Madrid · Madrid
Alcalá de Henares
One of Europe's most ancient university towns and the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, though today virtually a suburb of Madrid.
What Alcalá de Henares is like
Portrait drawn from The Rough Guide.
A little over 30km east of Madrid.
A little history
In the sixteenth century the university was a rival to Salamanca's, but in 1836 the faculties moved to Madrid and the town went into decline.
Who it suits: Cervantes literary pilgrims
The numbers
The decision data — each figure against the Spanish average. Regional overlays and estimates are labelled, and where there's no local reading we say so plainly.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 7.2°C 0.6°C below the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 33.6°C 3.4°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 56 days 19% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 7.8 h/day 7% more than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 117 60 above the Spanish average (56)
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €2,839/m² 29% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Net income per person
- €15,598 8% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 24%
Safety
- Recorded crime
- 48.8 per 1,000 11% more than the Spanish average (44 per 1,000)
Schools
- Schools in town
- 104
- Nearest international school
- 21 km
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 494 13 above the Spanish average (481)
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 0 min
- Nearest health centre
- 0.7 km
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 50 days 54% less than the Spanish average (108 days)
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 29 min
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 99% 20% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 100% 17% above the Spanish average (83%)
Who lives here
- Population
- 202,549
- Born in Spain
- 77.2% 11.6% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 6.2% 2.4% above the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 1.68 per 1,000
Numbers: SettleSpain town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma, Ministerio del Interior and the Catastro. National average = the unweighted mean across all 8,132 Spanish municipalities with data. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
How does Alcalá de Henares fit you?
These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Alcalá de Henares against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 15 min from Torrejón de Ardoz, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Alcalá de Henares for you →Nearby towns
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