Region · Spain
Living in Castilla y León
Castilla y León sits between Spain's extremes on climate: winters near 5.3°C, summer highs around 29°C, and roughly 73 rainy days a year. Summer water stress reads WEI+ 51 against a national 56. On our six settler profiles, Castilla y León is worth a look if you're budget_inland (ranks #5 of 17 regions), and probably not the one if you're winter_sun (#16 of 17).
Overview
On the wallet: homes run about €1,555/m² (23% below the national average (€2,024/m²)); median net income is about €14,917 per person (4% above the national average (€14,279)).
Public healthcare here means a mean surgical wait around 87 days (16% below the national average (103 days)), with 13.8% of the surgical list waiting over six months — a real, published number, not a brochure claim.
We publish 22 of Castilla y León's 2,248 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 Castilla y León 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 Castilla y León'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
- budget_inland #5 of 17 regions
Probably skip if you want
- winter_sun #16 of 17 regions
- Retiring couples #15 of 17 regions
- American retirees #14 of 17 regions
- Budget-first coastal settlers #14 of 17 regions
- couple_starting_family #13 of 17 regions
- Families with school-age kids #13 of 17 regions
- year_round_mild #13 of 17 regions
- Remote-working couples #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 Castilla y León
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
- 5.3°C #17 of 17 regions · −2.4°C vs national 2.4 °C below the national average (7.8°C)
- Summer high
- 29.0°C #7 of 17 regions · −1.1°C vs national 1.1 °C below the national average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 73 days #11 of 17 regions · +4 days vs national 6% above the national average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 7.1 h/day #11 of 17 regions · −0.1 h/day vs national about the national average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+)
- 51 #9 of 16 regions · −6 vs national 6 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
- 499 #1 of 17 regions · +20 vs national 20 points above the national average (479)
- PISA reading
- 498 #1 of 17 regions · +20 vs national 20 points above the national average (478)
- PISA science
- 506 #1 of 17 regions · +17 vs national 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
- 87 days #5 of 17 regions · −16 days vs national 16% below the national average (103 days)
- Waiting over 6 months
- 13.8% #6 of 17 regions · −2.8 pts vs national 2.8 pts below the national average (16.6%)
- Specialist consult wait
- 102 days #10 of 17 regions · +7 days vs national 7% above the national average (95 days)
Public waiting lists, SISLE-SNS Dic 2025 (2025-12-31), per comunidad autónoma.
Cost & economy
- Median net income / person
- €14,917 #8 of 17 regions · +€638 vs national 4% above the national average (€14,279)
- Median home price
- €1,555/m² #5 of 17 regions · −€469/m² vs national 23% 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
- 92.5% 3.7 pts above the national average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 2.8% 1.1 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
- Applies the state wealth-tax scale with no general bonificación — a real annual wealth tax above the €700k exemption.
- Inheritance & gifts none
- 99% bonificación for spouse, children and parents (Grupo I & II) — inheritance is effectively negligible.
- Buying resale (ITP)
- General transfer tax around 8% — General ~8% for housing. Reduced rates for under-36 / habitual / rural municipalities.
- Buying new-build
- IVA/IGIC around 10%; AJD around 1.5%.
- Annual property tax (IBI)
- Municipal rates typically 0.4–1.1% of cadastral value — set by each town, not the region.
State ITSGF above ~€3M net worth; wealth tax already paid is credited against it, so it adds little on top. 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 Castilla y León, by what you're after
The same engine as the quiz, run over Castilla y León'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 Castilla y León for families
schools, coast and cost, scored for remote-working parents
- Astorga low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.64/m²·mo) · 10,300 people
- Peñafiel 39 min to a hospital · 5,163 people
- León a hospital in town · 124,091 people
- Villafranca del Bierzo low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.7/m²·mo) · a real food scene
- Frómista low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.52/m²·mo) · 35 min to a hospital
Best towns in Castilla y León for mild summers
ranked on the July–August average high
- Astorga mild 27.3°C summer highs · low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.64/m²·mo)
- Frómista low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.52/m²·mo) · 35 min to a hospital
- León mild 27.3°C summer highs · a hospital in town
- Villafranca del Bierzo low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.7/m²·mo) · low summer water stress
- Peñafiel a real food scene · 39 min to a hospital
Best-value towns in Castilla y León
cheap to buy in, but still a real town with services
- Frómista low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.52/m²·mo) · 35 min to a hospital
- Peñafiel 5,163 people · low cost of living (registered rent ~€4.22/m²·mo)
- Astorga low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.64/m²·mo) · 10,300 people
- Tordesillas 20 min to a hospital · 8,801 people
- Medina del Campo 20,238 people · a hospital in town
Town profiles in Castilla y León
We profile 22 of Castilla y León's 2,248 municipalities in depth — numbers plus an honest portrait. More as we cover them.
- Alberca, La Salamanca
- Astorga León
- Ávila Ávila
- Berlanga de Duero Soria
- Burgos Burgos
- Calatañazor Soria
- Ciudad Rodrigo Salamanca
- Covarrubias Burgos
- Frómista Palencia
- León León
- Lerma Burgos
- Medina del Campo Valladolid
- Peñafiel Valladolid
- Riaño León
- Riofrío Ávila
- Salamanca Salamanca
- Santo Domingo de Silos Burgos
- Segovia Segovia
- Tordesillas Valladolid
- Toro Zamora
- Villafranca del Bierzo León
- Vinuesa Soria
Compare Castilla y León with…
Torn between two regions? Head-to-head, data-only — climate, cost, schools, health waits and tax, side by side.
See how Castilla y León's towns rank for you
These are Castilla y León'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 Castilla y León as one to watch, so your results surface its best towns for you.
Take the quiz — rank Castilla y León for you →