Huelva · Andalucía
Huelva
Andalucía's best-kept secret for seafood lovers, named Spain's gastronomic capital in 2017 — surprisingly off the beaten track for a provincial capital.
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Living in Huelva
Huelva is an under-visited Andalucian port city of 144,000 near the Portuguese border, a place better known to Spaniards for its food than its sights — named Spain's gastronomic capital in 2017, famous for its cuttlefish and Costa de la Luz seafood. Its industrial edges and a curiously British-feeling workers' quarter, built by the Rio Tinto mining company, give it an unusual character. The climate is warm and sunny — hot summers near 33°C, mild winters around 13°C and some of Spain's best sunshine. Most residents are Spanish-born, with a Moroccan community. It has its own hospital, the Doñana wetlands and quiet beaches nearby, and Seville a little over an hour away.
Huelva'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 Huelva's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 75% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
Andalucía's best-kept secret for seafood lovers, named Spain's gastronomic capital in 2017 — surprisingly off the beaten track for a provincial capital. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 12.8°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 173 days
- Registered long-let rent €6.79/m²·mo
Higher than 73% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
Andalucía's best-kept secret for seafood lovers, named Spain's gastronomic capital in 2017 — surprisingly off the beaten track for a provincial capital. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 12.8°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 0.35 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €6.79/m²·mo
Higher than 47% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
Andalucía's best-kept secret for seafood lovers, named Spain's gastronomic capital in 2017 — surprisingly off the beaten track for a provincial capital. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 143,774 people and 15 km from the sea.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 100%
- Drive to nearest airport 80 min
- Registered long-let rent €6.79/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 32.8°C
Higher than 43% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
Andalucía's best-kept secret for seafood lovers, named Spain's gastronomic capital in 2017 — surprisingly off the beaten track for a provincial capital. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 15 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Schools in town 121
- PISA maths (region) 457
- Registered long-let rent €6.79/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 41% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
Andalucía's best-kept secret for seafood lovers, named Spain's gastronomic capital in 2017 — surprisingly off the beaten track for a provincial capital. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 15 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 32.8°C
- Rainy days a year 50 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 15
- Winter average temp 12.8°C
Higher than 37% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
Andalucía's best-kept secret for seafood lovers, named Spain's gastronomic capital in 2017 — surprisingly off the beaten track for a provincial capital. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — 15 km from the sea and a hospital in town.
- Registered long-let rent €6.79/m²·mo
- Net income per person €13,215
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 32.8°C
What is the climate like in Huelva?
Huelva's reported winter average is 12.8°C, while July–August highs reach 32.8°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 12.8°C top 6% of 8,131 towns 5°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 32.8°C bottom 23% of 8,131 towns 2.6°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 50 days top 16% of 8,088 towns 28% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 8.6 h/day top 1% of 3,829 towns 19% more than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 15 top 15% of 8,033 towns 41 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)
- 0.36 ha/km² bottom 29% of 8,132 towns 1.95 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 6 bottom 18% of 8,132 towns about the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 21.9% top 41% of 8,130 towns 1% below 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 Huelva?
Huelva's nearest health centre is 0.5 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
- 0.5 km top 2% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 173 days #17 of 17 regions, +70 days vs national 60% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Huelva?
Huelva has 121 schools in town; the nearest international school is 7 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 121 top 1% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 7 km top 5% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 457 #16 of 17 regions, −22 vs national 24 below the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Huelva?
Huelva's reported home price is €1,576/m², while registered long-let rent is €6.79/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €1,576/m² appraisal (valor tasado) top 30% of 306 towns 29% less than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €6.79/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €5.38/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €8.66/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 5.17% top 10% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €13,215 bottom 33% of 8,059 towns 9% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 24% bottom 38% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Huelva?
Spanish is the only region-wide official language in Andalusia, and Spanish-medium teaching is the public-school default. Individual bilingual and international programmes can use other languages, so check the specific school. See the Andalusia region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Huelva?
Huelva's reported population is 143,774.
Who lives here
- Population
- 143,774
- Born in Spain
- 89.8% 1% above the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 1.8% 2% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 0.35 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Huelva?
Huelva is a reported 80 min drive from the nearest airport, with 100% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 80 min bottom 44% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 100% top 3% of 8,132 towns 21% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 100% top 1% 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 Huelva 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 Huelva against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 67 min from Sevilla, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Huelva 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 an insurer how the mapped flood or wildfire exposure affects cover.
Nearby towns
Other places we profile within easy reach.