Spain
Palma de Mallorca makes sense if
- Your priorities should decide whether Palma de Mallorca's daily rhythm fits your life.
Palma de Mallorca vs Valencia
Palma is a walkable island capital with an old centre, easy beach access and a large foreign community for its size. Valencia has mild winters and sunshine through much of the year, but outside income makes settling easier than depending on local hiring.
The grey shape is all 283 cities; each row says whether lower or higher is better. Ratings out of 10 are our reviewed estimates; the rest is published data. How we measure
The choice in one minute
Valencia makes sense if
- You want the easier housing and budget equation in this comparison.
- A calmer day-to-day safety profile matters most to you.
- You want the broader career options in this comparison.
What matters to you
Set how much each area counts. The ranking updates as you go. Climate and values are left out because there is no better or worse there, only your taste.
Money
Nature & outdoors
City life
Safety & health
Work & family
Moving & settling in
- 1Valencia69
Leads on city life and work & family; stands out for train connections and job market.
- 2Palma de Mallorca66
Closest to the top on money, 1 point behind Valencia.
Scores out of 100, averaged from the areas you weighted. For a ranking built around your own situation, take the quiz.
Side by side
Money
Rent on a new lease, everyday prices and tax.
Section score out of 100
Valencia70Palma de Mallorca69
One-bedroom rent
Per month, new lease, citywide
€118/mo€2,140/mo
- €897/mo
- €826/mo
Rent as share of local pay
One-bedroom rent vs. typical net local pay
21%120%
- ~43%
- ~40%
Everyday prices
Excluding rent · United States = 100
25131
- 75
- 75
Income tax + social contributions
Range: average-wage rate to top marginal rate; the dot marks its midpoint
0%46%
- 24–49%
- 24–49%
Climate
The year month by month. Whether it suits you is yours to judge.
Solid line: average daytime high. Dashed: night-time low. Point at the chart for any month; point at a city name to shade its range.
Bright days
Under 80% cloud and under 1 mm rain
30 days347 days
- 267 days
- 267 days
Muggy days
Days that feel sticky (dew point)
0 days365 days
- 142 days
- 111 days, leads
Air pollution
Annual mean fine particles (PM2.5)
4.6 µg/m³84 µg/m³
- 9.9 µg/m³
- 11.9 µg/m³
Nature & outdoors
How easily you get to water, mountains and green space.
Section score out of 100
Valencia64Palma de Mallorca62
Beach & sea
110
- 10/10, leads
- 9/10
Mountains
110
- 5/10, leads
- 4/10
City parks
110
- 6/10
- 8/10, leads
Weekend escapes
110
- 8/10
- 8/10
City life
Getting around on foot, food, culture and the feel of the streets.
Section score out of 100
Valencia77Palma de Mallorca73
Walkability
110
- 7/10
- 8/10, leads
Public transport
110
- 6/10
- 7/10, leads
Restaurants
110
- 8/10
- 8/10
Public spaces
110
- 9/10
- 9/10
Safety & health
Crime, how safe people feel, and the care you would get.
Section score out of 100
Valencia72Palma de Mallorca71
Homicide rate
Per 100,000 residents per year
0.247
- 0.7
- 0.7
Feels safe day to day
110
- 8/10
- 8/10
Healthcare quality
110
- 8/10
- 8/10
English-speaking care
110
- 8/10, leads
- 7/10
Work & family
Jobs, working culture, schools and raising kids.
Section score out of 100
Valencia67Palma de Mallorca58
Job market
110
- 4/10
- 6/10, leads
Jobs in English
110
- 7/10, leads
- 6/10
Work–life balance
110
- 7/10
- 8/10, leads
Schools
110
- 6/10
- 7/10, leads
Moving & settling in
Visas, language, paperwork and staying connected.
Section score out of 100
Valencia64Palma de Mallorca62
Visa & residence difficulty
Typical case; your passport changes this
110
- 4/10
- 4/10
Language barrier
For an English speaker
110
- 5/10
- 5/10
Openness to newcomers
110
- 7/10
- 7/10
Flight connections
110
- 8/10, leads
- 7/10
Society & values
Where each city sits. There is no right end of these scales.
Social attitudes
ConservativeLiberal
- 8/10
- 8/10
LGBTQ+ acceptance
LowHigh
- 9/10
- 9/10
Diversity
HomogeneousDiverse
- 8/10
- 7/10
Religion in public life
ReligiousSecular
- 8/10
- 8/10
Life in each city
Daily life
Palma de Mallorca
Palma is compact and easy to cover on foot, with a dense old quarter of narrow streets and a quality seafront. It is a genuinely small city, far more so than Madrid or Barcelona, and the pace reflects that.
Valencia
The pace is gentle, slower than Madrid or Barcelona, which suits people after calm and grates on anyone craving big-city intensity. Neighbourhoods are pleasant and human-scaled.
Safety
Palma de Mallorca
Among the safer places to land in Spain. Serious violent crime is very low and the roads are well managed, so walking at night feels comfortable in most parts of town.
Valencia
Among the safer European cities to settle in. Violent crime is rare, the roads are well managed, and walking around after dark feels comfortable in most areas.
Work and healthcare
Palma de Mallorca
Typical local pay is relatively solid, but the local market remains the limiting factor. The Spanish system delivers good quality care at low out-of-pocket cost, with reliable hospitals and emergency services on the island.
Valencia
Arriving without a job is the difficult route. Solid public and private care, with good hospitals and low out-of-pocket costs once residents are in the system.
Culture and public life
Palma de Mallorca
The international crowd is unusually large for a city this small, which keeps things cosmopolitan. Palma keeps its old town tidy and its seafront well-tended, the cathedral and the Passeig along the water framing genuinely fine public space.
Valencia
Strong local identity and the birthplace of paella, with good restaurants, cafes, and a lively enough nightlife. Valencia is notably clean for a Spanish city, the Turia parkland kept green and the streets tidy.
Summary
Palma is a natural fit if you want an island city, beach access and an established international community. Valencia offers a brighter mainland routine and a broader urban profile, especially for people bringing work with them.
Read on
Which of these fits you?
These numbers treat everyone the same. The quiz weighs them by your budget, climate taste, family and work, and ranks all 283 cities for you.