Best Startup Cities

Best startup cities in Spain in 2027

28 cities in Spain make our ranking of 1,000 startup cities worldwide. Barcelona leads at #37 with a total score of 11.92, followed by Madrid (#45) and Valencia (#146).

For women founders, Valencia scores highest in Spain on the MeanCEO Index with 77/100. Each city page covers funding, company registration, taxes, founder visas, pros and cons, and the ten MeanCEO factors.

Startup cities in Spain, ranked

#CityWorld rankTotalQuantityQualityBusinessMeanCEO
1 Barcelona #37 11.92 3.17 5.43 3.31 75
2 Madrid #45 9.55 2.4 3.84 3.31 70
3 Valencia #146 4.02 0.47 0.47 3.09 77
4 Bilbao #217 1.82 0.32 0.11 1.4 70
5 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria #225 1.66 0.33 0.06 1.27 76
6 Santa Cruz de Tenerife #245 1.43 0.26 0.07 1.1 69
7 Malaga #293 1.01 0.18 0.05 0.78 76
8 Seville #299 0.98 0.15 0.07 0.75 70
9 Zaragoza #431 0.47 0.07 0.04 0.36 66
10 Palma de Mallorca #530 0.34 0.04 0.04 0.26 76
11 Murcia #548 0.32 0.04 0.03 0.24 66
12 Donostia-San Sebastian #607 0.27 0.03 0.03 0.21 69
13 Gijón #614 0.26 0.02 0.04 0.2 58
14 Girona #615 0.26 0.03 0.03 0.2 69
15 Pontevedra #618 0.26 0.03 0.03 0.2 68
16 Alicante #650 0.24 0.03 0.03 0.18 73
17 Granada #662 0.23 0.03 0.03 0.18 62
18 Marbella #708 0.21 0.03 0.02 0.16 70
19 A Coruna #712 0.2 0.02 0.03 0.16 56
20 Oviedo #715 0.2 0.02 0.03 0.16 58
21 Vitoria #726 0.2 0.01 0.03 0.15 66
22 Castellon de la Plana #780 0.18 0.02 0.02 0.14 69
23 Santiago de Compostela #791 0.18 0.01 0.03 0.14 57
24 Santander #794 0.18 0.02 0.02 0.14 69
25 Pamplona #808 0.17 0.02 0.02 0.13 57
26 Tarragona #854 0.16 0.02 0.02 0.12 69
27 Puerto del Rosario #886 0.15 0.02 0.02 0.11 70
28 Logrono #900 0.14 0.02 0.02 0.11 57

Total = quantity (startups, accelerators, coworking spaces) + quality (traction of top startups, unicorns, exits) + business environment (national conditions), from the StartupBlink Global Startup Ecosystem Index (2024 edition). The MeanCEO Index (0 to 100) is our own score of how livable and welcoming a city is for women founders.

Other countries in Europe

All countries · All 1,000 cities, ranked