Housing remains the biggest concern for people in Barcelona, according to the latest Barcelona Barometer presented by the Ajuntament, the city council, on Friday 10 July. For residents, that means the cost and availability of housing still ranks above personal safety as the city’s main problem, while concerns linked to immigration have moved into third place.

The Barometer is the city council’s regular public opinion survey, used to measure how residents rate Barcelona, municipal management and the main issues affecting daily life in the city. According to reporting by El Periódico based on the first half of 2026 Barometer, 31% of respondents named access to housing as Barcelona’s biggest problem, slightly down on the previous survey.

Barcelona City Council’s published results for the previous first wave of 2025 show housing had already become the top concern, with 29.9% of responses, ahead of security on 23.1%. In that same official release, the council said the Barometer forms part of its Sociological Studies Plan and tracks residents’ views on the city and its management.

Housing and insecurity continue to dominate

El Periódico reported on Friday that housing and insecurity remain the two main concerns in the 2026 survey, with immigration-related issues rising to third position. The article says housing was cited by 31% of respondents.

The latest complete figures available directly from Barcelona City Council’s Barometer release show how that trend had already taken hold in 2025. In that survey, housing led on 29.9%, while security fell from 28.9% six months earlier to 23.1%.

The same 2025 municipal release placed tourism third on 9.8% and cleaning on 5.1%. Reporting by ARA, also based on the council’s Barometer, said immigration-related problems had reached 5.7% in that earlier wave, up from 4.3% in the previous edition.

  • Housing: 31% in the first half of 2026, according to El Periódico
  • Housing: 29.9% in the first wave of 2025, according to Barcelona City Council
  • Security: 23.1% in the first wave of 2025, down from 28.9% six months earlier, according to Barcelona City Council
  • Immigration-related problems: 5.7% in the first wave of 2025, according to ARA’s report on the council Barometer

What residents can do with the results

The Barometer does not itself change policy, but it shows residents which issues the council says are most pressing across the city. People who want to check the official survey findings can consult the Ajuntament’s published Barometer page, which explains the purpose of the study and summarises the results in English.

For tenants, buyers, neighbourhood groups and local businesses, the practical use of the survey is to compare their own experience with the citywide figures and to follow council measures on housing and security through official channels. The named reference point in the source material is the city council’s Barometer page at Info Barcelona.

Access to housing is now the number one concern among people in the city, above security and tourism.

That was how Barcelona City Council summarised the first wave of the Barometer in 2025. On Friday, reporting on the first half of 2026 indicated that housing remained in that top position, still ahead of insecurity.

Primary sources: Barcelona City Council, Barcelona City Council, ajuntament.barcelona.cat. Reported by Source Text Link, Edu Gil, Gerard Pruna, catalannews.com, observatoriturisme.barcelona, El Periódico Barcelona.