# Barcelona vs Málaga

> On balanced weights, Málaga comes out ahead: 62 against 60 out of 100, mostly on nice days and sunshine. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/barcelona-es-vs-malaga-es/

Scores out of 100: Barcelona 60, Málaga 62. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=barcelona-es,malaga-es

## Line by line

| Line | Barcelona | Málaga |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,427 take-home a month | €3,458 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 73 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 108 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 9 h 11 min | 9 h 39 min |
| Sunshine | 2,292 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) | 2,842 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) |
| Dry days | 86 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 58 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 10.9 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 7.3 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 0.7 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 0.7 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 83.9 years (World Development Indicators) | 83.9 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €48 a month (World Development Indicators) | €48 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 32 weeks (mother 16, father 16) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 32 weeks (mother 16, father 16) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.20 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.20 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 65 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 43 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 12 km (OurAirports airports) | 9 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 24 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | no data |
| Rail and metro stations | 206 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 26 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | 27 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 21 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Cycle network | 1.80 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 0.42 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 99 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 100 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 15.9 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | no data |
| Quick way out by bike | 5.1 km, about 20 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 2.7 km, about 11 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 4 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 0 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 38 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 24 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 39.4 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 45.9 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 60 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 43 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 24 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 24 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 30.9 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 15.8 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 4.3 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 4.3 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 10.4 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 10.4 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 45.2 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 35.4 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Developers around | 23.5 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 7.5 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 0.65 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 0.65 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | no data | no data |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 66 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 13 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 23 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 0 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 29 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 3 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 47 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 75 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 275 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 271 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 72 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 39 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 84 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 66 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 69 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 101 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 33 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 70 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Barcelona and in Málaga?

About €41,124 a year in Barcelona (Spain 2026 tax rules) and €41,500 in Málaga (Spain 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Barcelona or Málaga?

Málaga is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 23.9 °C against 20.9 °C in Barcelona (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Barcelona or Málaga?

Málaga has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 7.3 µg/m³ against 10.9 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2024).

## Cite

Borgo, "Barcelona vs Málaga", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/barcelona-es-vs-malaga-es/, figures as of 2026-11-05.