net income per person €15,359
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 25.1°C
What is the climate like in Vigo?
Vigo's reported winter average is 9.9°C, while July–August highs reach 25.1°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 9.9°C top 23% of 8,131 towns 2.1°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 25.1°C top 7% of 8,131 towns 5.1°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 126 days bottom 4% of 8,088 towns 84% more than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 6.3 h/day bottom 12% of 3,829 towns 13% less than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 7 top 10% of 8,033 towns 49 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)
- 0.04 ha/km² top 44% of 8,132 towns 2.27 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
- 16% top 2% of 8,130 towns 6.9% 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 Vigo?
Vigo's nearest health centre is 1.2 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
- 1.2 km top 6% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 73 days #3 of 17 regions, −30 days vs national 32% less than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Vigo?
Vigo has 177 schools in town; the nearest international school is 3 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 177 top 1% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 3 km top 1% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 486 #8 of 17 regions, +7 vs national 5 above the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Vigo?
Vigo's reported home price is €2,302/m², while registered long-let rent is €7.61/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €2,302/m² appraisal (valor tasado) bottom 41% of 306 towns 4% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €7.61/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €5.65/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €10/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 3.97% bottom 36% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €15,359 top 36% of 8,059 towns 6% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 22.5% bottom 29% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Vigo?
Galician and Spanish are co-official in Galicia. Public schools use both languages, with substantial Galician-medium teaching rather than a Spanish-only default; the balance can vary by school. See the Galicia region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Vigo?
Vigo's reported population is 295,735.
Who lives here
- Population
- 295,735
- Born in Spain
- 85% 3.8% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 2.6% 1.3% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 1.33 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Vigo?
Vigo is a reported 18 min drive from the nearest airport, with 98% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 18 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 8% 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 Vigo 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 Vigo against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 32 min from Pontevedra, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Vigo 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.