Pensions return to the center of public debate, but this time with a very specific question: how much retirees earn in each municipality in Spain. The answer draws a very unequal map.
In some localities, the average retirement pension exceeds 2,500 euros per month; in others, it does not reach 800 euros. Between these two extremes lies an economic geography that speaks of the industrial past, of mining, of the countryside, of salaries contributed for decades, and of the social structure of each territory.
How much is the average retirement pension charged in Spain
The average retirement pension in Spain stands at 1,569.7 euros per month, according to April data. This figure is higher than the average total pension in the contributory system, which is 1,368.4 euros, because retirement benefits are the most numerous and also the highest.
In total, almost 10.5 million contributory pensions are paid in Spain, of which about 6.7 million correspond to retirement. The number of pensions exceeds the number of pensioners because the same person can receive more than one benefit, for example, retirement and widowhood.
The map allows us to understand something key: the pension does not depend only on where one lives now, but on where and how one worked for decades. Where there were high salaries and strong contributions, current pensions are higher. Where an agrarian, livestock, or low-remuneration economy predominated, the average is usually much lower.
More than three million retirees collect below the SMI
The national average hides a much harsher reality for millions of people. More than a third of retirees, slightly more than 2.4 million, earn less than 1,000 euros per month. In addition, about 3.1 million retirees, above 44%, receive a benefit lower than the interprofessional minimum wage, set in 2026 at 1,221 gross euros per month in 14 payments.
If we look at the set of all contributory pensions, not just retirement pensions, the percentage of recipients below the SMI rises to 54%, nearly six million people. That is to say: more than half of the contributory system operates below that salary reference.
On the opposite end, almost 800,000 retirees collect more than 3,000 euros per month, 11.3% of the total. This is not the usual situation: the most frequent pensions are concentrated in the low and medium ranges, with more than half of retirees between 500 and 1,500 euros per month.
Municipalities with the highest pensions
The highest average retirement pensions appear in municipalities with a strong mining or industrial tradition. Locations such as Degaña, in Asturias; Estercuel, in Teruel; or Villablino, in León, are among the places where the average retirement pension exceeds 2,500 euros.
The explanation is in the labor history of those territories. Mining generated higher wages for decades due to the harshness and danger of the work. Those wages implied higher contributions and, therefore, higher pensions upon retirement. Although many of those activities have lost weight or have disappeared, their mark remains alive in the monthly payroll of retirees.
That is why the pension map is also a map of Spain's economic past. There are municipalities that today have much lower average incomes than the pensions of their retirees, precisely because current benefits reflect industrial or mining jobs that no longer have the same weight in the local economy.
The municipalities where the pension does not reach 800 euros
On the other end appear municipalities where the average retirement pension does not reach 800 euros. Among the examples pointed out by DatosRTVE are Cosa, in Teruel; Olula de Castro, in Almería; and Eljas, in Cáceres.
The logic is inverse to that of mining areas. In many agricultural, livestock, or historically lower-paid job locations, contribution bases were lower. The result arrives decades later: lower average pensions and greater dependence on supplements, family savings, or support from other household members.
This contrast explains why two small municipalities can have radically different pensions. It is not just about the size of the population or the autonomous community. The productive structure, the dominant type of employment, and the salaries contributed during working life matter.
The Basque Country leads the highest pensions
By provinces, the highest average retirement pensions are concentrated in the Basque Country, where the three provinces are close to 2,000 euros. Below appear Asturias and Madrid, while Barcelona is around 1,660 euros.
In the lower part are provinces such as Lugo and Ourense, which do not reach 1,300 euros of average retirement pension. Also below 1,350 euros are provinces such as Jaén, Almería, Cáceres, and Córdoba.
The territorial photograph is very clear: the areas with greater historical weight of industrial, mining, qualified administrative employment or high incomes present higher pensions. The areas with more agrarian economies or lower historical wages drag lower pensions.
Cities with the highest pensions
In large cities, the effect is softened because very different labor profiles coexist. The population is larger, the economic structure is more diverse, and the averages tend to dilute the extremes. Even so, there are clear differences between cities.
Among the towns with more than 100,000 inhabitants, the highest average retirement pensions appear in Cádiz, Rivas-Vaciamadrid, and the three Basque capitals, where they exceed 1,900 euros.
The case of large cities allows for another layer of the map to be read: not only the current average salary matters, but also the historical labor composition. Municipalities with a strong weight of public employment, industry, large companies, or better-paid sectors tend to show higher pensions.
Pozuelo, Boadilla and the footprint of high incomes
The map also reflects high-income municipalities where pensions are high, although for a different reason than mining. Pozuelo de Alarcón, in Madrid, exceeds 2,000 euros in average retirement pension, well above the national average. In 2023, its average gross income per person was 3,144 euros, the highest in the country.
That pattern is also observed in municipalities such as Boadilla del Monte, in Madrid, or Matadepera and Sant Just Desvern, in Barcelona. They are towns with high current incomes and employment histories that also translate into better retirement benefits.
Here the reading is different: we are not talking about the memory of an extinct industry, but about environments where income levels, salaries, and contributions have been higher and continue to leave a higher average pension.