SpainScore rankings · Updated July 2026
Best towns on the Costa Blanca for retirees
Our retiree scoring, filtered to the Alicante coast — Spain's most-established retirement strip, sun-checked.
How we ranked this
We answered our own 17-question quiz as a retiring couple who told the quiz they want sunshine and warm-but-not-scorching weather, to be near the coast, with a hospital close at hand and a reasonable cost of living. Then we ran every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities through the same scoring engine the quiz uses, and kept the top-ranked towns in this area that have a full data profile.
- Data INE census (population, origins), AEMET climate normals, regional PISA scores, and the Health Ministry's SISLE waiting lists — each town compared against the Spanish average.
- Reproducible Feed the same persona into our engine and you get this exact order. No hand-picking, no affiliate deals.
- What we don't score We don't score the (large) British and expat social scene on the Costa Blanca, or summer tourist crowding — only climate, hospital drive-time, cost and coast access.
The ranking
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A hospital in town; only 33 rainy days a year; 13°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Spanish immersion (few foreigners).
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A hospital in town; only 35 rainy days a year; 13.1°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Spanish immersion (few foreigners).
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A hospital in town; only 31 rainy days a year; 13.1°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Spanish immersion (few foreigners).
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A hospital in town; only 31 rainy days a year; 13.1°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Spanish immersion (few foreigners).
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A hospital in town; only 39 rainy days a year; 12.5°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Affordable to buy (€/m²).
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A hospital in town; only 39 rainy days a year; 12.5°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Affordable to buy (€/m²).
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Only 39 rainy days a year; 12.5°C average winters; 21 min to a hospital.
Honest tradeoff: Affordable to buy (€/m²).
Compare the top 7
| # | Town | Winter avg | Summer high | Drive to hospital | Home price | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elx/Elche | 13°C | 30.5°C | 0 min | €1,684/m² | 11 km |
| 2 | Alacant/Alicante | 13.1°C | 30.9°C | 0 min | €2,265/m² | 12 km |
| 3 | Orihuela | 13.1°C | 30.8°C | 0 min | €2,166/m² | 21 km |
| 4 | Torrevieja | 13.1°C | 30.8°C | 0 min | €2,182/m² | 18 km |
| 5 | Dénia | 12.5°C | 31.3°C | 0 min | €2,842/m² | 3 km |
| 6 | Benidorm | 12.5°C | 31.3°C | 0 min | €3,089/m² | 3 km |
| 7 | Xàbia/Jávea | 12.5°C | 31.3°C | 21 min | €3,685/m² | 9 km |
Values from the SpainScore dataset (INE / AEMET / regional sources). "no data" = we don't have that number for this town and never guess it.
Questions
Which Costa Blanca town is best for retirees?
The Costa Blanca (Alicante province) is one of Europe's most popular retirement coasts, with dry, warm winters and good healthcare. Our engine ranks its towns for a retiring couple — from Dénia and Xàbia in the north to Torrevieja in the south — each with its tradeoffs.
Why do so many retirees choose the Costa Blanca?
It combines one of Spain's driest, sunniest winter climates, an established English-speaking infrastructure, good hospital access and relatively affordable coastal housing — which is why the Alicante coast has among the highest foreign-retiree densities in Spain.
This is a generic generic retiring couple
Get your ranking, not this one →
This list scores one representative persona. Answer a dozen honest questions and we score all 8,132 municipalities against your priorities — climate, cost, healthcare, community, getting home — with the tradeoffs shown as plainly as the wins.
Take the 3-minute quiz →Updated July 2026. Re-generated from the SpainScore dataset on each data release — the ranking is reproducible, not editorial.