City · Andalucía · All places
A greenhouse boom town on the Almería coast, with very low rents, a warm dry winter and a reputation it is still working off.
El Ejido is the largest town of the Poniente area of Almería, on the flat coastal strip of the Campo de Dalías, between the Sierra de Gádor and the Mediterranean. It is a farming town of a very particular kind: its surroundings are covered in plastic greenhouses, thousands of hectares of them, and almost everything about the place depends on the vegetables grown under them. The town has 91,440 residents (2025).
It is not a pretty town, and it does not try to charm visitors. It is a working place with cheap housing, mild winters, long beaches nearby and a population that has come from all over the world to pick, pack and sell tomatoes. It suits people who value cost, sun and space over culture, and who are comfortable in an unpolished place where almost no one is a tourist.
Data as of · the latest figures cover Jun 2026
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What the data says
El Ejido stands out for climate; it is weaker on connectivity and prosperity. A typical 70 m² rental costs about €368 a month (2024).
Who it suits, 0 to 100
Practical conclusions we draw from El Ejido’s figures. They are inferences, not official statistics: each says what it rests on.
Few residents come from English-speaking or northern European countries, so daily life runs in Spanish. Contracts, the town hall and most doctors work in Spanish.
Summer nights stay warm, so sleep depends on a cooled bedroom. Check for air-conditioning before you sign.
Non-urgent surgery takes longer than in most of Spain (Andalucía-wide figure). Many residents add private health insurance.
Tomatoes and peppers at their best, fried fish and a free tapa with every drink, in the Almería tradition.
Early and working, with the trucks and packing sheds setting the rhythm of the day.
The grid of the town centre, the marina at Almerimar, and scattered hamlets between the greenhouses.
Spanish, with Arabic, Romanian, English and several African languages spoken among the workforce.
A late-summer fair and Easter processions, plus the patron-saint celebrations of each hamlet.
Farmers and greenhouse owners, packing-house workers from Morocco, Romania and sub-Saharan Africa, and a small group of northern European residents at the marina.
Long beaches, the dunes of Punta Entinas-Sabinar and the Sierra de Gádor behind.
The town is a grid of wide streets and apartment blocks laid out quickly, with a main square, a market and a lot of commerce serving the greenhouse trade: seed merchants, plastic suppliers, packing houses and machinery dealers. It has few historic buildings, and the pleasure is the daily routine. Bars open early for workers, the fish at the harbour of Almerimar is fresh and the tomatoes taste as they should. In keeping with the province, bars bring a free tapa with every drink.
Almerimar, on the coast, is the leisure side: a marina, a golf course, apartments and restaurants on the harbour, where northern Europeans spend the winter. The beaches at Guardias Viejas and Balerma are long, plain and often empty, and the dunes and wetlands of Punta Entinas-Sabinar nearby are a protected reserve with flamingos and sand.
Between the town and the sea are the greenhouses themselves, which are the landscape. Many hamlets, such as Las Norias, Santa María del Águila and Pampanico, are essentially villages for farm workers. The population is a mixture of Spanish farming families and migrants from Morocco, Romania, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arabic-speaking and Romanian communities have their own shops. Evenings are quiet outside the weekend, and big nights out mean driving to Almería or Roquetas.
Until the middle of the twentieth century this was a dry, nearly empty plain. In the sixties and seventies, farmers discovered that plastic sheeting over a simple frame, combined with sandy soil and underground water, could produce vegetables through the winter when northern Europe had none. El Ejido separated from its parent town of Dalías in the eighties and grew into a municipality of the greenhouse economy. The result is the largest concentration of protected agriculture in Europe, visible from space, and a town that grew in a few decades from a village to a regional centre.
The climate is what makes it work. Winters are mild and sunny and summers are hot, but the sea tempers them, and rainfall is tiny. The climate comes out above average. Rainfall is 291 mm a year (2015–2024). Frost days number 0 a year (2015–2024).
The economy explains the rest. Greenhouse work is hard and seasonal, wages are modest and the people who do it are mostly newcomers. The result is one of the lowest household incomes among Spain's larger cities, at €10,994 a year (2024). Prosperity comes out weak. It also explains the cheap housing: a typical 70 m² flat rents for about €368 a month (2024), and buying costs €1,372 per square metre (Q2 2026). On housing the town comes out average, though prices have been rising quickly as buyers discover the coast.
The social history is the part that is rarely said kindly. In February 2000, after a killing blamed on a Moroccan man, several days of attacks on Moroccan workers and their property shook the town and made national news. It led to more investment in integration, and the town today has a settled multicultural population, but that episode remains the reason the name is known across Spain. Homicide figures are high for a town of this size, at 4.37 per 100k people (2025), which reflects a small number of cases in a modest population, while burglary and vehicle theft are lower than average, and the town comes out below average on safety.
Connections are the weak spot. The town comes out weak on connectivity: there is no rail line, buses are the public transport, and Almería airport is the nearest, roughly forty minutes by road.
Figures for El Ejido itself, not its region. Each shows the period it covers.
Each card uses El Ejido data only and compares it with similar cities. Open “Why this score?” to see the measures behind it.
Climate is above average: in the top quarter of major European cities.
Pleasant days (18–28 °C, dry): 188 days a year — better than 97% of major European cities
Above average: 71 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| Pleasant days (18–28 °C, dry)El Ejido · 2015-01-01..2024-12-31 | 188 days a year | better than 97% of major European cities |
| Days above 35 °CEl Ejido · 2015-01-01..2024-12-31 | 0.00 days a year | better than 88% of major European cities |
| Nights above 20 °CEl Ejido · 2015-01-01..2024-12-31 | 132 nights a year | better than 0% of major European cities |
Housing is around the middle: better than most Spanish cities above 50,000.
Buying price per m²: 1,372 €/m² — better than 92% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Average: 56 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| Rent per m²El Ejido · 2024 | 5.26 €/m² a month | better than 91% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Rents, change in a yearEl Ejido · 2024 | 3.50% | better than 39% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Buying price per m²El Ejido · 2026-Q2 | 1,372 €/m² | better than 92% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Rent growth a year, over 3 yearsEl Ejido · 2024 | 5.19% | better than 38% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| House prices, change in a yearEl Ejido · 2026-Q2 | 21.4% | better than 4% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Safety is below average compared with similar cities.
Not ranked: too little comparable evidence yet.
Homicides: 4.37 per 100k people — worse than 98% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Below average: 32 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| HomicidesEl Ejido · 2025 | 4.37 per 100k people | better than 2% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| RobberiesEl Ejido · 2025 | 74.4 per 100k people | better than 55% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| BurglariesEl Ejido · 2025 | 70.0 per 100k people | better than 86% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| TheftsEl Ejido · 2025 | 957 per 100k people | better than 65% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Vehicle theftsEl Ejido · 2025 | 32.8 per 100k people | better than 76% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Digital is below average: in the bottom quarter of Spanish cities above 50,000.
Homes with fibre to the door: 96.0% — worse than 89% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Below average: 27 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| Homes that can get gigabit internetEl Ejido · 2025 | 96.0% | better than 18% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Homes with fibre to the doorEl Ejido · 2025 | 96.0% | better than 11% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| 5G coverageEl Ejido · 2025 | 100.0% | better than 57% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Prosperity is weak: in the bottom 10% of Spanish cities above 50,000.
Household income per person: 10,994 € a year per person — worse than 98% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Weak: 2 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| Household income per personEl Ejido · 2024 | 10,994 € a year per person | better than 2% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Connectivity is weak: in the bottom 10% of major European cities.
Distance to the main airport: 153 km — worse than 100% of major European cities
Weak: 0 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| Distance to the main airportEl Ejido · 2026-10-21 | 153 km | better than 0% of major European cities |
What we cannot score for El Ejido yet
Highs around 27° in August, lows around 13° in January. 188 pleasant days a year (dry, 18–28 °C). 132 warm nights above 20 °C: check for air-conditioning.
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15.3°C | 13.1°C | 35 mm |
| February | 15.5°C | 13.1°C | 22 mm |
| March | 16.4°C | 13.9°C | 47 mm |
| April | 17.7°C | 15.3°C | 33 mm |
| May | 20.5°C | 17.9°C | 21 mm |
| June | 23.5°C | 21.0°C | 7 mm |
| July | 26.6°C | 24.0°C | 4 mm |
| August | 27.4°C | 25.0°C | 7 mm |
| September | 25.0°C | 22.9°C | 23 mm |
| October | 22.1°C | 19.9°C | 36 mm |
| November | 18.7°C | 16.4°C | 27 mm |
| December | 16.7°C | 14.5°C | 28 mm |
This is a winter place. The town sees no frost, the winter days are bright and mild, and the sea is the closest thing to a heater. Pleasant days number 188 a year (2015–2024), a high count for Spain, and it is easy to spend January outdoors in a light jacket.
Summers are warm and humid, tempered by the sea breeze but sticky inside the greenhouse belt, and a flat without air conditioning can be uncomfortable from July to September. Autumn can bring sudden storms, though rainfall overall is among the lowest in Spain. Many of the northern Europeans at the marina leave in the heat and return for the winter.
Lines start with Spain; switch the others on to compare.
21.4% in Q2 2026
€5.3 per m² a month in 2024
€1,372 per m² in Q2 2026
Facts about the people who live in El Ejido. Shown as context only: none of this changes a score.
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Fit from the data, 0 to 100, against other Spanish cities. Open a group to see the figures behind it.
The coast, the dunes and the sierra behind give plenty to do in a mild, dry climate.
Not measured yet: Environment, Fine-particle pollution (PM2.5), Lifestyle, Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), Strong-wind days.
This is one of the cheapest places in Spain to rent and buy, and the weather is kind to those who cannot afford heating.
Not measured yet: Cost of Living, Households spending >40% of income on housing, Jobs, Price level vs EU average, Unemployment.
A cheap, warm, flat place with a hospital in town, though the winter population is small and the town is plain.
Not measured yet: Cost of Living, Doctors, Environment, Healthcare, Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂).
Affordable homes and the beach, but low local incomes, few international schools and a plain town.
Better nearby for families with children: Linares (64), Jaén (60), Utrera (56)
Not measured yet: 15-year-olds' maths (PISA), Average commute (one way), Average dwelling size, Childcare availability, Education, Environment, Healthcare, Jobs, Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), Pre-primary participation, Recorded crime.
Cheap rent and sun, but the nearest major airport is far, the digital score is below average and there is no real community of remote workers.
Better nearby for remote workers: La Línea de la Concepción (72), Torremolinos (63), Fuengirola (60)
Not measured yet: Cost of Living, Fixed broadband penetration, Lifestyle, Residents born abroad.
Not a natural fit, since the wealthy stay in Marbella or Almería, though the marina offers a quiet winter base.
Better nearby for high earners and investors: Utrera (55), La Línea de la Concepción (54), Rincón de la Victoria (54)
Not measured yet: Average dwelling size, Education, Environment, Healthcare, Income tax and social security, average earner, Total tax on labour, average earner.
Opportunity exists in the greenhouse supply chain, logistics and agri-tech, but not in much else.
Nothing stands out.
Better nearby for founders and self-employed: Torremolinos (56), Granada (53), Sevilla (52)
Not measured yet: Adults with a university degree, Jobs, Jobs in high-tech sectors, Regulatory quality, Residents born abroad.
A hard place to build a career outside agriculture and its trades, and the social life is thin.
Not measured yet: Commute by public transport, Jobs, Jobs in high-tech sectors, Lifestyle, Median age, Median gross salary, Residents born abroad, Transport, Unemployment, Youth unemployment (15–24).
There is no university in town, and the nearest campus is in Almería city.
Not measured yet: Adults with a university degree, Commute by public transport, Cost of Living, Cycle most, Education, Lifestyle, Median age, Price level vs EU average, Transport, Walk most, Youth unemployment (15–24).
The culture is local and practical, with Easter processions and fairs, but few museums and no historic quarter.
Nothing stands out.
Not measured yet: Adults with a university degree, Commute by public transport, Lifestyle, Median age, Residents born abroad, Transport, Walk most.
Taxes, residency and the wider economy are set nationally, so they are the same in El Ejido as anywhere in Spain.
Compared with El Ejido; each card says where it is better or worse for someone living there.
70 m²: €635 a month
Compare with El Ejido70 m²: €705 a month
Compare with El Ejido70 m²: €474 a month
Compare with El Ejido70 m²: €474 a month
Compare with El Ejido70 m²: €470 a month
Compare with El Ejido70 m²: €440 a month
Compare with El EjidoGuide written 2026-10-22. Figures are refreshed as new official data is published; the period beside each number says what it covers. “Our read” cards are our inferences from those figures. How we score
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