Ourense · Galicia
Ourense
Galicia's third-largest city, its historic core more engaging than the dispiriting urban sprawl around it — with hot springs enjoyed since Roman days.
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Living in Ourense
Ourense is Galicia's third city — 106,000 people set back from the Miño on a low hill, its engaging historic core surrounded by less lovely sprawl, and famous since Roman times for the hot springs that still feed riverside thermal pools. It's an inland Galician city with a lively tapas scene, mostly Spanish-born with a very large Venezuelan community. The climate is warmer and less rainy than the coast but still green — warm summers near 31°C, cool winters around 9°C. It has its own hospital; it's a fair way from the sea and the airports, but the thermal baths and old town make it a distinctive place to live.
Ourense'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 Ourense's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 68% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
Galicia's third-largest city, its historic core more engaging than the dispiriting urban sprawl around it — with hot springs enjoyed since Roman days. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — a hospital in town and 69 km from the sea.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30.9°C
- Rainy days a year 97 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 1
- Winter average temp 9.4°C
Higher than 63% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
Galicia's third-largest city, its historic core more engaging than the dispiriting urban sprawl around it — with hot springs enjoyed since Roman days. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — a hospital in town and 105,609 people.
- Schools in town 66
- PISA maths (region) 486
- Registered long-let rent €5.07/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 63% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
Galicia's third-largest city, its historic core more engaging than the dispiriting urban sprawl around it — with hot springs enjoyed since Roman days. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 105,609 people and a hospital in town.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 98%
- Drive to nearest airport 68 min
- Registered long-let rent €5.07/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30.9°C
Higher than 54% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
Galicia's third-largest city, its historic core more engaging than the dispiriting urban sprawl around it — with hot springs enjoyed since Roman days. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and 9.4°C average winters.
- Winter average temp 9.4°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 1.04 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €5.07/m²·mo
Higher than 52% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
Galicia's third-largest city, its historic core more engaging than the dispiriting urban sprawl around it — with hot springs enjoyed since Roman days. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — 105,609 people and a hospital in town.
- Registered long-let rent €5.07/m²·mo
- Net income per person €15,203
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30.9°C
Higher than 40% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
Galicia's third-largest city, its historic core more engaging than the dispiriting urban sprawl around it — with hot springs enjoyed since Roman days. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and 9.4°C average winters.
- Winter average temp 9.4°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 73 days
- Registered long-let rent €5.07/m²·mo
What is the climate like in Ourense?
Ourense's reported winter average is 9.4°C, while July–August highs reach 30.9°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 9.4°C top 27% of 8,131 towns 1.6°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 30.9°C bottom 41% of 8,131 towns 0.7°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 97 days bottom 13% of 8,088 towns 41% more than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 5.8 h/day bottom 6% of 3,829 towns 19% less than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 1 top 1% of 8,033 towns 55 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)
- 11.2 ha/km² bottom 4% of 8,132 towns 8.84 ha/km² above the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 58 bottom 2% of 8,132 towns 52 above the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 17.5% top 3% of 8,130 towns 5.4% 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 Ourense?
Ourense's nearest health centre is 59 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
- 59 km bottom 4% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 73 days #3 of 17 regions, −30 days vs national 32% less than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Ourense?
Ourense has 66 schools in town; the nearest international school is 64 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 66 top 1% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 64 km bottom 30% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 486 #8 of 17 regions, +7 vs national 5 above the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Ourense?
Ourense's reported home price is €1,602/m², while registered long-let rent is €5.07/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €1,602/m² appraisal (valor tasado) top 32% of 306 towns 27% less than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €5.07/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €3.9/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €6.67/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 3.8% bottom 29% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €15,203 top 38% of 8,059 towns 5% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 23.1% bottom 33% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Ourense?
Galician and Spanish are co-official in Galicia. Public schools use both languages, with substantial Galician-medium teaching rather than a Spanish-only default; the balance can vary by school. See the Galicia region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Ourense?
Ourense's reported population is 105,609.
Who lives here
- Population
- 105,609
- Born in Spain
- 82.3% 6.5% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 3.5% 0.3% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 1.04 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Ourense?
Ourense is a reported 68 min drive from the nearest airport, with 95% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 68 min top 44% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 95% top 27% of 8,132 towns 16% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 98% top 27% of 8,132 towns 15% 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 Ourense 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 Ourense against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 69 min from Pontevedra, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Ourense 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.