Where every figure comes from

Rent: SERPAVI, from Spain's Ministry of Housing

Rent figures come from SERPAVI, the national rent reference system published by Spain's Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda using the leases that landlords declare to the tax authority. They are not asking prices from adverts: they are rents from real contracts.

The latest edition covers 2024. For the city of Madrid it gives a median of €14/m² and €870 a month per home. Each area guide shows its area's median in euros, the range covering the middle half of contracts and the same figure as an index against the city of Madrid (= 100).

How each area's figure is calculated

• The flats series (vivienda colectiva) is used, because flats make up Madrid's rental market. The detached-house series describes a different product.
• When an area matches a district or municipality, its figure is used directly. When it is a neighborhood or part of a district, the census sections whose centre falls inside it are combined, weighting each by its number of contracts.
• That combination is a weighted average of medians, not a strict median of every contract, which the Ministry does not publish at that level. It is a reliable central value, not an exact price.
• Below 200 contracts the figure is not published as data: the page warns that the sample is small.

Rent in each area

SERPAVI 2024, flats. Monthly median and the range between the 25th and 75th percentiles.

Journeys: official timetables, not estimates

The minutes in area guides, comparisons and “living near” pages are calculated on the official timetables (GTFS) for Metro de Madrid and Metro Ligero, published by Madrid's regional transport authority (CRTM), and for Cercanías commuter rail, published by Renfe. These are scheduled times, the same ones transport apps show.

Each area starts from a named station, shown in its guide, so anyone can check the journey. The calculation looks for the latest departure that arrives before 09:00 on a working day (2026-09-29).

Assumptions

• Walking speed is 4.5 km/h, and straight-line distance is multiplied by 1.3 to approximate real streets.
• Walking to a station is limited to 1,200 m.
• Each change allows 120 seconds, or 240 seconds within the same station.
• Buses are not included. When there is no reasonable way to arrive without one, the page says so instead of inventing a time.
• Road distance comes from OSRM on OpenStreetMap and is given only in kilometres: a car time without 8:30 traffic would be misleading.

Timetable versions

• CRTM GTFS Metro de Madrid · 27 May 2025
• CRTM GTFS Metro Ligero · 22 July 2026
• Renfe GTFS Cercanías · 23 September 2026
• OSRM · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)

Nearby services: OpenStreetMap

Supermarkets, parks, gyms, bars and schools come from OpenStreetMap (Geofabrik extract of 2026-09-24) and are counted within 1,000 m of each area's liveliest point. Area boundaries also come from OpenStreetMap, except La Moraleja, which is drawn from the national statistics institute's census sections.

OpenStreetMap is maintained by volunteers. Madrid's coverage is generally very complete, but a shop that has just opened or closed can take time to appear.

How often it is refreshed

• Rent. Whenever the Ministry publishes a new SERPAVI edition, normally once a year.
• Journeys. When CRTM or Renfe publish a timetable that changes services, and at least every quarter.
• Text. Every area guide and article shows its publication date and last review date under the title.

Sources

• SERPAVI · Spain's Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda
• Madrid regional transport authority (CRTM) open data (GTFS)
• Renfe open data (Cercanías GTFS)
• OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)
• Geofabrik OpenStreetMap extract
• OSRM road routing
• idealista rent price report (asking prices, for contrast)

If something looks wrong

If a figure does not match its source, or a journey does not work in practice the way a page describes it, let me know and I will correct it. The correction updates that page's review date.

Who makes BestBarrio