Celebrity favourite Madrid district boasts highest incomes in Spain

A LEAFY luxury district of Madrid known best for its affluent and famous residents, among them top football players, is once again ranked as the wealthiest municipality in Spain.

Pozuelo de Alarcon, which borders the Moncloa-Aravaca neighbourhood of Madrid city, boasts average income of €72,899, according to Tax Agency income tax declarations figures for 2017 published this week.

This puts typical income in the fashionable district at six times above the €11,480 average in the municipality sitting at the other end of the scale, Zahinos in Badajoz.

The second richest municipality in the country is Avinyonet del Penedes in Barcelona, where average income is put at €57,843, followed by Boadilla del Monte, also in Madrid, on €55,885.

At the bottom of the table, Huesa in Jaen has just slightly higher average earnings than Zahinos, at €11,917. Ahigal in Caceres has the third lowest income of any Spanish municipality, at €12,137.

The Tax Agency findings show the average income of the 19.91 million who made tax declarations in 2017 was €25,434 a year, 2.6 per cent more than in 2016.

By region, Madrid has the highest average income per inhabitant (€35,067). Cataluña is ranked second (€30,430), Ceuta third (€30,209), Melilla fourth (€29,857) and the Balearic Islands fifth (€28.312 euros).

Extremadura is the Spanish region where incomes are generally the lowest, averaging €19,870.

Castilla-La Mancha has the second lowest (€22,003 euros), and Andalucía the third lowest (€22,303 euros).