Barcelona in 2026: The City Itself Is the Reward

Barcelona in 2026 shows a mixed picture: sun, leisure & happy expats on one side — weak careers and scarce housing on the other.

➡️You’re welcome to use these 2026 Expat Insider results. Please remember to credit InterNations as the source, and where possible, include a link to www.internations.org.

In this article:

In Brief
Mediterranean Life at Full Volume
A Labor Market That Underdelivers
Housing Crunch & Paper Trails
Finding a Place among Catalans
Who Moves to Barcelona?

In Brief

Barcelona places 17th out of 33 cities in the Expat City Ranking 2026, based on the annual Expat Insider survey by InterNations. In 2024 — the last time a city ranking was published — it ranked 21st out of 53. The Catalan capital shows Spain’s familiar split: strong Ease of Settling In (11th) and Quality of Life (12th) against a weak Working Abroad Index (27th) and Expat Essentials (24th), with Personal Finance (19th) in between. As in Madrid, Málaga, and Valencia, the lifestyle wins the argument — 75% of expats are happy with their life in Barcelona (vs. 70% globally), the 7th-best result, and a third (33%) plan to stay forever (vs. 27%).

Mediterranean Life at Full Volume

The Quality of Life Index (12th) reflects expats living the good life in Barcelona. The climate & weather delights 91% of expats (vs. 58% globally), and the Leisure Options Subcategory (6th) offers a further highlight: 90% praise the opportunities for recreational sports (vs. 76% globally), 86% the culinary variety & dining options (vs. 75%), and 84% the culture & nightlife (vs. 67%). Healthcare (10th) performs well, too — 84% rate its availability positively (vs. 71% globally) and 73% its affordability (vs. 61%) — while public transport is both easily available (83% positive vs. 72%) and affordable (83% vs. 70%).

Opinion

I like the amount of sunny days, the pedestrian environment, and the public transport in Barcelona (Russian expat)

Opinion

The caveats are urban classics: only 64% of expats rate their personal safety positively (vs. 81% globally), placing Barcelona 24th in the Safety & Security Subcategory. And the air quality convinces just 48% (vs. 65% globally).

A Labor Market That Underdelivers

The Working Abroad Index (27th) repeats the pattern of Spain’s other cities. In the Career Prospects Subcategory (30th), just 38% of working expats feel that moving to Barcelona has improved their career prospects (vs. 55% globally), while 31% disagree (vs. 22%). Only 41% are satisfied with their personal career opportunities (vs. 52% globally) or their job security (vs. 54%), and the availability of suitable jobs was one of the top pre-move concerns that expats voiced (30% vs. 18% globally).

Pay and culture disappoint as well: not even half agree they’re paid fairly for their work (48% vs. 58% globally) and find that the local business culture supports flexibility (45% vs. 56%). Many expats simply route around the problem — 24% are self-employed or freelancers (vs. 12% globally), 14% run their own business (vs. 8%), and 27% work fully remotely (vs. 20%), with IT (24%) the dominant field.

Housing Crunch & Paper Trails

The Expat Essentials Index (24th) carries Barcelona’s heaviest everyday burdens. Housing (27th) is the worst of it: 73% rate the affordability of housing negatively (vs. 49% globally), and 59% say it’s hard for expats to find a place at all (vs. 35%). In fact, the housing market had already worried 30% before their move (vs. 17% globally).

Bureaucracy adds its usual Spanish toll: 22% had named it a pre-move concern (vs. 14% globally), and more than half (52%) indeed find it difficult to deal with the local authorities (vs. 39%). Language cuts both ways — 60% find Spanish easy to learn (vs. 39% globally for local languages), but only 40% say it’s easy to live in Barcelona without it (vs. 48%).

Opinion

It’s a real struggle getting legal or government papers done. They make it so difficult. You have to go from one place to another ... (Canadian expat)

Opinion

Finding a Place among Catalans

Settling in works well by big-city standards, with Barcelona ranking 11th in the Ease of Settling In Index. Two-thirds (67%) rate the general friendliness of the local residents positively (vs. 63% globally), 66% find it easy to get used to the local culture (vs. 60%), and 65% feel at home in Barcelona (vs. 61%). And 59% are happy with their social life (vs. 54% globally).

The finances stay tight regardless (Personal Finance 19th): only 43% are satisfied with their financial situation (vs. 55% globally), and over a third (34%) feel their disposable household income isn’t enough for a comfortable life (vs. 29%).

Who Moves to Barcelona?

Strikingly, Barcelona itself is the draw: 12% of expats moved primarily to live in this particular city or country — over ten times the global average of 1% — while another 12% came for a better quality of life (vs. 9% globally), and only 21% for job-related reasons (vs. 33%). US Americans (15%), Russians, and Italians (10% each) lead among respondents. Women make up a slight majority of the community (54%), and the average age is 48.8, one year younger than the global average of 49.9. Close to three in five (58%) hold a postgraduate degree (vs. 50% globally).

The commitment is emphatic: a third (33%) plan to stay forever, not one respondent wants to leave as soon as possible, and only 4% plan to go within a year (vs. 6% globally). The careers may stall and the rents may climb, but Barcelona’s expats have evidently decided it’s worth it.