Region · Spain
Living in the Basque Country
the Basque Country is Atlantic Spain: winters average 9.1°C and summers stay comparatively mild — 25.3°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+ 18 vs a national 56). As Spain's south dries out, that green-and-watered profile is a genuine climate-refuge trait. On our six settler profiles, the Basque Country is worth a look if you're heat-averse settlers (ranks #4 of 17 regions), and probably not the one if you're budget_inland (#16 of 17).
Overview
On the wallet: homes run about €2,856/m² (41% above the national average (€2,024/m²)); median net income is about €18,524 per person (30% above the national average (€14,279)).
Public healthcare here means a mean surgical wait around 64 days (38% below the national average (103 days)), with 2.3% of the surgical list waiting over six months — a real, published number, not a brochure claim.
We publish 13 of the Basque Country's 252 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.
Who the Basque Country is for — and who should look elsewhere
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities, then took the median score of the Basque Country's towns and ranked it among Spain's 17 comunidades. It answers "how does the typical town here score, versus the typical town elsewhere?"
Good to explore if you're
- Heat-averse settlers #4 of 17 regions
- American retirees #5 of 17 regions
- couple_starting_family #6 of 17 regions
Probably skip if you want
- budget_inland #16 of 17 regions
- investor #14 of 17 regions
- winter_sun #13 of 17 regions
- Budget-first coastal settlers #12 of 17 regions
Ranked 1–17 by the median national percentile of the region's municipalities for each profile (higher median = better place to explore). Hover a town's own page for the town-level version.
The numbers for the Basque Country
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
- 9.1°C #8 of 17 regions · +1.3°C vs national 1.3 °C above the national average (7.8°C)
- Summer high
- 25.3°C #3 of 17 regions · −4.8°C vs national 4.8 °C below the national average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 121 days #16 of 17 regions · +52 days vs national 76% above the national average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 4.8 h/day #17 of 17 regions · −2.4 h/day vs national 33% below the national average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+)
- 18 #4 of 16 regions · −39 vs national 39 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
- 482 #9 of 17 regions · +3 vs national 3 points above the national average (479)
- PISA reading
- 466 #14 of 17 regions · −12 vs national 12 points below the national average (478)
- PISA science
- 480 #11 of 17 regions · −9 vs national 9 points below the national average (489)
PISA 2022, reported per comunidad autónoma (INEE). National reference = the mean across the 17 comunidades.
Healthcare
- Surgical wait
- 64 days #2 of 17 regions · −39 days vs national 38% below the national average (103 days)
- Waiting over 6 months
- 2.3% #2 of 17 regions · −14.4 pts vs national 14.4 pts below the national average (16.6%)
- Specialist consult wait
- 49 days #2 of 17 regions · −46 days vs national 48% 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
- €18,524 #1 of 17 regions · +€4,245 vs national 30% above the national average (€14,279)
- Median home price
- €2,856/m² #15 of 17 regions · +€831/m² vs national 41% above 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
- 89.3% 0.5 pts above the national average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 1.9% 1.9 pts below the national average (3.8%)
Share of residents by place of birth, averaged across the region's municipalities (INE).
Tax posture (2025)
- Wealth tax standard
- Foral regime with its own wealth tax (Riqueza) — a real annual tax; the state ITSGF (Grandes Fortunas) does NOT apply here.
- Inheritance & gifts light
- Foral: spouse/children (Grupo I & II) exempt to €400,000, then a flat ~1.5% on the excess — very low but not zero. Rates vary slightly across Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.
- Buying resale (ITP)
- General transfer tax around 7% — Foral: Álava/Bizkaia/Gipuzkoa set own rates (often ~4–7% depending on territory and value). 7 is a conservative cross-territory general proxy.
- Buying new-build
- IVA/IGIC around 10%; AJD around 0.5%.
- Annual property tax (IBI)
- Municipal rates typically 0.4–1.1% of cadastral value — set by each town, not the region.
The state ITSGF (Grandes Fortunas) does not apply in the foral territory of País Vasco. Source: primary source. General posture, not personal tax advice — thresholds, reduced rates and reliefs change and depend on your circumstances. ITP/AJD figures are regional general rates for budgeting, not a quote.
Best towns in the Basque Country, by what you're after
The same engine as the quiz, run over the Basque Country's towns and filtered to the ones we profile in depth. Top of each list, in the engine's order — not hand-picked.
Best towns in the Basque Country for families
schools, coast and cost, scored for remote-working parents
- Gernika-Lumo 4 km from the sea · 26 min to a hospital
- Lekeitio 2 km from the sea · 7,210 people
- Bermeo 6 km from the sea · a hospital in town
- Getaria 2 km from the sea · 29 min to a hospital
- Ondarroa 4 km from the sea · 21 min to a hospital
Best towns in the Basque Country for mild summers
ranked on the July–August average high
- Gernika-Lumo 4 km from the sea · mild 23.2°C summer highs
- Lekeitio 2 km from the sea · mild 23.2°C summer highs
- Getaria 2 km from the sea · mild 24°C summer highs
- Bermeo 6 km from the sea · mild 25.9°C summer highs
- Ondarroa 4 km from the sea · mild 23.2°C summer highs
Best-value towns in the Basque Country
cheap to buy in, but still a real town with services
- Gernika-Lumo 4 km from the sea · 17,081 people
- Lekeitio 2 km from the sea · 7,210 people
- Bermeo 6 km from the sea · 17,116 people
- Ondarroa 4 km from the sea · 21 min to a hospital
- Getaria 2 km from the sea · 29 min to a hospital
Town profiles in the Basque Country
We profile 13 of the Basque Country's 252 municipalities in depth — numbers plus an honest portrait. More as we cover them.
Compare the Basque Country with…
Torn between two regions? Head-to-head, data-only — climate, cost, schools, health waits and tax, side by side.
See how the Basque Country's towns rank for you
These are the Basque Country'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 — and we'll flag the Basque Country as one to watch, so your results surface its best towns for you.
Take the quiz — rank the Basque Country for you →