Barcelona neighbourhoods: where to live, prices and safety in 2026

Barcelona is divided into 10 districts, and prices differ between them by more than two to one: a square metre in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi cost €7,167 in August 2026, in Nou Barris €3,270. Below are all the districts in figures from official data and Idealista reports, where to live with a family, as a student, by the sea or on a limited budget, what is known about safety and which rental restrictions apply. How to get a residence permit, open a bank account and set up everyday life is covered in the article how to move to Barcelona, and the city itself in the overview Barcelona.

Barcelona neighbourhoods: answers to the key questions

• The most expensive district? Sarrià-Sant Gervasi — €7,167 per square metre in August 2026, an all-time high. Next come Les Corts (€6,670) and Eixample (€6,648).
• The most affordable? Nou Barris — €3,270/m², but prices there rose 15.9% over the year, faster than anywhere else in the city. Next are Sant Andreu (€4,024) and Horta-Guinardó (€4,177).
• Where are there the most foreigners? In Ciutat Vella: more than half of residents, 55.4% by our calculation from city council data. Then Eixample (30.1%) and Sants-Montjuïc (28.6%). For the city as a whole — 26.6%.
• Where to live with children? International schools within Barcelona itself are concentrated in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and Les Corts; the German and American schools are in the suburb of Esplugues de Llobregat. In ordinary state schools the main language of instruction is Catalan.
• Where to live by the sea? In Sant Martí: it includes Diagonal Mar and the seafront part of Poblenou. In 2026 seven city beaches received the Blue Flag, and Barceloneta beach is not among them.
• The safest? There is no honest crime ranking by district. There is a city council survey: residents of Sant Andreu (25.3%) and Nou Barris (25.7%) were least often victims of an offence, and residents of Ciutat Vella (41.4%) most often.

All Barcelona districts in figures

Population and the share of foreigners are from the city council’s reading of the municipal register at 1 January 2026; we calculated the share of foreigners by district from the charts in the same report, while the city figure is official. The purchase price is from Idealista for August 2026 with the change over the year; in July 2026 Idealista changed its methodology, so these data are not directly comparable with figures from before July. Rent is from the deposit register of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan government) for Q1 2026: the average monthly payment and the price per square metre. The city population in the total row is the sum of the districts.

The deposit register (Registre de fiances, kept by INCASÒL) shows the prices of new contracts that have actually been signed and registered, not advertised prices, so it is noticeably lower than the figures in listings. Over the year the average payment across the city rose by 4.6%, fastest in Sant Martí (+7.5%) and Nou Barris (+6.1%). According to Idealista listings, rent in Barcelona in August 2026 was €20.2 per square metre a month; Idealista does not publish open rent figures by district.

Where it is more expensive and where it is cheaper

On average Barcelona is 86% more expensive than Spain: €5,440 against €2,924 per square metre, and the city passed its all-time high in July 2026 at €5,449. Prices are rising fastest in the most affordable districts in the north: Nou Barris (+15.9% over the year) and Sant Andreu (+12.2%). They are growing most slowly in Ciutat Vella (+1.9%) and Eixample (+4.2%), although in Eixample the price has still reached an all-time high. Incomes diverge just as prices do: according to the latest district data from the city council, for 2022, disposable income per person was €35,062 a year in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, €16,872 in Nou Barris and €16,838 in Ciutat Vella, against €22,994 for the city.

Which Barcelona neighbourhood to choose

For families with children

Sarrià-Sant Gervasi (152,943 residents) — the most expensive and the wealthiest district: €7,167/m², rent from the register €1,600 a month. This is where the British schools St George’s and Oak House are. Les Corts (83,773) — the smallest district and the only one with fewer than 100,000 residents: €6,670/m², metro line L3, and Kensington School in Pedralbes. The Deutsche Schule and the American School of Barcelona are in the suburb of Esplugues de Llobregat, and there are British schools in Castelldefels, Gavà and Sant Joan Despí as well. In state schools and state-funded private schools the main language of instruction is Catalan, and Spanish is taught according to each school’s language project.

For city life

Eixample (277,353, the most populous district) — the centre, with metro lines L1–L5, Hospital Clínic and the historic building of the University of Barcelona; €6,648/m², rent €1,250 a month. Gràcia (126,830) — lines L3 and L4, €5,670/m², rent €1,081. Ciutat Vella (115,829) — the old town with Ciutadella Park and lines L1–L4: €4,841/m², but the rent per square metre here is one of the highest (€18.41) with the smallest flats, more than half of residents are foreigners, and this is where residents most often report offences.

By the sea

Sant Martí (252,625) — the seaside district: Diagonal Mar, the Poblenou seafront and the 22@ business district on 200 hectares of former industrial land. Lines L1, L2 and L4, €5,352/m², rent €1,100 a month, and it is rising faster than in other districts (+7.5% over the year). In 2026 seven Barcelona beaches received the Blue Flag: Bogatell, Mar Bella, Nova Icària, Nova Mar Bella, Sant Sebastià, Somorrostro and the Fòrum bathing area. Barceloneta is not on the list.

On a limited budget

Nou Barris (183,280) — the most affordable district: €3,270/m², rent from the register €817 a month, lines L4, L5 and L11. Sant Andreu (158,284) — €4,024/m², rent €935, line L1. Horta-Guinardó (183,006) — €4,177/m², rent €930, lines L3, L4 and L5, Sant Pau and Vall d’Hebron hospitals. Nou Barris and Sant Andreu, together with Ciutat Vella, are the only districts where the population grew in 2025, and prices there are rising fastest.

For students

Eixample — the historic building of the University of Barcelona on Gran Via and all five main metro lines. Gràcia — close to the centre, lines L3 and L4. On a tight budget, renting is cheapest in Nou Barris (€13.67/m² a month) and Sant Andreu (€14.65/m²).

Safety in Barcelona neighbourhoods

The only official district-level indicator is the city council’s victimisation survey: 4,000 interviews, 400 in each district. The 2024 survey asked about events in 2023. The index shows the share of surveyed residents of a district who were victims of an offence at least once during the year, anywhere in the city and not only near home. It is not the crime rate on the district’s streets. The index is highest in Ciutat Vella at 41.4%, followed by Horta-Guinardó (32.1%) and Sants-Montjuïc (31.3%). It is lowest in Sant Andreu (25.3%), Nou Barris (25.7%) and Les Corts (26.6%). For the city it is 29.8%: higher than in 2022 (26.7%) but lower than in 2019 (30.9%). The difference between most districts is small, and for residents the specific street and building matter more than the name of the district.

Rentals and tourist flats: what is restricted

Since 16 March 2024 Barcelona has been a stressed residential market area (zona de mercat residencial tensionat): for new rental contracts the price is capped by the state rental reference price index, taking the previous contract into account, and large landlords must declare their status. On 28 July 2026 the Generalitat de Catalunya extended this declaration for another year for 118 municipalities.

Tourist flats in Barcelona are gradually disappearing. In June 2024 Barcelona City Council decided not to renew licences: around 10,000 tourist flats are to return to the residential housing stock by November 2028. The legal basis is Catalan decree-law 3/2023, under which existing licences expire after four years; in Constitutional Court ruling 64/2025 of 13 March 2025 the decree-law was found constitutional. Buying a flat in Barcelona to let to tourists makes no sense now.

Russian speakers in Barcelona

According to INE, at 1 January 2025 the city of Barcelona had 12,690 Russian citizens and 9,038 Ukrainian citizens, and the province as a whole 22,934 and 22,893. Over the year the number of Russians grew (there were 11,721 in the city) and the number of Ukrainians fell (there were 9,274). According to the city council’s report on the municipal register, Russians are concentrated in Diagonal Mar and on the Poblenou seafront in Sant Martí, while the French stand out in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi. Where else in the country Russian speakers live is covered in the article Russians in Spain.

Barcelona suburbs

Officially, the Barcelona metropolitan area consists of the 36 municipalities of the Área Metropolitana de Barcelona (article 2 of Catalan Law 31/2010). The large towns around the city, Terrassa, Sabadell, Mataró, Granollers and Sitges, are not part of it, although they are also linked to Barcelona by commuter trains. Population according to INE at 1 January 2025:

Transport depends on the line. For example, on weekdays the Rodalies R2 train from Castelldefels via Sants and Passeig de Gràcia to Granollers runs every 10 minutes at peak times and every 30 minutes at other times. Journey times to a specific station are in the Rodalies and FGC timetables.

The inner ring of suburbs: where Russians live

Russians live not only in Barcelona itself but also in the towns that have grown into one built-up area with it. According to the INE annual census at 1 January 2025, the largest numbers are in Badalona, Castelldefels, L’Hospitalet and Sant Cugat. Rent in the table is the average on new contracts from the Generalitat’s deposit register (Incasòl) for Q1 2026; the price is the average appraised value (valor tasado) from the Ministry of Housing for Q2 2026.

Badalona — 231,542 residents north-east of Barcelona, just beyond Sant Adrià de Besòs. It has more Russians than any other town in the province apart from Barcelona itself: 910, up from 743 in 2022. The town has its own seafront and beaches, and its historic centre, Dalt de la Vila, contains the remains of the Roman town of Baetulo. A flat here is appraised almost 40% lower than in Barcelona, and rent is 14% lower. Badalona is served by metro line L2 and the R1 commuter train, and it is home to one of the largest hospitals in Catalonia, Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital (Can Ruti). Badalona suits those who want the sea and Barcelona close by, without Barcelona prices.

L’Hospitalet de Llobregat — 289,510 residents, the second most populous town in Catalonia. It adjoins Barcelona to the south-west with no visible boundary. There are 719 Russians, 110 or 18% more than a year earlier: in percentage terms, the fastest growth among the towns in the table. Rent here is the most affordable in the inner ring — €824 a month on new contracts, 28% below Barcelona; the appraised value of a flat is €3,094/m². The town has metro lines L1, L5, L9 and L10, the Fira Gran Via exhibition centre and Bellvitge University Hospital, one of the main hospitals in Catalonia. It is dense and working-class, with little sea or parkland. L’Hospitalet suits those who work in Barcelona, travel by metro and count every hundred euros of rent.

Sant Cugat del Vallès — 97,983 residents beyond Tibidabo, a town of international schools and family houses, with 638 Russians. Rent here is the highest in the inner ring — €1,476 a month, 30% above Barcelona. Schools, prices and neighbourhoods are covered in a separate guide, Sant Cugat del Vallès.

Cornellà de Llobregat — 92,237 residents to the south-west, beyond L’Hospitalet. There are few Russians — 241, unchanged over the year. Rent is almost the same as in L’Hospitalet at €825 a month, and the appraised value of a flat is €3,142/m². The town has metro line L5, the Trambaix tram, FGC and Rodalies trains, the RCDE Stadium of Espanyol and the Splau shopping centre; Bellvitge hospital is in neighbouring L’Hospitalet. Cornellà suits those looking for a quiet town with a metro and prices below Barcelona’s, who do not need a Russian-speaking community nearby.

The seaside towns of Castelldefels, Gavà and Sitges are covered in our guide on how to move to Barcelona.

How to look for housing by district

• Start with a short-term rental of 1–3 months to live in the chosen district, then sign a long-term contract.
• Check the price against the deposit register — Barcelona has a rent cap, and the price in a listing is not always legal for a new contract.
• Check the journey to work and school — a flat near the metro in an inexpensive district is often more convenient than a fashionable address without one.
• Do not buy to let to tourists: licences in the city are not being renewed, and such flats are to return to the residential housing stock by November 2028.

How the search and the rental contract work is covered in the article how to rent a flat in Spain, and buying in how to buy a house in Spain.

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Frequently asked questions about Barcelona neighbourhoods

Which Barcelona neighbourhood is best to live in?

It depends on what you need. Families looking for an international school most often choose Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and Les Corts; for city life, Eixample and Gràcia; by the sea, Sant Martí; on a limited budget, Nou Barris, Sant Andreu and Horta-Guinardó.

What is the most expensive district in Barcelona?

Sarrià-Sant Gervasi: in August 2026 a square metre there cost €7,167 on average, an all-time high. Next come Les Corts (€6,670) and Eixample (€6,648).

What is the cheapest district in Barcelona?

Nou Barris: €3,270 per square metre in August 2026 and an average rent of €817 a month under new contracts in Q1 2026. But purchase prices there rose 15.9% over the year.

Where to live in Barcelona with children?

International schools in the city are concentrated in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and Les Corts, and the German and American schools are in the suburb of Esplugues de Llobregat. In ordinary schools in Catalonia the main language of instruction is Catalan.

What is the safest district in Barcelona?

Crime statistics by district are not openly available. According to the city council survey on 2023, residents of Sant Andreu (25.3%) and Nou Barris (25.7%) were least often victims of an offence, and residents of Ciutat Vella (41.4%) most often, against 29.8% for the city.

Which district of Barcelona has the most foreigners?

Ciutat Vella: by our calculation from city council data at 1 January 2026, foreigners make up more than half of residents, 55.4%. Then Eixample (30.1%) and Sants-Montjuïc (28.6%), against 26.6% for the city.

How many districts does Barcelona have?

Ten: Ciutat Vella, Eixample, Sants-Montjuïc, Les Corts, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Gràcia, Horta-Guinardó, Nou Barris, Sant Andreu and Sant Martí.