TerraNova momentum

The fastest-growing towns in Spain

Which municipalities in Spain are gaining residents and which are emptying — measured as compound annual population change from the official population register, not from listings or sentiment.

7,667 municipalities rated · median -0.37 %/yr · 51.8% declining

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Gaining residents fastest

#	Municipality	Province	Population	Change	Measured over	Grade
1	Finestrat	Alacant	9,919	+4.75 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 6,239 → 9,919 inhab.	A
2	Vilablareix	Girona	4,077	+4.54 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 2,559 → 4,077 inhab.	A
3	Aldeatejada	Salamanca	2,662	+4.41 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 1,724 → 2,662 inhab.	B
4	Casares	Málaga	9,009	+4.36 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 5,954 → 9,009 inhab.	A
5	Olocau	València	2,534	+4.31 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 1,670 → 2,534 inhab.	B
6	Villalbilla	Madrid	18,687	+4.27 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 12,351 → 18,687 inhab.	B
7	Pioz	Guadalajara	5,261	+4.23 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 3,544 → 5,261 inhab.	B
8	El Viso de San Juan	Toledo	6,380	+4.20 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 4,263 → 6,380 inhab.	A
9	Urduliz	Bizkaia	6,128	+4.08 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 4,070 → 6,128 inhab.	A
10	Barcience	Toledo	1,110	+3.88 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 747 → 1,110 inhab.	B
11	Sant Jordi	Castelló	1,554	+3.88 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 1,020 → 1,554 inhab.	A
12	Tórtola de Henares	Guadalajara	1,439	+3.85 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 990 → 1,439 inhab.	C
13	Torrox	Málaga	22,015	+3.84 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 15,117 → 22,015 inhab.	A
14	Espirdo	Segovia	1,613	+3.82 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 1,107 → 1,613 inhab.	A
15	Quer	Guadalajara	1,080	+3.81 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 747 → 1,080 inhab.	B
16	Yuncler	Toledo	5,275	+3.81 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 3,594 → 5,275 inhab.	A
17	Arcas	Cuenca	2,332	+3.79 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 1,605 → 2,332 inhab.	B
18	Seseña	Toledo	30,907	+3.73 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 21,558 → 30,907 inhab.	A
19	Fuensaldaña	Valladolid	2,146	+3.70 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 1,518 → 2,146 inhab.	B
20	Santa Cruz del Retamar	Toledo	4,194	+3.69 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 2,901 → 4,194 inhab.	B
21	Ojén	Málaga	4,755	+3.66 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 3,353 → 4,755 inhab.	A
22	Arroyomolinos	Madrid	38,075	+3.64 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 26,846 → 38,075 inhab.	B
23	Ocaña	Toledo	15,560	+3.54 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 10,795 → 15,560 inhab.	A
24	El Montmell	Tarragona	1,958	+3.51 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 1,373 → 1,958 inhab.	A
25	Aranguren	Navarra	13,216	+3.48 %/yr Strongly rising	2015–2025 9,398 → 13,216 inhab.	B

Emptying fastest

#	Municipality	Province	Population	Change	Measured over	Grade
1	Calañas	Huelva	2,749	-4.37 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 4,238 → 2,749 inhab.	C
2	Jimena de la Frontera	Cádiz	6,719	-3.86 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 9,772 → 6,719 inhab.	B
3	Ibias	Asturias	1,084	-3.07 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,473 → 1,084 inhab.	D
4	Los Navalmorales	Toledo	2,074	-2.83 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 2,757 → 2,074 inhab.	C
5	Santaella	Córdoba	4,641	-2.79 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 6,062 → 4,641 inhab.	B
6	Villayón	Asturias	1,054	-2.58 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,366 → 1,054 inhab.	B
7	Cervantes	Lugo	1,142	-2.57 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,487 → 1,142 inhab.	C
8	Carballeda de Valdeorras	Ourense	1,311	-2.50 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,698 → 1,311 inhab.	C
9	Vilardevós	Ourense	1,616	-2.46 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 2,170 → 1,616 inhab.	C
10	Velilla del Río Carrión	Palencia	1,104	-2.38 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,406 → 1,104 inhab.	C
11	La Pola de Gordón	León	2,833	-2.34 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 3,522 → 2,833 inhab.	B
12	Quintanar de la Sierra	Burgos	1,474	-2.33 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,845 → 1,474 inhab.	B
13	Santiago-Pontones	Jaén	2,629	-2.32 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 3,338 → 2,629 inhab.	C
14	Los Navalucillos	Toledo	1,889	-2.31 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 2,357 → 1,889 inhab.	C
15	Villablino	León	7,585	-2.31 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 9,509 → 7,585 inhab.	B
16	A Fonsagrada	Lugo	3,073	-2.29 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 3,838 → 3,073 inhab.	C
17	Padrenda	Ourense	1,555	-2.26 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,912 → 1,555 inhab.	B
18	Bustillo del Páramo	León	1,057	-2.25 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,311 → 1,057 inhab.	C
19	Liétor	Albacete	1,052	-2.24 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,321 → 1,052 inhab.	C
20	Montillana	Granada	1,054	-2.24 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,330 → 1,054 inhab.	C
21	Villanueva de la Fuente	Ciudad Real	1,831	-2.22 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 2,288 → 1,831 inhab.	C
22	Baleira	Lugo	1,093	-2.21 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,380 → 1,093 inhab.	C
23	Alfoz	Lugo	1,493	-2.16 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,846 → 1,493 inhab.	B
24	Casas de Fernando Alonso	Cuenca	1,041	-2.15 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 1,311 → 1,041 inhab.	C
25	Iznájar	Córdoba	3,676	-2.13 %/yr Strongly declining	2015–2025 4,556 → 3,676 inhab.	B

Windows differ between municipalities here (2015–2025 at the widest), so each row states its own. Comparing two rows measured over different spans compares two different questions.

What this number is

Compound annual change in registered residents: the rate that, compounded over the window, gets from the first figure to the last. Annualised on purpose — the four statistics offices publish windows of 10, 5, 6 and 10 years under one label, so comparing their raw percentages would rank countries by how wide a window each happens to publish.

Unlike the A→G grades, this is an absolute rate, not a ranking. Two towns with the same %/yr have the same number wherever they are — within a country. Across countries the windows differ, which is why there is a page per country and no combined league table.

It measures the register, not the people. A purge of non-renewing foreign residents, a change in how registration is enforced, or students registered at their parents’ address all move it without anyone moving house.

Population momentum is not part of any grade shown on this page. The grade column is TerraNova’s usual A→G composite, shown so you can see whether a growing town is also a good one — they are frequently not the same towns.

What this page is holding back

4,518 rated municipalities are under 1,000 inhabitants and are not ranked here. Below that size a single housing development, or one purge of the register, dominates the rate. Ungated, this list would open with Sojuela — 690 inhabitants, +9.59 %/yr.
3 move faster than ±5 %/yr and are held back. At that scale a municipal boundary change — a merger, or a village splitting off — is a likelier explanation than migration. We hold no per-year boundary vintages, so we cannot tell the two apart, and we would rather leave a row out than headline a redrawn boundary as an exodus.

Both are ranking thresholds, not data limits. Every one of these municipalities still carries its own momentum figure on its own page.

The same ranking elsewhere

The fastest-growing towns in France The fastest-growing towns in Italy The fastest-growing towns in Portugal All guides Methodology