City · Comunidad de Madrid · All places
A young, mixed dormitory city south of Madrid, built in a generation for people who work somewhere else.
Parla is a city in the south of the Madrid region, about twenty kilometres from the capital, on the plain between Getafe and the Toledo road. Until the 1960s it was a small farming village. It is now a large, flat, modern city of apartment blocks, with wide streets, a circular tram and a commuter railway that carries most of its working population to Madrid every morning.
It is not a place people choose for its looks. It is chosen for its price, its trains and its fibre, and it is one of the most mixed cities in Spain. The streets feel practical and a little worn, and the mix of origins is the most interesting thing about it.
The city has 137,471 residents (2025), and residents born abroad make up 32.0% (2025). It suits people who work in Madrid, young households and anyone who wants Madrid access at a lower rent, and it suits people who want a historic centre or sea air much less.
Data as of · the latest figures cover Jun 2026
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What the data says
Parla stands out for digital and jobs; it is weaker on connectivity and prosperity. A typical 70 m² rental costs about €575 a month (2024).
Who it suits, 0 to 100
Practical conclusions we draw from Parla’s figures. They are inferences, not official statistics: each says what it rests on.
A large international and graduate population means English is common at work, in cafés and among neighbours. 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.
Frosty nights are common. Many older Spanish flats are poorly insulated: ask about heating and the winter energy bill.
Most commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Owning a car is optional, and parking is the bigger cost.
Almost every home can get gigabit fibre, so working from home is not a gamble on the flat you pick.
Residents are younger than in most of Spain: more students, young families and evening life.
Spanish bars, Moroccan bakeries, Latin American restaurants and Romanian shops side by side.
Practical and commuter-driven, with early starts, packed trains and a quiet midday.
Neighbourhood bars and shopping-centre terraces, with most nights out taking place in Madrid.
A small old core, planned estates and apartment blocks laid out on a grid in the last few decades.
Spanish with many accents, and Arabic, Romanian, Chinese and Latin American Spanish all heard daily.
Local fiestas in the autumn and a community calendar built around the cultures that live here.
Young families, commuters and recent arrivals, with a lot of first-generation residents.
Parla lives by the clock of the train. At six the stations fill, by nine the streets are quiet, at three the schools let out and at seven the commuters come back. Weekends are for the big shopping centre, the park and family lunches. The Parque de la Laguna, with its lake, is the green heart of the city and where everyone walks.
The mix of origins gives it a strongly local character that tourists never see. A street can have a Moroccan bakery, a Peruvian restaurant, a Romanian grocery, a Chinese bazaar and a traditional Spanish bar within a few doors. Locals are friendly, direct and used to newcomers, since almost everybody here arrived in the last two generations.
Nightlife is local and low-key: terraces, neighbourhood bars and a few clubs, and for anything more people take the train to Madrid. The tram is a pleasant curiosity, a circular line that links the districts to the main station. Local fiestas in the autumn fill the central squares, and the community associations of the different nationalities add their own events through the year.
Parla grew because Madrid grew. From the 1960s, as industry and the capital's housing demand expanded, families from Extremadura, Andalucía and La Mancha settled in the village and its new estates. Later waves of immigrants from Latin America, Morocco, Romania and China followed for the same reasons: cheaper housing than Madrid, a train, and work somewhere in the region.
The result is a young, mixed city with a modest income base. Household income per person is €12,175 a year (2024), among the lowest of large Spanish cities, and the city comes out weak on prosperity. The median age is 42.9 years (2025), young for Spain, and adults with a university degree make up 27% (2024). Years of overspending in the boom left the municipality with heavy debts, which has limited what it could do with public space and culture.
Everything is organised around the commute. The average trip to work is 59 min (2021), the longest in the country for a city of this size, and public transport carries 34% of commuters of commuters (2021). Unemployment is 10.5% (2025), and the jobs score is above average because the Madrid labour market is so near.
Housing is cheaper than in the capital but not cheap. A typical 70 m² flat rents for about €575 a month (2024), and buying costs €2,410 per square metre (Q2 2026). Recorded crime is 56.4 per 1,000 people (2024), and safety comes out below average. Street robbery is the main complaint, concentrated in a few districts and around stations.
Figures for Parla itself, not its region. Each shows the period it covers.
Each card uses Parla data only and compares it with similar cities. Open “Why this score?” to see the measures behind it.
Digital is strong: in the top 10% of Spanish cities above 50,000.
Homes that can get gigabit internet: 99.9% — better than 99% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Strong: 85 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 internetParla · 2025 | 99.9% | better than 99% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Homes with fibre to the doorParla · 2025 | 99.9% | better than 98% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| 5G coverageParla · 2025 | 100.0% | better than 51% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Jobs is above average: in the top quarter of Spanish cities above 50,000.
Unemployment, change in a year: -1.83 points — better than 83% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Above average: 64 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| UnemploymentParla · 2025 | 10.5% | better than 51% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Unemployment, change in a yearParla · 2025 | -1.83 points | better than 83% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Housing is around the middle: around the middle of Spanish cities above 50,000.
Rents, change in a year: 2.90% — better than 77% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Average: 54 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| Rent per m²Parla · 2024 | 8.21 €/m² a month | better than 44% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Rents, change in a yearParla · 2024 | 2.90% | better than 77% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Buying price per m²Parla · 2026-Q2 | 2,410 €/m² | better than 45% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Rent growth a year, over 3 yearsParla · 2024 | 4.33% | better than 67% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| House prices, change in a yearParla · 2026-Q2 | 16.6% | better than 32% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Transport is around the middle: better than most Spanish cities above 50,000.
Commute by public transport: 34.3% — better than 97% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Average: 53 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| Average commute (one way)Parla · 2021 | 59.4 minutes | better than 1% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Commute by carParla · 2021 | 54.3% | better than 74% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Commute by public transportParla · 2021 | 34.3% | better than 97% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Healthcare is around the middle: around the middle of Spanish cities above 50,000.
Life expectancy: 83.4 years — better than 50% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Average: 50 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| Life expectancyParla · 2023 | 83.4 years | better than 50% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Climate is around the middle: behind most major European cities.
Pleasant days (18–28 °C, dry): 86.6 days a year — better than 70% of major European cities
Average: 42 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)Parla · 2015-01-01..2024-12-31 | 86.6 days a year | better than 70% of major European cities |
| Days above 35 °CParla · 2015-01-01..2024-12-31 | 45.0 days a year | better than 3% of major European cities |
| Nights above 20 °CParla · 2015-01-01..2024-12-31 | 26.0 nights a year | better than 24% of major European cities |
Safety is below average: behind most Spanish cities above 50,000.
Robberies: 269 per 100k people — worse than 92% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Below average: 34 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| HomicidesParla · 2025 | 1.45 per 100k people | better than 20% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Recorded crimeParla · 2024 | 56.4 per 1,000 people | better than 26% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| RobberiesParla · 2025 | 269 per 100k people | better than 8% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| BurglariesParla · 2025 | 55.3 per 100k people | better than 93% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Sexual offencesParla · 2024 | 0.47 per 1,000 people | better than 39% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| TheftsParla · 2025 | 1,261 per 100k people | better than 42% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Vehicle theftsParla · 2025 | 69.8 per 100k people | better than 45% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Prosperity is weak: in the bottom 10% of Spanish cities above 50,000.
Household income per person: 12,175 € a year per person — worse than 96% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Weak: 4 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 personParla · 2024 | 12,175 € a year per person | better than 4% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Connectivity is weak: in the bottom 10% of major European cities.
Distance to the main airport: 33.5 km — worse than 97% of major European cities
Weak: 3 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 airportParla · 2026-10-21 | 33.5 km | better than 3% of major European cities |
What we cannot score for Parla yet
Highs around 36° in July, lows around 1° in January. 87 pleasant days a year (dry, 18–28 °C).
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11.2°C | 0.5°C | 31 mm |
| February | 13.7°C | 1.8°C | 25 mm |
| March | 16.4°C | 3.7°C | 51 mm |
| April | 19.8°C | 6.3°C | 55 mm |
| May | 25.2°C | 10.4°C | 29 mm |
| June | 30.7°C | 15.3°C | 20 mm |
| July | 36.1°C | 19.2°C | 7 mm |
| August | 35.2°C | 19.1°C | 17 mm |
| September | 28.4°C | 14.4°C | 37 mm |
| October | 23.1°C | 10.4°C | 59 mm |
| November | 15.9°C | 5.1°C | 42 mm |
| December | 12.7°C | 2.6°C | 36 mm |
Parla shares the dry continental climate of the Madrid plain. Summers are hot, with 45 a year very hot days a year (2015–2024), but tropical nights are limited at 26 a year (2015–2024), so evenings cool off. Winters are cold and dry, with frost on 36 a year (2015–2024), and rain is light at 409 mm a year (2015–2024).
The pleasant days are the ones between the extremes: 87 a year a year (2015–2024), which is few. Spring and autumn are short. There is little shade in the newer districts, so July afternoons are hot, and flats without cooling are uncomfortable. August is quiet as many residents travel to their home regions or abroad.
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75/100 · strong · 19th of 106 Spanish cities above 50,000
10.5% in 2025
16.6% in Q2 2026
€8.2 per m² a month in 2024
€2,410 per m² in Q2 2026
83.4 years in 2023
Facts about the people who live in Parla. 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.
Culturally mixed in a way few Spanish cities are, with Madrid's theatres and museums a train ride away.
Not measured yet: Lifestyle, Walk most.
Young, mixed and cheap, with the Madrid universities reachable by train and the local campus at Getafe next door.
Not measured yet: Cost of Living, Cycle most, Education, Lifestyle, Price level vs EU average, Walk most, Youth unemployment (15–24).
A cheap launchpad for a Madrid career, though the commute is long and the evening life is elsewhere.
Not measured yet: Jobs in high-tech sectors, Lifestyle, Median gross salary, Youth unemployment (15–24).
Fast fibre, low rents and a train make it a workable base, but there is no remote-work scene.
Nothing stands out.
Better nearby for remote workers: Coslada (62)
Not measured yet: Cost of Living, Fixed broadband penetration, Lifestyle.
Cheaper than most of Madrid, though not cheap by national standards, and the commute costs time.
Not measured yet: Cost of Living, Households spending >40% of income on housing, Price level vs EU average.
Not a natural fit: the best addresses and schools are in northern and western Madrid.
Better nearby for high earners and investors: Coslada (70), Las Rozas de Madrid (69), Rivas-Vaciamadrid (69)
Not measured yet: Average dwelling size, Education, Environment, Income tax and social security, average earner, Total tax on labour, average earner.
Small businesses can start cheaply, especially in food, retail and services for the mixed population.
Better nearby for founders and self-employed: Alcobendas (69), Madrid (68), Coslada (64)
Not measured yet: Jobs in high-tech sectors, Regulatory quality.
A hard sell: summers are hot, winters cold, the city has little to offer in the way of scenery and recorded crime is above average.
Better nearby for retirees: Coslada (56), Fuenlabrada (56), Pinto (55)
Not measured yet: Cost of Living, Doctors, Environment, Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂).
Practical rather than attractive: schools and parks are plentiful, but incomes, commutes and safety worry many parents.
Better nearby for families with children: Fuenlabrada (62), Aranjuez (60), Coslada (60)
Not measured yet: 15-year-olds' maths (PISA), Average dwelling size, Childcare availability, Education, Environment, Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), Pre-primary participation.
Flat, dry and urban, with a lake park in the city and the Guadarrama mountains an hour away by car.
Better nearby for beach, mountains and the outdoors: Madrid (44)
Not measured yet: Environment, Fine-particle pollution (PM2.5), Lifestyle, Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), Strong-wind days.
Taxes, residency and the wider economy are set nationally, so they are the same in Parla as anywhere in Spain.
Compared with Parla; each card says where it is better or worse for someone living there.
70 m²: €829 a month
Compare with Parla70 m²: €713 a month
Compare with Parla70 m²: €659 a month
Compare with Parla70 m²: €553 a month
Compare with Parla70 m²: €569 a month
Compare with Parla70 m²: €885 a month
Compare with ParlaGuide 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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