Two Palmas: Why the wage gap in Palma is growing — and what should happen now

Two Palmas: Why the wage gap is widening

Last week, shortly after sunrise, church bells rang over the Plaça Cort, gulls cried from the harbor — and in the middle of it all the busy stalls of the Mercat de l’Olivar. Palma looks as colorful and loud as ever. But the newly published income data, detailed in Palma in Transition: Where Incomes Soar — and Who Still Owns the City, reveal a less idyllic truth: in some neighborhoods people live in a completely different economy than just a few streets away.

At the top stands Sant Jaume with an average net annual income of around €69,500; at the bottom lies Arenal with about €25,600. Such gaps are not academic — they shape the cityscape: housing quality, the range of shops and restaurants, the type of childcare and even school benches, as discussed in Two Palmas in One City: How Money Divides Streets and Lives.

The mechanics behind the gap

Differences like these develop step by step: in Sant Jaume there are more permanent employment relationships, office jobs, lawyers and retail aimed at affluent customers. In neighborhoods like Pere Garau, Coll d’en Rabassa or Son Cladera, seasonal work often determines daily life — tourism, gastronomy, construction support and casual jobs with insecure pay. A baker from Son Cladera, who starts every morning at 3 a.m., put it this way: “We work hard, but in the end it’s tight.”

Less noticed is how much informality and multiple jobs distort the picture: several mini-jobs, undeclared work and short-term contracts blunt averages because they hide the volatility of family incomes. Equally important: gentrification in inner-city areas drives up rents and shifts resident groups, so wealthier neighborhoods pull ahead while poorer ones fall behind.

What the numbers don't directly show — but are palpable

On the Paseo Marítimo you hear different conversations in the morning than at the market in Pere Garau. Between designer shops and secondhand stalls there is not only an economic but also a social gap: access to healthcare, education and childcare is distributed unequally. Schools in lower-income neighborhoods often have fewer resources, parents have less time for tutoring offers, and distances to employment centers or training programs are longer.

A taxi driver who took me from the Paseo Marítimo to the port dryly said: “Palma is like a divided book — two chapters.” Ironic, but accurate. In the short term, these chapters will not stitch together.

Concrete approaches: what the city can do now

The central question remains: How do we want to live together if incomes fluctuate so strongly? Some feasible levers that often get little attention in the debate are practical:

- Reinvest tourism revenues with clear targets. Redirecting the tourism levy to social housing, day-care centers and full-day childcare would act directly where the seasonal economy impacts people.

- Needs-based housing policy. Mixed-rent models and municipal building plots with clear social quotas prevent entire streets from tipping into exclusive zones. Cooperatives and rent controls also help.

- Strengthen education and qualification locally. Mobile advice centers, career-oriented programs in neighborhoods like Coll d’en Rabassa and targeted funding for schools reduce inequality in the long term.

- Off-season employment programs. Supporting local businesses and expanding cultural and sports offerings outside the season create stable jobs instead of purely seasonal fluctuations.

- Social-space-oriented services. More social workers, flexible daycare places and low-threshold healthcare services that reach people where they live — not just centrally in Sant Jaume.

Who bears responsibility?

City administration, the island government and private actors must work together. Clear target figures are needed (e.g., share of socially bound housing, educational support quota per neighborhood) and monitoring that measures not only average incomes but also distribution and precarity. Local participation — neighborhood forums, participatory budgets — could help align priorities with actual needs.

Palma is loud, fragrant, contradictory: market sellers shout, children play on the pavement, and in the background the harbor traffic roars. The numbers make clear that the cityscape is not a natural state but the result of political and economic decisions. It would be fatal to let the spread continue and rely on natural equalizing forces.

Conclusion: The wage gap in Palma is real and widening. Those who plan and invest now — with clear, unbureaucratic measures — can make the city livable for more people. Those who wait risk that “two Palmas” become permanent chapters.