Les Terres de l'Ebre concentrate 8 of the 10 poorest municipalities in Catalonia. Poverty understood as the average gross income of its inhabitants, according to data from the Tax Agency published this week and corresponding to the year 2021. The data refers to municipalities with more than 1,000 inhabitants.
The one with the lowest income is Batea, with 18,034 euros, followed by Horta de Sant Joan (20,742). After these are two Lleida municipalities in the Segrià region: Seròs and Aitona. The rest of the municipalities that complete the ranking of the 10 poorest are from the Terres de l'Ebre: Sant Jaume d'Enveja, Camarles, Santa Bàrbara, el Perelló, l'Aldea and Ulldecona.
Why this concentration in the same territory? "One possibility is that there is more aging of the population," answers Josep Oliver, professor of applied economics at the UAB. "The older the population, the more likely that income will be low," he explains. The Tax Agency measures average gross income, which is the sum of wages, pensions and other income, such as returns on securities. Therefore, if the volume of elderly people is very high, income is low because pensions are usually lower than salaries. While on average in Catalonia people over the age of 65 represent 19% of the population, in the three counties of the Terres de l'Ebre where the municipalities are located it is between 22 and 29%.
Oliver adds that other reasons that may be behind the low income of these municipalities is that they are places where there is little presence of industry, which is the sector where salaries are higher. On the other hand, wages are lower in agriculture and services.
On the opposite side, the richest municipalities are the usual ones every year. Matadepera leads the ranking with an average gross income of 69,511 euros, almost four times more than in Batea. It is followed by Teià, Alella, Sant Just Desvern and Sant Cugat del Vallès with around 58,000 euros. Sant Vicenç de Montalt, Cabrils, Tiana, Sitges and Cabrera de Mar round out the top 10.
Oliver reflects that these municipalities are characterized by "very high employment rates and very low unemployment". They are obviously towns with the presence of luxury developments that occupy high-income taxpayers. The statistics also show that Riudarenes (Girona), which in 2020 was ranked number 2, has fallen to 143. That year, such a high position in the ranking was explained by the dividends of a company whose owners live in the municipality or because a neighbor won the lottery.
When analyzing what happens in Spain as a whole, the municipalities with the lowest income taxpayers are concentrated in Andalusia and Extremadura. The ten most "poor" towns are in these two communities: five in each. Higuera de Vargas (Badajoz) leads the ranking of Spain with the lowest income, with 12,737 euros. Pedro Martínez (Granada) and Zahinos (Badajoz) are next, with less than 14,000 euros.
In the upper part of Spain as a whole, those of Madrid share the podium with the municipalities of Barcelona. The income is higher in Pozuelo de Alarcó. Boadilla del Monte, Alcobendas and Torrelodones are also in the top 10. According to the Tax Agency, in 2021 the average gross income amounted to 29,014 euros, 4.5% more than the previous year.
