Region · Spain

Living in Galicia

Galicia is Atlantic Spain: winters average 8.9°C and summers stay comparatively mild — 26°C highs against a hotter national norm — across roughly 121 rainy days a year. The trade is grey, wet spells rather than reliable sun, but summer water stress runs low (WEI+ 6 vs a national 56). As Spain's south dries out, that green-and-watered profile is a genuine climate-refuge trait.

Overview

On the wallet: homes run about €1,650/m² (18% below the national average (€2,024/m²)); median net income is about €13,641 per person (4% below the national average (€14,279)).

Public healthcare here means a mean surgical wait around 73 days (29% below the national average (103 days)), with 5.7% of the surgical list waiting over six months — a real, published number, not a brochure claim.

We publish 28 of Galicia's 313 municipalities in depth so far — the ones with a full guide portrait to sit alongside the numbers, weighted toward the milder-summer north. Every figure below is shown against the national reference, gaps included.

Schools PISA science 506 — 17 points above the national average (489)
Surgery wait 73 days — 29% below the national average (103 days)
Homes €1,650/m² — 18% below the national average (€2,024/m²)

The numbers for Galicia

Region-level data, each figure against the national reference. Where a figure is a comunidad-autónoma reading rather than a town measurement, we say so under the card.

Climate

Winter average
8.9°C 1.1 °C above the national average (7.8°C)
Summer high
26.0°C 4.2 °C below the national average (30.2°C)
Rainy days a year
121 days 76% above the national average (69 days)
Sunshine
5.7 h/day 21% below the national average (7.2 h/day)
Summer water stress (WEI+)
6 51 points below the national average (56)

Aggregated from the region's municipalities (AEMET/derived); summer water stress is a river-basin (WEI+) reading.

Schools

PISA maths
486 7 points above the national average (479)
PISA reading
485 7 points above the national average (478)
PISA science
506 17 points above the national average (489)

PISA 2022, reported per comunidad autónoma (INEE). National reference = the mean across the 17 comunidades.

Healthcare

Surgical wait
73 days 29% below the national average (103 days)
Waiting over 6 months
5.7% 11 pts below the national average (16.6%)
Specialist consult wait
63 days 34% below the national average (95 days)

Public waiting lists, SISLE-SNS Dic 2025 (2025-12-31), per comunidad autónoma.

Cost & economy

Median net income / person
€13,641 4% below the national average (€14,279)
Median home price
€1,650/m² 18% below the national average (€2,024/m²)

Median across the region's municipalities (INE net income; Catastro-derived sale price).

Who lives here

Born in Spain
90.4% 1.7 pts above the national average (88.8%)
Born elsewhere in EU/UK
3.4% 0.4 pts below the national average (3.8%)

Share of residents by place of birth, averaged across the region's municipalities (INE).

Tax posture

Wealth tax
No wealth-tax bill on ordinary assets — Galicia applies a large Patrimonio relief; only very large fortunes reach the state solidarity tax (ISGF).
Inheritance & gifts
~99% relief on inheritance and gifts between direct family (spouse, children, parents).

Posture for direct-family transfers and ordinary wealth; very large estates can still meet the state ISGF. Source: REAF Panorama de la Fiscalidad Autonómica y Foral 2025 (Consejo General de Economistas). General posture, not personal tax advice — thresholds and reliefs change and depend on your circumstances.

Town profiles in Galicia

We profile 28 of Galicia's 313 municipalities in depth — numbers plus an honest portrait. More as we cover them.

Is Galicia right for you?

These are Galicia's regional numbers. Whether it fits you depends on your priorities — winter sun or mild summers, short medical waits, a city or a village, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on what you care about, Galicia included.

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