The income map in Spain redraws a country with a wealthy north and center, and a more modest south. Furthermore, wage disparities between these regions are widening. The National Statistics Institute (INE) has just updated its “Household Income Distribution Atlas” with 2022 data, providing a precise study on the income levels of citizens and households, down to specific streets and, practically, individual homes. The conclusion remains the same: there are significant differences in the average income earned by a citizen in the Basque Country, Madrid, Navarra, and Catalonia compared to families in Andalusia, Extremadura, and Murcia.
According to data from the INE, the average income per person of a citizen of the Basque Country that year was 17,461 euros, the highest in the country, followed by the Community of Madrid, with an average of 17,131 euros. In Navarra, it reached 15,681 euros, and in Catalonia it was 15,519 euros. On the other hand, Extremadura had an average income per person in 2022 of 11,389 euros; Andalusia, with 11,558 euros; and Murcia, with 11,599 euros. In other words, a person from the Basque Country earned more than 50% more in 2022 than someone from Andalusia, Extremadura, or Murcia.
Inequality increased in 2022. Thus, incomes did not grow equally in the north and south between 2021 and 2022. People from the Basque Country and Madrid saw an increase of over 1,000 euros in their incomes, while those from Andalusia and Murcia barely increased theirs by around 600 euros. The income of Murcia residents only grew by 478 euros.
Going down to specifics, the INE (National Institute of Statistics) certifies that Donostia, Madrid, and Barcelona were the provincial capitals with the highest percentage of census sections with very high income. Thus, six out of ten residents of Donostia are in a very high income bracket, while in Madrid it’s four out of ten, and in Barcelona, 35%. This data demonstrates the concentration of high incomes in major cities.
The provincial capitals with the highest percentage of population with a very low annual income (below 9,813 euros) were Melilla (31%), Alicante (27%), and Ceuta (26%).
Each Basque person earned 17,461 euros in 2022, more than 50% above the average income in Andalusia, Extremadura, and Murcia
In terms of provinces, those with the highest annual net income per capita were Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia, and Madrid. On the other hand, the lowest incomes were recorded in Almería, Jaén, and Badajoz.
The three municipalities in Spain, with over 2,000 inhabitants, and the highest average annual net income per capita in 2022 were once again Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), with 29,258 euros; Matadepera (Barcelona), with 24,814 euros, and Boadilla del Monte (Madrid), with 24,748 euros. On the other end, the localities with the lowest average income were Huesa (Jaén), with 7,603 euros per inhabitant, Iznalloz (Granada), with 7,777 euros, and El Palmar de Troya (Sevilla), with 7,779 euros.
Another piece of data provided by the INE is that the autonomous communities where the municipalities with the highest income are located are in the Basque Country, where 88% of its localities are in the segment of the population in the top 25% of income (over 15,073 euros). In the Community of Navarre, this figure is 75%. On the opposite side, in the Region of Murcia, 84% of its municipalities are among the 25% of the population with the lowest income (11,537 euros). In Extremadura, this percentage is 82%.