Highest Rents in Madrid and Barcelona

The most expensive rental neighbourhoods in Spain are concentrated in Madrid and Barcelona, according to the 2026 edition of the Urban Indicators Statistics published on Tuesday 20th October by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE). Recoletos in central Madrid ranks first, with an average monthly rent of €2,037 for 2024. Pedralbes in Barcelona follows closely at €2,002, a figure nearly identical to Madrid’s Piovera district, which also recorded €2,002.

Top 15 Rental Areas

The full top ten highest-rent districts are:

  • Recoletos (Madrid) – €2,037
  • Pedralbes (Barcelona) – €2,002
  • Piovera (Madrid) – €2,002
  • Les Tres Torres (Barcelona) – €1,911
  • El Viso (Madrid) – €1,855
  • Castellana (Madrid) – €1,818
  • Sant Gervasi (Barcelona) – €1,744
  • Palomas (Madrid) – €1,707
  • Aravaca-Plantío (Madrid) – €1,684
  • Valdefuentes (Madrid) – €1,664

Of the 100 Spanish neighbourhoods with the highest monthly rental costs in 2024, 94 are located in Madrid or Barcelona, highlighting the intense price pressure in these two cities.

Highest-Rent Municipalities

Among municipalities with more than 20,000 residents, Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid) had the highest average monthly rent at €1,499, followed by Boadilla del Monte (€1,478) and Sant Just Desvern in Catalonia (€1,276).

Property Sale Prices

When it comes to property purchase prices by municipality, Calvià in the Balearic Islands tops the list with an average of €981,485 in 2025. Pozuelo de Alarcón ranks second at €907,270. However, the highest prices per square metre are found in Madrid’s central districts. Of the top 15 most expensive areas by price per square metre, 14 are in Madrid, including Recoletos, Castellana, Almagro, Justicia, Lista, Goya, and Ibiza. Only one Barcelona district appears in this ranking.

Neighbourhood Income Levels

Income distribution mirrors rental trends. El Viso in Madrid recorded the highest net annual income per resident at €49,654 in 2024. Recoletos and Piovera in Madrid followed, both exceeding €45,000 per person. These figures are drawn from the INE’s Urban Indicators 2026 report, which includes data from 2010 onwards and updates methodology to include rental costs for properties with associated uses such as garages or storage rooms, excluding those tied to commercial activities. The dataset does not include information from the Basque Country or the Chartered Community of Navarre due to unavailability of data.

Reported by ine.es, Newsroom Infobae, La Vanguardia Catalonia.