City · Cataluña · All places
A practical Barcelona suburb on the Llobregat with a famous psychiatric hospital, farmland on its doorstep and the airport next door.
Sant Boi de Llobregat lies on the left bank of the Llobregat river, south-west of Barcelona, between the delta farmland and the hills of the Collserola and Garraf ranges. It is a mid-sized town of apartment blocks and quiet streets, with a long-standing medical institution at its centre and some of the last market gardens of the delta at its edge. The town has 85,610 residents (2025).
It is a base rather than a destination. The airport is a few minutes away, Barcelona is a half-hour train ride, and daily life is easy and local. It suits people who work in the Barcelona region and want a calm, well-connected home, and it suits them better than people who want a historic centre or a lively street life.
Data as of · the latest figures cover Jun 2026
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What the data says
Sant Boi de Llobregat stands out for connectivity, digital and housing; it is weaker on healthcare. A typical 70 m² rental costs about €761 a month (2024).
Who it suits, 0 to 100
Practical conclusions we draw from Sant Boi de Llobregat’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 or Catalan.
Catalan is an official language alongside Spanish. Expect it on signs, at the town hall and in state schools.
Summer nights stay warm, so sleep depends on a cooled bedroom. Check for air-conditioning before you sign.
People born abroad are in work less often than people born in Spain across Cataluña. Remote income or a job offer makes the move far easier.
Almost every home can get gigabit fibre, so working from home is not a gamble on the flat you pick.
Non-urgent surgery takes longer than in most of Spain (Cataluña-wide figure). Many residents add private health insurance.
Local artichokes in season, vegetables from the delta and the Catalan bar menu, with Andalusian and Latin American places alongside.
Orderly and residential, with commuters leaving early and the market and the parks busy by day.
The old centre by the church and the market, post-war blocks, the Molí Nou cooperative estate and the farmland at the edge.
Catalan and Spanish are both used, and Spanish is common on the street.
The Festa Major for the patron saint Sant Baldiri, Carnival and the traditional Catalan fire-running and neighbourhood fiestas.
The Parc de Marianao, riverside paths, the delta fields and the nearby beaches and Garraf hills.
The old centre is modest and practical, with a church, shops and a market, and the residential districts around it were built in the second half of the twentieth century. The Parc de Marianao, a large park with a palace and tall trees, is the green lung of the town, and the riverside paths and agricultural park give walkers and cyclists a flat, rural edge within minutes of home.
The delta fields grow artichokes, tomatoes, lettuce and other vegetables for Barcelona's markets, and the sight of tractors on the edge of a city is a reminder of what the area was. The surrounding agricultural park is protected and one of the more unusual landscapes in the Barcelona region.
Life is calm. Bars and terraces fill on Friday evenings and Sunday mornings, there are a few venues, and the sports clubs and neighbourhood associations are strong. For bigger nights, people take the train or the bus to Barcelona. The town has a mix of long-time Catalan and Spanish families and newer residents from Latin America, Morocco and elsewhere.
Sant Boi was a farming town in the delta, and its old centre still has a church and a few streets that date back centuries. In the nineteenth century a religious order founded a hospital for people with mental illness here, and it grew into one of the best-known psychiatric institutions in Spain, which is why the Catalan expression for going mad refers to Sant Boi. The institution still shapes the town, and the figures show a hospital bed count that is far out of scale with the population. Mostly the beds are for mental health and long-term care, not for the general ill.
In the sixties and seventies, the town took in workers from other parts of Spain, with new blocks, a cooperative housing development at Molí Nou and the industrial areas of the lower Llobregat. Today the factories have shrunk, and logistics, services, commuting and the hospital provide work. Unemployment is 8.2% (2025), and jobs come out above average. Household income is €16,098 a year (2024), and prosperity comes out average.
Connections are the main asset. The airport is only 5 km away (2026), and the town comes out strong on connectivity. The regional rail line and buses link the town to Barcelona, and 25% of commuters of commuters use public transport (2021). The average one-way commute takes 46 min (2021). Digital coverage is good, with fibre reaching 99% of homes (2025).
Housing is not cheap, because the town is part of Barcelona's market. A typical 70 m² flat rents for about €761 a month (2024), and buying costs €2,801 per square metre (Q2 2026). Housing comes out above average.
Safety is middling and the crime is mostly petty. Recorded crime is 50.7 per 1,000 people (2024), above the middle for Spanish cities, and robbery is 135 per 100k people (2025). Vehicle theft is 152 per 100k people (2025). Safety comes out average. Healthcare comes out below average for general services, despite the large hospital, and life expectancy is 83.0 years (2023).
Figures for Sant Boi de Llobregat itself, not its region. Each shows the period it covers.
Each card uses Sant Boi de Llobregat data only and compares it with similar cities. Open “Why this score?” to see the measures behind it.
Connectivity is strong: in the top 10% of major European cities.
Distance to the main airport: 5.20 km — better than 92% of major European cities
Strong: 92 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 airportSant Boi de Llobregat · 2026-10-21 | 5.20 km | better than 92% of major European cities |
Digital is above average: better than most Spanish cities above 50,000.
Homes that can get gigabit internet: 99.5% — better than 81% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Above average: 70 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 internetSant Boi de Llobregat · 2025 | 99.5% | better than 81% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Homes with fibre to the doorSant Boi de Llobregat · 2025 | 99.5% | better than 77% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| 5G coverageSant Boi de Llobregat · 2025 | 100.0% | better than 46% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Housing is above average: in the top quarter of Spanish cities above 50,000.
Rents, change in a year: 2.50% — better than 95% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Above average: 62 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| Rent per m²Sant Boi de Llobregat · 2024 | 10.9 €/m² a month | better than 13% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Rents, change in a yearSant Boi de Llobregat · 2024 | 2.50% | better than 95% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Buying price per m²Sant Boi de Llobregat · 2026-Q2 | 2,801 €/m² | better than 34% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Rent growth a year, over 3 yearsSant Boi de Llobregat · 2024 | 3.40% | better than 94% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| House prices, change in a yearSant Boi de Llobregat · 2026-Q2 | 9.66% | better than 81% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Jobs is above average: better than most Spanish cities above 50,000.
Unemployment: 8.18% — better than 80% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Above average: 61 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| UnemploymentSant Boi de Llobregat · 2025 | 8.18% | better than 80% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Unemployment, change in a yearSant Boi de Llobregat · 2025 | -0.66 points | better than 33% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Prosperity is around the middle: around the middle of Spanish cities above 50,000.
Household income per person: 16,098 € a year per person — better than 59% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Average: 59 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 personSant Boi de Llobregat · 2024 | 16,098 € a year per person | better than 59% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Climate is around the middle: in the top quarter of major European cities.
Pleasant days (18–28 °C, dry): 111 days a year — better than 88% of major European cities
Average: 57 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)Sant Boi de Llobregat · 2015-01-01..2024-12-31 | 111 days a year | better than 88% of major European cities |
| Days above 35 °CSant Boi de Llobregat · 2015-01-01..2024-12-31 | 3.20 days a year | better than 39% of major European cities |
| Nights above 20 °CSant Boi de Llobregat · 2015-01-01..2024-12-31 | 53.3 nights a year | better than 12% of major European cities |
Transport is around the middle: better than most Spanish cities above 50,000.
Commute by public transport: 25.2% — better than 90% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Average commute (one way)Sant Boi de Llobregat · 2021 | 45.5 minutes | better than 16% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Commute by carSant Boi de Llobregat · 2021 | 55.4% | better than 72% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Commute by public transportSant Boi de Llobregat · 2021 | 25.2% | better than 90% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Safety is around the middle: behind most Spanish cities above 50,000.
Homicides: 0.00 per 100k people — better than 78% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Average: 46 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| HomicidesSant Boi de Llobregat · 2025 | 0.00 per 100k people | better than 78% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Recorded crimeSant Boi de Llobregat · 2024 | 50.7 per 1,000 people | better than 39% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| RobberiesSant Boi de Llobregat · 2025 | 135 per 100k people | better than 27% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| BurglariesSant Boi de Llobregat · 2025 | 117 per 100k people | better than 49% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Sexual offencesSant Boi de Llobregat · 2024 | 0.45 per 1,000 people | better than 41% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| TheftsSant Boi de Llobregat · 2025 | 1,355 per 100k people | better than 35% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
| Vehicle theftsSant Boi de Llobregat · 2025 | 152 per 100k people | better than 11% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
Healthcare is below average: behind most Spanish cities above 50,000.
Life expectancy: 83.0 years — worse than 65% of Spanish cities above 50,000
Below average: 35 out of 100, where 50 is typical for the comparison group. These are the measures behind it.
| Measure | Value | Compared with peers |
|---|---|---|
| Life expectancySant Boi de Llobregat · 2023 | 83.0 years | better than 35% of Spanish cities above 50,000 |
What we cannot score for Sant Boi de Llobregat yet
Highs around 31° in July, lows around 4° in January. 111 pleasant days a year (dry, 18–28 °C). 53 warm nights above 20 °C: check for air-conditioning.
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13.1°C | 4.1°C | 37 mm |
| February | 14.8°C | 5.3°C | 28 mm |
| March | 16.8°C | 6.8°C | 49 mm |
| April | 19.2°C | 9.1°C | 59 mm |
| May | 23.3°C | 12.8°C | 44 mm |
| June | 27.5°C | 17.6°C | 40 mm |
| July | 31.1°C | 20.8°C | 28 mm |
| August | 30.8°C | 21.0°C | 40 mm |
| September | 26.5°C | 17.6°C | 63 mm |
| October | 22.4°C | 13.9°C | 77 mm |
| November | 17.3°C | 8.7°C | 68 mm |
| December | 14.5°C | 6.0°C | 32 mm |
The climate is Mediterranean and mild. Summers are warm and humid, with very hot days numbering 3 a year (2015–2024) and tropical nights numbering 53 a year (2015–2024). Without air conditioning, sleep can be hard in July and August. The sea breeze reaches the delta on most afternoons, which takes some of the edge off the heat, but the humidity stays.
Winters are mild, with frost days numbering 4 a year (2015–2024). Rainfall is 566 mm a year (2015–2024), falling in short heavy bursts, mostly in autumn. Pleasant days number 111 a year (2015–2024), and spring and autumn are the best seasons. The beaches of Viladecans, Gavà and Castelldefels are close for summer weekends.
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49/100 · average · 71st of 106 Spanish cities above 50,000
8.2% in 2025
9.7% in Q2 2026
€10.9 per m² a month in 2024
€2,801 per m² in Q2 2026
83.0 years in 2023
Facts about the people who live in Sant Boi de Llobregat. 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.
A strong practical base, with near-universal fibre, the airport next door and Barcelona's coworking spaces a train ride away.
Not measured yet: Cost of Living, Fixed broadband penetration, Lifestyle.
A base next to the airport, the port and the motorways, with a mix of small industrial and service businesses and a skilled workforce.
Not measured yet: Jobs in high-tech sectors, Regulatory quality.
A cheaper way to live near Barcelona, with a train to the city and a local job market with several employers.
Not measured yet: Jobs in high-tech sectors, Lifestyle, Median gross salary, Youth unemployment (15–24).
A practical rather than prestigious address, since the wealthy settle in Sarrià or Sant Cugat, though the airport helps frequent travellers.
Not measured yet: Average dwelling size, Education, Environment, Income tax and social security, average earner, Total tax on labour, average earner.
The local culture is modest, with a Festa Major and a strong association scene, while Barcelona is close.
Better nearby for culture, food and nightlife: Barcelona (83), Sant Cugat del Vallès (72), Girona (71)
Not measured yet: Lifestyle, Walk most.
Convenient transport and calm streets, with mild winters, though rents are high and general healthcare is only average.
Better nearby for retirees: Granollers (67), Sant Cugat del Vallès (63), Santa Coloma de Gramenet (61)
Not measured yet: Cost of Living, Doctors, Environment, Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂).
Not a student town, though universities in Barcelona and the Baix Llobregat campus are within reach by rail.
Better nearby for students: Tarragona (61), Barcelona (60), Girona (56)
Not measured yet: Cost of Living, Cycle most, Education, Lifestyle, Price level vs EU average, Walk most, Youth unemployment (15–24).
Cheaper than Barcelona but not cheap, with rents sitting among the higher ones in Spain for a town of this size.
Better nearby for budget-conscious movers: Lleida (72), Reus (58), Manresa (57)
Not measured yet: Cost of Living, Households spending >40% of income on housing, Price level vs EU average.
Flat farmland, the river path and the park give easy walking and cycling, with the Garraf hills and the beaches a short ride away.
Nothing stands out.
Better nearby for beach, mountains and the outdoors: Vilanova i la Geltrú (70), Mollet del Vallès (64), Granollers (63)
Not measured yet: Environment, Fine-particle pollution (PM2.5), Lifestyle, Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), Strong-wind days.
A decent family suburb with parks and schools, where the cost of a larger flat and the commute are the pressure points.
Better nearby for families with children: Sant Cugat del Vallès (58), Viladecans (56), Cerdanyola del Vallès (54)
Not measured yet: 15-year-olds' maths (PISA), Average dwelling size, Childcare availability, Education, Environment, Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), Pre-primary participation.
Taxes, residency and the wider economy are set nationally, so they are the same in Sant Boi de Llobregat as anywhere in Spain.
Compared with Sant Boi de Llobregat; each card says where it is better or worse for someone living there.
70 m²: €766 a month
Compare with Sant Boi de Llobregat70 m²: €794 a month
Compare with Sant Boi de Llobregat70 m²: €958 a month
Compare with Sant Boi de Llobregat70 m²: €703 a month
Compare with Sant Boi de Llobregat70 m²: €896 a month
Compare with Sant Boi de Llobregat70 m²: €712 a month
Compare with Sant Boi de LlobregatGuide 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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