Badajoz · Extremadura
Mérida
A living Roman city — ancient Augusta Emerita, once capital of Roman Lusitania — where spectacular ruins turn up in the most unlikely corners of an otherwise everyday modern city.
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Living in Mérida
Mérida is a living Roman city of 60,000 — the ancient Augusta Emerita, capital of Roman Lusitania — where a spectacular theatre, amphitheatre, temple and aqueduct surface amid an otherwise everyday modern Extremaduran town. It's astonishingly under-visited for the scale of its heritage. Overwhelmingly Spanish-born, it's a working provincial city on the Guadiana. Summers are hot with highs around 35°C, winters mild near 11°C. It has its own hospital, and Badajoz is about an hour away — a place where you live your daily life among world-class ruins.
Mérida'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 Mérida's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 58% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
A living Roman city — ancient Augusta Emerita, once capital of Roman Lusitania — where spectacular ruins turn up in the most unlikely corners of an otherwise everyday modern city. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 10.5°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 135 days
- Registered long-let rent €5.11/m²·mo
Higher than 55% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
A living Roman city — ancient Augusta Emerita, once capital of Roman Lusitania — where spectacular ruins turn up in the most unlikely corners of an otherwise everyday modern city. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 10.5°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 0.43 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €5.11/m²·mo
Higher than 28% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
A living Roman city — ancient Augusta Emerita, once capital of Roman Lusitania — where spectacular ruins turn up in the most unlikely corners of an otherwise everyday modern city. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 60,319 people and a hospital in town.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 100%
- Drive to nearest airport 62 min
- Registered long-let rent €5.11/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 35.2°C
Higher than 19% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
A living Roman city — ancient Augusta Emerita, once capital of Roman Lusitania — where spectacular ruins turn up in the most unlikely corners of an otherwise everyday modern city. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — a hospital in town and 60,319 people.
- Schools in town 34
- PISA maths (region) 469
- Registered long-let rent €5.11/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 13% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
A living Roman city — ancient Augusta Emerita, once capital of Roman Lusitania — where spectacular ruins turn up in the most unlikely corners of an otherwise everyday modern city. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — 60,319 people and a hospital in town.
- Registered long-let rent €5.11/m²·mo
- Net income per person €13,297
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 35.2°C
Higher than 7% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
A living Roman city — ancient Augusta Emerita, once capital of Roman Lusitania — where spectacular ruins turn up in the most unlikely corners of an otherwise everyday modern city. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — a hospital in town and a real food scene.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 35.2°C
- Rainy days a year 54 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 106
- Winter average temp 10.5°C
What is the climate like in Mérida?
Mérida's reported winter average is 10.5°C, while July–August highs reach 35.2°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 10.5°C top 18% of 8,131 towns 2.7°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 35.2°C bottom 4% of 8,131 towns 5°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 54 days top 26% of 8,088 towns 21% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- no local data
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 106 bottom 17% of 8,033 towns 49 above 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)
- 1.4 ha/km² bottom 14% of 8,132 towns 0.91 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 95 bottom 1% of 8,132 towns 89 above the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 22.9% bottom 43% of 8,130 towns about 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 Mérida?
Mérida's nearest health centre is 8.7 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
- 8.7 km bottom 49% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 135 days #14 of 17 regions, +32 days vs national 25% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Mérida?
Mérida has 34 schools in town; the nearest international school is 50 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 34 top 2% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 50 km bottom 42% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 469 #12 of 17 regions, −10 vs national 12 below the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Mérida?
Mérida's reported home price is €1,096/m², while registered long-let rent is €5.11/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €1,096/m² appraisal (valor tasado) top 12% of 306 towns 50% less than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €5.11/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €4.16/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €6.32/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 5.6% top 5% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €13,297 bottom 34% of 8,059 towns 8% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 26.1% top 49% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Mérida?
Spanish is the only region-wide official language in Extremadura, 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 Extremadura region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Mérida?
Mérida's reported population is 60,319.
Who lives here
- Population
- 60,319
- Born in Spain
- 93% 4.2% above the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 1.1% 2.7% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 0.43 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Mérida?
Mérida is a reported 62 min drive from the nearest airport, with 97% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 62 min top 38% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 97% top 16% of 8,132 towns 18% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 100% top 12% of 8,132 towns 16% 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 Mérida 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 Mérida against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 59 min from Badajoz, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Mérida 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.