Gipuzkoa · País Vasco
Donostia
A city that celebrates the art of eating — officially named in both Basque and Spanish, famed for world-class pintxo bars and a glamorous beachside setting.
Living in Donostia
San Sebastián — Donostia in Basque — is a glamorous Basque coastal city of 190,000 built around the golden shell of La Concha bay, and probably Spain's greatest food city, its old-town streets packed with world-class pintxo bars. It is beautiful but demanding on the weather front: one of the wettest cities in Spain, with rain on some 143 days a year, cool summers barely above 22°C and mild damp winters near 10°C. Most residents are Spanish-born, with large Honduran, Colombian and Nicaraguan communities. It has hospitals, two city beaches and an airport under half an hour — though over-tourism is now a real local concern, and the city has moved to cap new hotels.
Donostia's Spainability Scores — by who's moving
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities. Each score is Donostia's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 86% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
A city that celebrates the art of eating — officially named in both Basque and Spanish, famed for world-class pintxo bars and a glamorous beachside setting. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 3 km from the sea and mild 22.5°C summer highs.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 22.5°C
- Rainy days a year 143 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 6
- Winter average temp 9.6°C
Higher than 74% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
A city that celebrates the art of eating — officially named in both Basque and Spanish, famed for world-class pintxo bars and a glamorous beachside setting. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 9.6°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 3.03 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €14/m²·mo
Higher than 68% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
A city that celebrates the art of eating — officially named in both Basque and Spanish, famed for world-class pintxo bars and a glamorous beachside setting. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 3 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Schools in town 99
- PISA maths (region) 482
- Registered long-let rent €14/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 59% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
A city that celebrates the art of eating — officially named in both Basque and Spanish, famed for world-class pintxo bars and a glamorous beachside setting. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 3 km from the sea and 189,507 people.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 100%
- Drive to nearest airport 26 min
- Registered long-let rent €14/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 22.5°C
Higher than 49% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
A city that celebrates the art of eating — officially named in both Basque and Spanish, famed for world-class pintxo bars and a glamorous beachside setting. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 9.6°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 64 days
- Registered long-let rent €14/m²·mo
Higher than 31% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
A city that celebrates the art of eating — officially named in both Basque and Spanish, famed for world-class pintxo bars and a glamorous beachside setting. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — 3 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Registered long-let rent €14/m²·mo
- Net income per person €22,330
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 22.5°C
What is the climate like in Donostia?
Donostia's reported winter average is 9.6°C, while July–August highs reach 22.5°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 9.6°C top 25% of 8,131 towns 1.8°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 22.5°C top 3% of 8,131 towns 7.7°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 143 days bottom 1% of 8,088 towns 108% more than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 5.1 h/day bottom 3% of 3,829 towns 30% less than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 6 top 6% of 8,033 towns 50 below the Spanish average (56)
- River-flood depth (T=100, town centre) estimated
- 0 m top 1% of 8,129 towns 0.04 m below the Spanish average (0.04 m)
- River-flood risk score estimated
- 0 top 1% of 8,129 towns about the Spanish average (0)
- Wildfire burn rate (2010–23)
- 4.22 ha/km² bottom 8% of 8,132 towns 1.91 ha/km² above the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 4 bottom 25% of 8,132 towns 2 below the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 23.5% bottom 41% of 8,130 towns 0.7% above the Spanish average (22.9%)
The year, month by month
AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.
How good is healthcare in Donostia?
Donostia's nearest health centre is 1.3 km away, and the reported hospital drive is 0 min.
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 0 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
- Nearest health centre
- 1.3 km top 6% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 64 days #2 of 17 regions, −39 days vs national 41% less than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Donostia?
Donostia has 99 schools in town; the nearest international school is 2 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 99 top 1% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 2 km top 1% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 482 #9 of 17 regions, +3 vs national 1 above the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Donostia?
Donostia's reported home price is €5,118/m², while registered long-let rent is €14/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €5,118/m² appraisal (valor tasado) bottom 2% of 306 towns 132% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €14/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €11.7/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €16.7/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 3.28% bottom 11% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €22,330 top 1% of 8,059 towns 54% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 23.4% bottom 35% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Donostia?
the Basque Country has a co-official regional language, and public schools commonly use regional-language immersion or bilingual models rather than Spanish-only teaching. The exact classroom language depends on the school and programme, so confirm the current model before enrolling. See the the Basque Country region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Donostia?
Donostia's reported population is 189,507.
Who lives here
- Population
- 189,507
- Born in Spain
- 84.5% 4.3% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 2.2% 1.7% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 3.03 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Donostia?
Donostia is a reported 26 min drive from the nearest airport, with 99% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 26 min top 5% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 99% top 5% of 8,132 towns 20% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 100% top 8% of 8,132 towns 17% above the Spanish average (83%)
Numbers: Spainability town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Registered long-let rent is SERPAVI declared-contract data; its p25–p75 values show the observed band. Registered-rent yield is gross, excludes costs and is never imputed. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
How does Donostia 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 Donostia against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 27 min from Irun, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Donostia for you →Questions to verify locally
- Ask whether current long-let rents match the registered-contract figure.
- Request recent comparable sales before relying on the appraisal figure.
- Test fibre speed at the exact address, not the town average.
- Visit local schools and confirm places for incoming families.
- Confirm health-centre registration and opening hours in person.
- Ask about summer rental crowds and parking near the coast.
Nearby towns
Other places we profile within easy reach.