Madrid cities pull ahead of Catalan cities in income inequality rankings

Madrid and several large municipalities in its metropolitan area lead Spain’s income inequality rankings, while a number of cities around Barcelona appear among those with the most equal income distributions, according to a Fedea study based on 2023 data.

The report covers income and inequality in about 1,200 municipalities with more than 5,000 residents, including 145 with more than 50,000 residents. It also examines Spain’s 10 largest cities. Madrid recorded the highest Gini index in that group, at 0.543, followed by Las Palmas de Gran Canaria at 0.54, Murcia at 0.538 and Málaga at 0.538. Barcelona ranked seventh, ahead of Seville, Palma de Mallorca and Zaragoza, whose index stood at 0.4696.

The Gini index ranges from zero, representing an equal distribution of income, to one, representing maximum inequality. Fedea said a change of two hundredths corresponds to a shift of 7% of income from the poorest part of the population to the richest.

Among municipalities with more than 50,000 residents, Madrid’s Pozuelo de Alarcón and Alcobendas topped the inequality ranking. The municipalities with the lowest inequality included Sant Boi de Llobregat, Cornellà de Llobregat, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Aranjuez and Granollers.

Sant Cugat del Vallès and Vilanova i la Geltrú recorded income increases of 6.2% and 5.8%, respectively, while San Bartolomé de Tirajana in the Canary Islands led with an 8% rise. The sharpest increases in the Gini index occurred in Tres Cantos and Colmenar Viejo, followed by Vilanova i la Geltrú and Rincón de la Victoria. The study’s authors, Miriam Hortas-Rico and Jorge Onrubia, said average income in large municipalities rose less than in previous years and inequality increased for the first time since the pandemic.

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The statistics show very intense movements in opposite directions in many municipalities.