Palencia's population has increased in the last 10 years, from 78,800 inhabitants in the year 1996 to 81,552 in 2011. The town has historically been a centre for immigration from other parts of Spain, particularly between 1950 and 1970 receiving rural immigrants helping industrial development. Nevertheless, today, it has a population with more retirees than the average, due to youth emigration to larger urban centres such as وایادولید, مادرید or بارسلونا.