SpainScore rankings · Updated July 2026
Best places in Spain for American retirees
For a US couple who want sun, the coast, good hospitals, easy flights to New York — and some fellow Americans around.
How we ranked this
We answered our own 17-question quiz as an American couple retiring to Spain — they want sun and warmth, the coast nearby, good hospital access, easy flights back to the US, and some fellow Americans in the community. 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 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 visa logistics, US-tax filing, or English-speaking doctors — only climate, coast, hospital drive-time, direct-flight reach to New York and the census count of US-born neighbours.
The ranking
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A hospital in town; 13.1°C average winters; only 44 rainy days a year.
Honest tradeoff: Direct flights to New York.
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15 min to a hospital; a health centre close by; 3.1 US-born per 1,000.
Honest tradeoff: Short surgical waitlists.
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A hospital in town; only 30 rainy days a year; 14°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Direct flights to New York.
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A hospital in town; a health centre close by; 3 km from the sea.
Honest tradeoff: Short surgical waitlists.
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13.4°C average winters; 9.7 US-born per 1,000; direct flights to new york.
Honest tradeoff: Higher crime (province-level · Spain is low-crime by EU norms).
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A hospital in town; only 43 rainy days a year; 12.3°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Direct flights to New York.
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A hospital in town; a health centre close by; only 48 rainy days a year.
Honest tradeoff: Short surgical waitlists.
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A hospital in town; only 33 rainy days a year; 13°C average winters.
Honest tradeoff: Direct flights to New York.
Compare the top 8
| # | Town | Winter avg | Summer high | US-born /1,000 | Drive to hospital | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Formentera | 13.1°C | 30.1°C | 2.05 | 0 min | 5 km |
| 2 | Altafulla | 10.4°C | 30°C | 3.07 | 15 min | 12 km |
| 3 | Cartagena | 14°C | 30.1°C | 0.68 | 0 min | 4 km |
| 4 | Tarragona | 10.4°C | 30°C | 1.37 | 0 min | 3 km |
| 5 | Valldemossa | 13.4°C | 30°C | 9.74 | 24 min | 15 km |
| 6 | Castelló de la Plana/Castellón de la Plana | 12.3°C | 30.6°C | 1.3 | 0 min | 3 km |
| 7 | Valls | 10.4°C | 30°C | 0.27 | 0 min | 20 km |
| 8 | Elx/Elche | 13°C | 30.5°C | 0.83 | 0 min | 11 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
Where do American retirees live in Spain?
Americans cluster in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Alicante and along the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca. This list ranks the towns that best fit a retiring American couple's priorities — see our separate census map for where Americans already are.
Can Americans get good healthcare in Spain?
Yes — Spain's healthcare is strong and affordable, though public-system waits vary by region (we rank those separately). Many American retirees use private insurance, which is inexpensive by US standards.
This is a generic American 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.