The rate of Americans moving to Spain is increasing at higher rates than ever.
As of January 1st 2024, the latest data made available by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), there were 50,623 US citizens registered as residents in Spain.
On January 1st 2022, Americans in Spain numbered 40,159.
That means that in just two years, Spain’s American population increased by 10,464 residents, a 26 percent rise.
Spain’s 50,000+ US nationals are of all different age groups according to the data, but the 20 to 39 age bracket number around 18,400, which reflects that Spain’s American population isn’t made mainly of retirees as in the case of British nationals in Spain.
Since the end of Covid-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions, the number of Americans packing up their bags and leaving for Spain has been continuously on the rise.
In the third quarter of 2021, there were 36,756. Within a year that figure stood at 41,659 Americans registered as Spanish residents, almost 5,000 more.
When looking at INE’s data from Q1 2020 to Q1 2024, we see that during this four-year period Spain’s American population grew by a whopping 14,000 people.
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What remains to be seen is how many more Americans left the States for Spain over the course of 2024.
INE's newest 2025 data - which has shown that Spain’s population is now 49 million almost entirely due to immigration - only includes stats on the 10 biggest foreign population groups to have moved to Spain in 2024.
Americans are not among the top ten, but there is little to suggest that Spain’s popularity among US nationals has slowed down.
In fact, a new report from the College of Registrars has shown that the rate of Spanish properties bought by Americans (together with Mexicans) has increased by a staggering 255 percent since 2019.
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 US presidential election may have also spurred more Americans to start a new life in Spain, but until INE’s results for 2024 are out this is just speculation.
What is likely to have influenced the faster rate in American nationals moving to Spain is the introduction of the Spanish Digital Nomad Visa, which has made it easier for non-EU professionals of a working age to apply for a residency permit to live in Spain and work from here.
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