Costa Blanca vs Costa del Sol: the figures side by side
The Costa Blanca is the coast of the province of Alicante, in the Comunitat Valenciana; the Costa del Sol is the coast of the province of Málaga, in Andalucía. Both have an international airport, a large foreign community and a mild winter, which is why buyers so often weigh one against the other.
The differences start with the landscape. On the Costa del Sol the mountains come down close to the sea, so towns climb the hillside, and much of the coast forms one long built-up strip from Málaga to Estepona. The Costa Blanca is more varied: hilly and green in the north around Dénia, Xàbia and Altea, the high-rise city of Benidorm in the middle, and flat, drier land with large residential estates in the south around Torrevieja. The two regions also set their own transfer tax on resale homes.
The table below shows each coast as a whole: figures from its municipalities combined and weighted by population, with the number of municipalities that have data. Open a town's page to see its own figures.
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Costa Blanca · Costa del Sol
| Indicator | Costa Blanca | Costa del Sol | Source and period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average appraised value | €2,299.39/m² | €3,536.01/m² Combined figure for the zone · 9 of 14 municipalities with data · 94% of the population | Combined figure for the zone · 11 of 26 municipalities with data · 84% of the population · Fuente: Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible, Q2 2026. Updated 17/10/2026. |
| Median rent | €6.54/m² a month | €9.22/m² a month Combined figure for the zone · 14 of 14 municipalities with data · 100% of the population | Combined figure for the zone · 26 of 26 municipalities with data · 100% of the population · Origen de los datos: Ministerio de Vivienda y Agenda Urbana (SERPAVI), 2024. Updated 17/10/2026. |
| Gross rental yield | 3.4% | 3.1% Combined figure for the zone · 9 of 14 municipalities with data · 94% of the population | Combined figure for the zone · 11 of 26 municipalities with data · 84% of the population · Rent €6.61/m² a month — Origen de los datos: Ministerio de Vivienda y Agenda Urbana (SERPAVI), 2024. Updated 17/10/2026. · Price €2,299.39/m² — Fuente: Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible, Q2 2026. Updated 17/10/2026. · Rent €9.26/m² a month — Origen de los datos: Ministerio de Vivienda y Agenda Urbana (SERPAVI), 2024. Updated 17/10/2026. · Price €3,536.01/m² — Fuente: Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible, Q2 2026. Updated 17/10/2026. |
| Average income per person | €12,439.42 | €13,319.17 Combined figure for the zone · 14 of 14 municipalities with data · 100% of the population | Combined figure for the zone · 26 of 26 municipalities with data · 100% of the population · Elaboración propia con datos extraídos del sitio web del INE: www.ine.es, 2023. Updated 17/10/2026. |
| Registered population | 1,289,744 | 1,387,747 Combined figure for the zone · 14 of 14 municipalities with data | Combined figure for the zone · 26 of 26 municipalities with data · Elaboración propia con datos extraídos del sitio web del INE: www.ine.es, 2025. Updated 15/10/2026. |
| Foreign residents | 379,700 | 289,526 Combined figure for the zone · 14 of 14 municipalities with data | Combined figure for the zone · 26 of 26 municipalities with data · Elaboración propia con datos extraídos del sitio web del INE: www.ine.es, 2025. Updated 17/10/2026. |
| Share of foreign residents | 29.4% | 20.9% Combined figure for the zone · 14 of 14 municipalities with data | Combined figure for the zone · 26 of 26 municipalities with data · Foreign residents 379,700 — Elaboración propia con datos extraídos del sitio web del INE: www.ine.es, 2025. Updated 17/10/2026. · Population (annual census) 1,291,586 — Elaboración propia con datos extraídos del sitio web del INE: www.ine.es, 2025. Updated 17/10/2026. · Foreign residents 289,526 — Elaboración propia con datos extraídos del sitio web del INE: www.ine.es, 2025. Updated 17/10/2026. · Population (annual census) 1,387,281 — Elaboración propia con datos extraídos del sitio web del INE: www.ine.es, 2025. Updated 17/10/2026. |
| Aged 65 and over | 21.36% | 18.85% Combined figure for the zone · 14 of 14 municipalities with data · 100% of the population | Combined figure for the zone · 26 of 26 municipalities with data · 100% of the population · Elaboración propia con datos extraídos del sitio web del INE: www.ine.es, 2025. Updated 17/10/2026. |
| Aged 0 to 15 | 13.03% | 13.62% Combined figure for the zone · 14 of 14 municipalities with data · 100% of the population | Combined figure for the zone · 26 of 26 municipalities with data · 100% of the population · Elaboración propia con datos extraídos del sitio web del INE: www.ine.es, 2025. Updated 17/10/2026. |
| Registered tourist lets | 29,967 | 40,864 Combined figure for the zone · 14 of 14 municipalities with data | Combined figure for the zone · 26 of 26 municipalities with data · Elaboración propia con datos extraídos del sitio web del INE: www.ine.es, 05/2026. Updated 17/10/2026. |
| Tourist lets as a share of all homes | 2.74% | 4.95% Combined figure for the zone · 14 of 14 municipalities with data · 100% of the population | Combined figure for the zone · 26 of 26 municipalities with data · 100% of the population · Elaboración propia con datos extraídos del sitio web del INE: www.ine.es, 05/2026. Updated 17/10/2026. |
| Homes with fibre (FTTH) | 96.76% | 97.62% Combined figure for the zone · 14 of 14 municipalities with data · 100% of the population | Combined figure for the zone · 26 of 26 municipalities with data · 100% of the population · Origen de los datos: Ministerio para la Transformación Digital y de la Función Pública, 2025. Updated 17/10/2026. |
| Homes with 1 Gbit/s | 93.61% | 97.04% Combined figure for the zone · 14 of 14 municipalities with data · 100% of the population | Combined figure for the zone · 26 of 26 municipalities with data · 100% of the population · Origen de los datos: Ministerio para la Transformación Digital y de la Función Pública, 2025. Updated 17/10/2026. |
| IBI property tax rate | 0.71% | 0.54% Combined figure for the zone · 14 of 14 municipalities with data · 100% of the population | Combined figure for the zone · 26 of 26 municipalities with data · 100% of the population · Origen de los datos: Ministerio de Hacienda (Secretaría General de Financiación Autonómica y Local). Elaboración propia: flatin.es, 2025. Updated 15/10/2026. |
— No data: the source publishes no value for this municipality.
Who this place may suit
What our rules read from these figures. Costa Blanca: these rules apply to each town separately; see each town's page. Costa del Sol: these rules apply to each town separately; see each town's page. Each conclusion comes from a fixed threshold on a published figure for the zone as a whole; within each coast, towns differ, and their own pages show it.
These are fixed rules applied to the published figures on this page, not our opinion. A rule whose data is missing stays silent.