Araba/Álava · País Vasco
Vitoria-Gasteiz
The unsung administrative capital of the whole Basque Country — big plazas, leafy parks, street art on old-town buildings and an outstanding, reasonably priced pintxo scene.
Living in Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz is the quietly excellent administrative capital of the whole Basque Country — a city of 260,000 of big plazas, leafy parks and old-town street art, ringed by green mountains, with an outstanding and unusually affordable pintxo scene. It regularly slips under travellers' radars, which suits daily life fine. Most residents are Spanish-born, with large Colombian, Moroccan and Algerian communities. Set at 523m inland, it has a cool climate — mild summers around 26°C, cold winters near 6°C and frequent rain. It has hospitals in the city, its own airport fifteen minutes out, and Bilbao under an hour, with the Rioja vineyards just south.
Vitoria-Gasteiz'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 Vitoria-Gasteiz's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 55% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
The unsung administrative capital of the whole Basque Country — big plazas, leafy parks, street art on old-town buildings and an outstanding, reasonably priced pintxo scene. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 6.3°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 0.61 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €9.21/m²·mo
Higher than 51% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
The unsung administrative capital of the whole Basque Country — big plazas, leafy parks, street art on old-town buildings and an outstanding, reasonably priced pintxo scene. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 56 km from the sea and mild 26.4°C summer highs.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 26.4°C
- Rainy days a year 100 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 32
- Winter average temp 6.3°C
Higher than 35% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
The unsung administrative capital of the whole Basque Country — big plazas, leafy parks, street art on old-town buildings and an outstanding, reasonably priced pintxo scene. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — a hospital in town and 56 km from the sea.
- Schools in town 112
- PISA maths (region) 482
- Registered long-let rent €9.21/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 34% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
The unsung administrative capital of the whole Basque Country — big plazas, leafy parks, street art on old-town buildings and an outstanding, reasonably priced pintxo scene. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 6.3°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 64 days
- Registered long-let rent €9.21/m²·mo
Higher than 34% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
The unsung administrative capital of the whole Basque Country — big plazas, leafy parks, street art on old-town buildings and an outstanding, reasonably priced pintxo scene. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 260,402 people and a hospital in town.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 100%
- Drive to nearest airport 15 min
- Registered long-let rent €9.21/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 26.4°C
Higher than 13% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
The unsung administrative capital of the whole Basque Country — big plazas, leafy parks, street art on old-town buildings and an outstanding, reasonably priced pintxo scene. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — a hospital in town and 260,402 people.
- Registered long-let rent €9.21/m²·mo
- Net income per person €17,982
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 26.4°C
What is the climate like in Vitoria-Gasteiz?
Vitoria-Gasteiz's reported winter average is 6.3°C, while July–August highs reach 26.4°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 6.3°C bottom 39% of 8,131 towns 1.4°C below the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 26.4°C top 11% of 8,131 towns 3.8°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 100 days bottom 10% of 8,088 towns 46% more than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 5.4 h/day bottom 5% of 3,829 towns 26% less than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 32 top 35% of 8,033 towns 24 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)
- 0.06 ha/km² top 47% of 8,132 towns 2.25 ha/km² below 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
- 25.8% bottom 21% of 8,130 towns 2.9% 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 Vitoria-Gasteiz?
Vitoria-Gasteiz's nearest health centre is 0.2 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
- 0.2 km top 1% 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 Vitoria-Gasteiz?
Vitoria-Gasteiz has 112 schools in town; the nearest international school is 48 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 112 top 1% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 48 km bottom 45% 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 Vitoria-Gasteiz?
Vitoria-Gasteiz's reported home price is €2,700/m², while registered long-let rent is €9.21/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €2,700/m² appraisal (valor tasado) bottom 28% of 306 towns 22% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €9.21/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €7.93/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €10.7/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 4.09% bottom 44% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €17,982 top 10% of 8,059 towns 24% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 22.3% bottom 28% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Vitoria-Gasteiz?
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 Vitoria-Gasteiz?
Vitoria-Gasteiz's reported population is 260,402.
Who lives here
- Population
- 260,402
- Born in Spain
- 81.9% 6.9% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 1.4% 2.4% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 0.61 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Vitoria-Gasteiz?
Vitoria-Gasteiz is a reported 15 min drive from the nearest airport, with 99% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 15 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 99% top 7% of 8,132 towns 20% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 100% top 11% 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 Vitoria-Gasteiz 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 Vitoria-Gasteiz against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 48 min from Bilbao, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Vitoria-Gasteiz 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.