Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife: population and climate
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands · 211,957 inhabitants (1 Jan 2025)
Living in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a mid-sized city of 211,957 inhabitants on the coast in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), with mild winters and hot, dry summers (January nights 15.5°C, August afternoons 29.3°C). Winter nights are mild for Spain: 15.5°C on average in January, warmer than 100% of the towns compared. The nearest international school (Lycée Français Jules Verne De Tenerife, French curriculum) is 2.8 km away. It is one of the sunniest places in Spain: 8.2 hours of sunshine a day on average. Against that, 131 nights a year stay above 20 °C, which makes sleeping without air conditioning hard in summer. Around 2055, Spain's official climate scenarios put August afternoons here at about 30.5°C and the number of warm nights at 164 a year.
Each sentence is chosen by where the town ranks among the 333 places compared on that measure (top or bottom 20%); the numbers are the ones in the sections below, from the sources named there.
About Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a population of 211,436 (2024) within its administrative limits. The urban zone of Santa Cruz extends beyond the city limits with a population of 507,306 and 538,000 within urban area. It is the second largest city in the Canary Islands and the main city on the island of Tenerife, with nearly half of the island's population living in or around it.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Read more on Wikipedia →
Getting there
- Nearest airport
- Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna Airport (TFN), 9 km, 7,174,977 passengers in 2025, 34 destinations
- Direct to Amsterdam
- Tenerife South airport, 57 km (year-round)
- Direct to Brussels (Zaventem or Charleroi)
- Tenerife South airport, 57 km (year-round)
- Direct to London
- Tenerife South airport, 57 km (year-round)
- Direct to Paris
- Tenerife South airport, 57 km (year-round)
- Direct to Frankfurt
- Tenerife North airport, 9 km (year-round)
- Direct to the US
- Lisbon airport, 1,322 km (year-round); summer only from Faro, 1,225 km
- Train station
- no long-distance station within 15 km
- Fastest train to Madrid
- no direct train
- Fastest train to Barcelona
- no direct train
Distances are straight-line. Flights as listed in airport route tables on 4 Oct 2026; train times from Renfe's timetable (Iryo and Ouigo not included).
Healthcare
- Nearest public general hospital
- Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria (in town, 1,000 beds)
- Nearest large public hospital (500+ beds, most specialties)
- Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria (in town, 1,000 beds)
- Nearest private general hospital
- Hospital Quirón Salud Tenerife (in town, 187 beds)
- General hospitals within 25 km
- 8
- Waiting time for planned surgery (Canary Islands)
- 106 days on average; 17.4% wait more than 6 months (Spain: 121 days)
- Waiting time for a first specialist visit
- 162 days on average; 89.9% wait more than 60 days (Spain: 102 days)
Ministry of Health, National Hospital Catalogue 2025 (situation on 31 Dec 2024); general hospitals only. Distances are straight-line to the hospital's municipality. Residents registered in Spain use public hospitals; non-EU applicants for some visas must have private health insurance. Waiting times are for the whole region (public health service, 31 Dec 2025), as reported by each region to the Ministry of Health (SISLE-SNS); private insurance usually avoids most of the wait.
International schools
- Nearest international school
- LYCÉE FRANÇAIS JULES VERNE DE TENERIFE (French), Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 2.8 km
- International schools within 25 km
- 5
- Nearest by curriculum (within 100 km)
- British 30 km · American 89 km · French 2.8 km · German 9.0 km · Nordic 94 km
Within 30 km (up to five):
| School | Curriculum | Levels in the register | Where | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LYCÉE FRANÇAIS JULES VERNE DE TENERIFE | French | infant, primary | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 2.8 km |
| KALEIDE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL | curriculum not stated | not listed | San Cristóbal de la Laguna | 7.7 km |
| ALEMÁN | German | infant, primary, secondary | Tabaiba | 9.0 km |
| GREEN VILLAGE MONTESSORI | curriculum not stated | not listed | Guamasa | 12 km |
| ST. ANDREW'S SCHOOL | curriculum not stated | infant | El Sauzal | 18 km |
Ministry of Education, register of non-university schools (RCD), October 2026: every school authorised to teach a foreign curriculum in Spain, without the business, arts and hairdressing schools in the same list and without schools for one nationality (Japanese, Libyan, Iraqi, Russian, Panamanian). Curriculum as labelled in the register or clear from the school's name; levels as listed in the register, which leaves them out for some schools. Straight-line distance from the town centre. We do not rate schools: visit, and ask about accreditation and fees.
Who lives here
- Population trend
- +4.0% in ten years (203,811 in 2015, 211,957 in 2025)
- Age
- 20.0% aged 65 or over, 12.4% under 16 (2022; Spain: 20.0% and 14.9%)
- Local income
- 15,110 € net per person per year (2023), 100% of the Spanish average; median 18,550 € per adult-equivalent
- Foreign residents
- 6.9% of all residents; 3.3% of residents aged 65+ (2022)
- Largest nationalities
- Venezuelan 1.4%, Italian 1.0%; all EU citizens 2.3% (share of all residents, 1 Jan 2022; the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and the Nordic countries are not published per town)
INE: population register (Padrón) and household income atlas. Local income is a rough guide to local prices and affluence; Spain publishes no official cost-of-living index for towns.
Within a 10-minute walk of the centre
- Everyday essentials on foot
- 6 of 6 ✓ 15+ food shops ✓ 3+ pharmacies ✓ 25+ cafés, bars or restaurants ✓ 2+ parks ✓ 3+ bus stops ✓ 2+ libraries, theatres, cinemas or cultural centres
- Lively centre
- 81 out of 100: how much there is compared with the other 332 places (big cities score highest)
- 54 food shops (supermarkets, bakeries, greengrocers…)
- 21 pharmacies
- 11 doctors, clinics or hospitals
- 222 cafés, bars and restaurants
- 96 parks and gardens
- 51 bus stops
- 8 libraries, theatres, cinemas, cultural centres
- 1 market places
Counted in OpenStreetMap within 800 m of the town centre, taken as the point OpenStreetMap marks as the town's centre, moved at most 500 m to the busiest nearby spot (for a few spread-out municipalities without such a point: the busiest spot near the official coordinate). OpenStreetMap is kept by volunteers: very complete in most Spanish towns, thinner in some. “Everyday essentials” only asks whether the basics are there, so a small town can score 6 of 6; “lively centre” ranks each count among all 333 places and averages them, so it mostly reflects size. Large municipalities with several centres (Lorca, Oleiros, Ames…) can score low because their official centre is a small village.
Holiday lets and beaches
- Tourist apartments
- 936 (0.96% of all homes; Spain 1.28%), 1.7 tourist beds per 100 residents (May 2026)
- Blue Flag beaches
- nearest in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, 7 km; 4 within 30 km
Tourist apartments: INE count of homes listed on Airbnb, Booking and Vrbo. A high share means busy summers and pressure on rents. Blue Flag 2026 (ADEAC): beaches meeting water-quality, safety and service standards; this includes some lake and river beaches. Distances are straight-line between town centres.
Water
No reservoir data: the Balearic and Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla get most of their water from groundwater and desalination plants, which this bulletin does not cover.
What the rankings say
- Oxford Economics Global Cities Index 2026 (overall, of 1,000 cities): 239 (source)
Climate
● average daily high ● average nightly low ■ rainy days (1 mm or more). These are 1991-2020 averages, not record temperatures: a hot spell will be warmer and a cold night colder than these values.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average daily high, °C | 21.1 | 21.3 | 22.1 | 23.0 | 24.5 | 26.6 | 28.8 | 29.3 | 28.2 | 26.6 | 24.2 | 22.2 |
| Average nightly low, °C | 15.5 | 15.4 | 15.9 | 16.8 | 18.1 | 19.9 | 21.5 | 22.3 | 21.9 | 20.6 | 18.5 | 16.8 |
| Rain, mm | 29 | 34 | 38 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 36 | 37 |
| Rainy days (1 mm or more) | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 5.0 | 4.9 |
| Sunshine, hours per day | 6.1 | 6.8 | 7.6 | 8.4 | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.2 | 10.7 | 8.9 | 7.4 | 6.0 | 5.7 |
| Humidity, % | 63 | 62 | 62 | 61 | 60 | 60 | 58 | 60 | 64 | 65 | 64 | 65 |
| Days reaching 30 °C / 86 °F | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 7.7 | 9.7 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
The year in numbers
- Köppen climate class
- BSh: Hot semi-arid
- Summer mugginess (August average dew point)
- 17.2°C – muggy
- Typical hottest day of the year
- 35.7°C
- Typical coldest night of the year
- 12.4°C
- Days reaching 25 °C / 77 °F
- 171 a year (estimate)
- Days reaching 30 °C / 86 °F
- 26 a year
- Days reaching 35 °C / 95 °F
- 0 a year (estimate)
- Warm nights (low of 20 °C / 68 °F or more)
- 131 a year (estimate)
- Frost nights (0 °C / 32 °F or less)
- 0 a year
- Overcast days
- 35 a year
- Average humidity
- 62%
Dew point measures how sticky the air feels: under 13 °C (55 °F) feels dry, 16-18 °C (61-64 °F) muggy, over 18 °C oppressive. For comparison, Davis, California (also Köppen Csa) has a summer dew point of about 11 °C. "Typical hottest day" is the 1991-2020 average of each year's single hottest day. Estimates are counted from daily satellite data adjusted to this place's averages; checked against AEMET's own 30 °C counts they are usually within 4 days a year.
1991-2020 averages, AEMET station STA.CRUZ DE TENERIFE (C449C), 0.5 km away; temperatures adjusted to the town's altitude. © AEMET.
Around 2055 (projection)
- August average high
- 30.5°C: +1.0 °C compared with today (models range from 0.3 °C to 2.3 °C)
- Warm nights (low of 20 °C / 68 °F or more)
- 164 a year, +26 (models: +6 to +65)
- Frost nights
- 0 a year (+0)
- Rainy days (1 mm or more)
- 22 a year, -6 (models: -14 to -3)
- Rain amount
- -28% over the year: summer -58%, winter -26%
- Sunlight reaching the ground
- not projected for the Canary Islands
Spain's official climate scenarios (Escenarios-PNACC 2024, AEMET regionalisation of 11 global climate models, ~5 km grid), middle emissions scenario SSP2-4.5: average change from 2011-2040 to 2041-2070, added to today's 1991-2020 values above. The range shows the lowest and highest of the 11 models. Rain: the same models regionalised by CSIC (DeepESD). Sunlight: EURO-CORDEX regional models (RCP4.5). A projection, not a forecast. Read: Spain around 2055, region by region →
Questions people ask
Where is Santa Cruz de Tenerife?
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), Spain, on the coast. The nearest airport is Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna Airport (TFN), 9 km away.
How many people live in Santa Cruz de Tenerife?
211,957 registered residents on 1 January 2025 (INE), +4.0% in ten years.
What is the climate of Santa Cruz de Tenerife?
January afternoons average 21.1°C and nights 15.5°C; August afternoons 29.3°C. 8.2 hours of sunshine a day and 28 rainy days a year (AEMET 1991-2020).
Is Santa Cruz de Tenerife safe?
Recorded conventional crime in Santa Cruz de Tenerife was 41.8 offences per 1,000 residents in 2025, about average for Spain (national rate about 41). Home burglaries: 0.71 per 1,000.
How hot is Santa Cruz de Tenerife in summer?
August afternoons average 29.3°C (1991-2020), with 131 nights a year above 20 °C and 0 days of 35 °C or more.
How cold is Santa Cruz de Tenerife in winter?
January afternoons average 21.1°C and January nights 15.5°C, with 0 frost nights a year.
Is there a hospital in Santa Cruz de Tenerife?
Yes: Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria, a public general hospital with 1,000 beds. Planned surgery in Canary Islands waits 106 days on average.
Can you fly direct from Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Amsterdam or London all year?
Yes. Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna Airport (TFN) (9 km away) has year-round direct flights to Amsterdam, London, Brussels, Paris and the US.
What does it cost to rent or buy in Santa Cruz de Tenerife?
A typical apartment (78 m²) rented for 599 € a month in 2024 contracts. Homes were appraised at 2,252 €/m² on average over the last four quarters, 63.4% in five years.
Nearby and similar towns
- Nearest towns in this comparison
- San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 7 km), Candelaria (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 17 km), La Orotava (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 28 km), Puerto de la Cruz (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 30 km), Los Realejos (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 37 km)
- Most similar towns (summer heat, winter nights, rainy days, home prices, size)
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Las Palmas), Telde (Las Palmas), Arrecife (Las Palmas), Ceuta (Ceuta), Melilla (Melilla)
Distances are straight-line between town centres. Similarity is the distance in standardised values of the five measures.
Articles that discuss Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- Best climate in Spain: pleasant all year round, ranked
- Best coastal towns in Spain to live in, and the cheapest
- Best places to live in Spain (2026): six shortlists
- Retiring to Spain from the UK or the US: where?
- Warmest places in Spain in winter, town by town
- Wintering in Spain: what does it cost per month?