Balears, Illes · Baleares
Maó
Menorca's compact island capital and the eighteenth-century birthplace of mayonnaise — its charm is wandering the alleyways, not any one sight.
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Living in Maó
Maó is Menorca's compact island capital — 31,000 people perched above the largest natural harbour in the Mediterranean, an easygoing town of Georgian townhouses that betray a long British connection, and, so the story goes, the birthplace of mayonnaise. Its charm is in wandering the alleys and the harbourside rather than any single sight. For an island town it's fairly mixed, about three-quarters Spanish-born with Latin American, Moroccan and British communities. The climate is mild Mediterranean, summers around 30°C and mild winters near 12°C. It has its own hospital and the island's airport fifteen minutes away, though everything beyond Menorca means a flight or ferry.
Maó'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 Maó's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 95% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
Menorca's compact island capital and the eighteenth-century birthplace of mayonnaise — its charm is wandering the alleyways, not any one sight. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — a settled international community and 3 km from the sea.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 97%
- Drive to nearest airport 15 min
- Registered long-let rent €6.89/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 29.5°C
Higher than 93% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
Menorca's compact island capital and the eighteenth-century birthplace of mayonnaise — its charm is wandering the alleyways, not any one sight. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 3 km from the sea and a settled international community.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 29.5°C
- Rainy days a year 62 days
- Winter average temp 12.3°C
Higher than 93% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
Menorca's compact island capital and the eighteenth-century birthplace of mayonnaise — its charm is wandering the alleyways, not any one sight. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 3 km from the sea and a settled international community.
- PISA maths (region) 471
- Registered long-let rent €6.89/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Nearest international school 104 km
Higher than 92% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
Menorca's compact island capital and the eighteenth-century birthplace of mayonnaise — its charm is wandering the alleyways, not any one sight. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 12.3°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 105 days
- Registered long-let rent €6.89/m²·mo
Higher than 91% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
Menorca's compact island capital and the eighteenth-century birthplace of mayonnaise — its charm is wandering the alleyways, not any one sight. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — a settled international community and 3 km from the sea.
- Registered long-let rent €6.89/m²·mo
- Net income per person €16,314
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 29.5°C
Higher than 90% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
Menorca's compact island capital and the eighteenth-century birthplace of mayonnaise — its charm is wandering the alleyways, not any one sight. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 12.3°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 1.81 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €6.89/m²·mo
What is the climate like in Maó?
Maó's reported winter average is 12.3°C, while July–August highs reach 29.5°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 12.3°C top 9% of 8,131 towns 4.5°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 29.5°C top 35% of 8,131 towns 0.7°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 62 days top 47% of 8,088 towns 9% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 7.3 h/day bottom 45% of 3,829 towns about the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+)
- no local data
- 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 ha/km² top 1% of 8,132 towns 2.31 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 0 top 1% of 8,132 towns 6 below the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 13.8% top 1% of 8,130 towns 9.1% 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 Maó?
Maó's nearest health centre is 3.3 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
- 3.3 km top 17% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 105 days #11 of 17 regions, +2 days vs national 3% less than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Maó?
Maó's reported nearest international school is 104 km.
Schools
- Schools in town
- no local data
- Nearest international school
- 104 km bottom 9% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 471 #11 of 17 regions, −8 vs national 10 below the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Maó?
Maó's reported home price is €2,812/m², while registered long-let rent is €6.89/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €2,812/m² appraisal (valor tasado) bottom 25% of 306 towns 27% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €6.89/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €5.12/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €9.11/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 2.94% bottom 4% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €16,314 top 23% of 8,059 towns 13% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 25.6% bottom 47% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Maó?
the Balearics 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 Balearics region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Maó?
Maó's reported population is 30,986.
Who lives here
- Population
- 30,986
- Born in Spain
- 74.4% 14.4% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 3.8% 0.1% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 1.81 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Maó?
Maó is a reported 15 min drive from the nearest airport, with 87% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 15 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 87% bottom 43% of 8,132 towns 9% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 97% top 36% of 8,132 towns 13% 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 Maó 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 Maó against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities.
Take the quiz — rank Maó 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 the school and ask about 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.