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Elmas: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Cagliari, Sardegna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Elmas

The report looks at the exact point: landslide and flood risk, seismic zone, price per square metre for the area, services and nearby stops.

For example: Via Sulcitana 1, Elmas.

Elmas, Cagliari's airport town on the Santa Gilla lagoon

If you fly into Cagliari, you land in Elmas. The main airport of southern Sardinia is in this municipality, which borders the regional capital to the north-west and looks out over the Santa Gilla lagoon. The town is now part of Cagliari's built-up area, with houses, warehouses, shopping centres and the SS130 main road running into one another.

For buyers, the first question is noise. Some streets lie under the take-off and landing paths and hear every aircraft, others much less, so visit at busy times and talk to the neighbours. The railway towards Decimomannu stops in town and at the airport, and Cagliari is only minutes away.

Elmas is growing. Istat, the national statistics office, counted 9,521 residents in 2023, up 6.4% on 2011. Households are small, 2.10 people on average, and the average age of 46.7 is below the provincial 48.1; over-65s are 22.5% of residents and foreign nationals 3.3%. Incomes are slightly below the provincial average.

The land is flat and low, just a few metres above sea level. Near the lagoon and the channels the flood maps need reading for each address, and the report does exactly that. The climate is mild (climate zone C): heating costs little in winter, while in summer protection from the heat matters.

Earthquakes are not a concern. All 70 municipalities in the province are in seismic zone 4, the lowest on the Civil Protection Department's scale, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.050 g. Near the lagoon, damp and salty air are what wear buildings down. The Revenue Agency's cadastral maps are published and the report works down to the plot.

Key points

  • Home to Cagliari airport, on the Santa Gilla lagoon.
  • Population up 6.4% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 4, like the whole province.
  • Aircraft noise: check it on site, house by house.

Overview

Elmas is a municipality in the province of Cagliari, in Sardegna. At the end of 2023 it had 9,521 residents, ranked 10 of 70 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Elmas is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. All 70 municipalities in the province are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.050 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

In zone 4 the risk is low, but for an older building it is still worth asking about the state of the structure.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has grown by 6.4%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 22% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 3.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Elmas declared an average taxable income of 23,842 euros, in line with the province (24,865 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Elmas is in climate zone C, with 934 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 7 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Elmas has 7 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 12 grocery shops and supermarkets, 5 healthcare facilities, 11 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.

There are 1.3 grocery shops and supermarkets per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.7).

Public transport

We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 32.7% of the land in Elmas, compared with 3.4% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 14.2 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Elmas is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Sardegna in 2022. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Elmas: the report checks the address against the ISPRA maps.

House prices

The Revenue Agency's price ranges per square metre (OMI) apply to zones, not to whole municipalities: the report gives the range for the address's zone.

Land registry

The cadastral maps for Elmas are public: from the address the report finds the sheet and parcel number.

Liveability area by area

The Vicinalia liveability index runs from 0 to 100 and looks at the place, not the people who live there: services within walking distance, transport, green space, natural hazards, air, quiet, buildings and connection. Here it is worked out at the centre of each of the 49 inhabited census areas in Elmas. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 70 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.7%
  • fair 18.8%
  • good 80.5%

Vicinalia index by census area, licence CC BY-SA 4.0. Data: IdroGEO ISPRA (2026), Istat, INGV, EEA, AGCOM, Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap.

The colour is the value at the centre of the area. For an exact address, search for it above: the free check looks at that exact point. How the index is worked out

Data sources

ISTAT code 118014. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.