An adult, understood as a person aged between 18 and 24 who is working and a person aged 25 or over, needs €1,240 on average to live a decent life in Palma, according to a study presented by the Welfare Department of Palma City Council.

For the calculation of the local “reference wage”, which is above the minimum wage, the expenses that family units spend on those goods and services that are considered necessary have been taken into account: food and drink, cleaning and personal hygiene, housing, housing-related expenses, transport, personal and leisure expenses, clothing and accessories, education and extraordinary expenses.

Salario de referencia Palma

Almost 40% of income is spent on housing

The Councillor for Culture and Social Welfare, Toni Noguera, and the General Coordinator of Social Welfare, Catalina Trobat, have stressed that the citizens of Palma spend 39% of their income on housing (27% on mortgages or rents and 12% on running costs). This is almost 10 % more than what most experts believe should be spent on housing to ensure a balance between income and expenditure. The second largest item is food, which accounts for 25 % of the total reference salary budget.

Balearic Islands, the most expensive province for buying second-hand housing

The Balearic Islands is the most expensive region in which to buy second-hand housing, according to the real estate portal Hogaria, which sets the price per square metre at 3,553 euros. This province is followed by Barcelona (3,201 €), Guipúzcoa (3,154 €), Vizcaya (3,111 €) and Madrid (3,102 €). In contrast, Ciudad Real (€1,144), Palencia (€1,160), León (€1,173), Badajoz (€1,259) and Cáceres (€1,267) were the provinces with the lowest price per square metre.