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Living in Pleven

In Pleven, unemployment is 7.9% (2021).

Pleven's population was 108,440 at the end of 2025. For Pleven, the unemployment rate was 7.9% in September 2021.

Last checked 2026-10-0214 sources

Population108,440people31 Dec 2025Official source · NSI Infostat 1062 — population by sex, residence districts and municipalities
Average gross salary934.4EUR/month31 Dec 2024District figureOfficial source · Average annual wages and salaries of the employees under labour contract by statistical regions and districts in 2024 (EUR)
Average net rent1.58EUR/m²/monthcountry median €1.92 — 18% belowOfficial source · NSI City Statistics — Average annual rent for housing (per m2), Euro/m2
Unemployment rate7.9%country median 9.2% — 14% belowOfficial source · NSI Infostat 2016 — activity, employment and unemployment rates by municipality
Recorded crime1,139incidents per 100,00031 Dec 2025District figureOfficial source · Report on the activity of the Ministry of Interior in 2025, Figure 2: registered crimes per 100,000 population

Cheaper rent than 76% of Bulgarian cities that publish it and lower unemployment than 75% of Bulgarian cities that publish it.

Which Bulgaria-wide rules apply when you move to Pleven?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in BulgariaNational rates and thresholds that apply in Pleven.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

Practical estimates in December 2022 placed basic utilities for an 85 m² home at €70.64 per month, fixed internet at €10.72 per month, and an inexpensive restaurant meal at €8.07.

How much does it cost to rent in Pleven?

Average net cold rent is 1.58 EUR/m² per month (2020), excluding heating and operating charges.

Published average over existing tenancies; a specific flat can sit either side of it. Asking-rent series, where present, are separate rows in the table.

  • Average net rent (nettokalt): 1.58 EUR/m²/month · NSI City Statistics — Average annual rent for housing (per m2), Euro/m28
What recurs every month5 published recurring costs, € per month
Pleven recurring monthly costs, € per month

€ / month

Utilities, 85 m² flat€71
Transport pass€20
Fitness club€19
Mobile plan, 10 GB€16
Internet, 60 Mbps€11

Supplemental estimate lane, not official statistics: Utilities, 85 m² flat, Transport pass, Fitness club, Internet, 60 Mbps. The others are published prices.

Net rent across major citiesPleven highlighted among comparable cities
Net rent across major cities with Pleven highlighted

net rent, € / m² / month

Sofia€3.83
Plovdiv€2.75
Varna€2.42
Shumen€2.33
Stara Zagora€1.75
Pleven€1.58
Show the other 6 cities
Blagoevgrad€2.25
Vratsa€2.20
Burgas€2.00
Veliko Tarnovo€1.92
Ruse€1.92
Haskovo€1.83
MetricValuePeriodSource
Fitness club membership, monthly18.93 EUR/month31 Dec 2022Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v214Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited10.72 EUR/month31 Dec 2022Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v214Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant8.07 EUR31 Dec 2022Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v214Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Mobile plan, 10 GB15.9 EUR/month30 Sept 2026Vivacom mobile data plan13Official · national market
Monthly transport pass20.18 EUR/month31 Dec 2022Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v214Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Basic utilities, 85 m² home70.64 EUR/month31 Dec 2022Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v214Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Average net rent (nettokalt)1.58 EUR/m²/monthcountry median €1.9231 Dec 2020NSI City Statistics — Average annual rent for housing (per m2), Euro/m28Official

Is Pleven a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile
Remote worker56%strong on housing, weak on air quality · range 47–65%
Skilled employee60%strong on housing, weak on education · range 51–69%
Student67%strong on cost, weak on education · range 56–78%
Family57%strong on safety, weak on education · range 46–68%
Retirement56%strong on safety, weak on admin · range 45–67%

Worked out from these numbers

What does a 60 m² flat cost?

About 95 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of 1.58 EUR/m² per month, before heating and operating charges.

Heating, water and operating charges come on top, and a specific flat can sit either side of an average.

Source period: 2020

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Pleven?

The unemployment rate is 7.9 % (September 2021). Source: NSI Infostat 2016 — activity, employment and unemployment rates by municipality10

Unemployment across cities in BulgariaUnemployment in Pleven is 7.9%. Of 36 cities with data, 12 have unemployment of 8 to under 10%.

Unemployment rate (%)

MetricValuePeriodSource
Average gross earnings934.4 EUR/month31 Dec 2024Average annual wages and salaries of the employees under labour contract by statistical regions and districts in 2024 (EUR)1Official · county
Unemployment rate7.9 %country median 9.2%7 Sept 2021NSI Infostat 2016 — activity, employment and unemployment rates by municipality10Official
Unemployment rate over time10 published observations, 2009–2022

Unemployment rate fell 44.5% between 2009 and 2022, from 9.3% to 5.1%.

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Pleven. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

Employment Agency — Public employment service

Bulgarian Employment Agency

Job Search
Search jobs
Open the Bulgaria service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Pleven. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Safety

How safe is Pleven?

Police recorded about 1,139 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Report on the activity of the Ministry of Interior in 2025, Figure 2: registered crimes per 100,000 population12

MetricValuePeriodSource
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents1,139 incidents per 100,00031 Dec 2025Report on the activity of the Ministry of Interior in 2025, Figure 2: registered crimes per 100,000 population12Official · county

Mobility and administration

MetricValuePeriodSource
Nearest airportGOZ3 Aug 2026OurAirports11Official
Distance to nearest airport94 km3 Aug 2026OurAirports11Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Pleven. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.

Country-level information

Free Bulgarian language courses for people displaced from Ukraine — State Language Course

Government of Bulgaria / Bulgaria for Ukraine

For people displaced from Ukraine, adults, children.

BulgarianCEFR A1–B2In Person, OnlineFree
Open official information
Open the full Bulgaria section
National programme information is not treated as proof of a course location in Pleven.

Find courses near Pleven

Climate and air quality

Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

MetricValuePeriodSource
NO₂ — annual mean31.2 µg/m³31 Dec 2013Eurostat2Official
Monthly extreme high temperatureJan 19.1 · Feb 22.27 · Mar 30.32 · Apr 31.04 · May 35.2 · Jun 41.34 · Jul 43.15 · Aug 41.12 · Sep 37.77 · Oct 35.01 · Nov 27.01 · Dec 20.1 °C31 Dec 2001NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center7Official
Monthly extreme low temperatureJan -22.32 · Feb -21.63 · Mar -15.5 · Apr -3.47 · May 3.37 · Jun 7.11 · Jul 11.86 · Aug 10.53 · Sep 4.61 · Oct -3.64 · Nov -11.57 · Dec -16.79 °C31 Dec 2001NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center7Official
Average temperature by monthJan -0.33 · Feb 1.99 · Mar 7.12 · Apr 12.47 · May 18.26 · Jun 22.63 · Jul 25.22 · Aug 25.35 · Sep 19.97 · Oct 13.34 · Nov 7.22 · Dec 1.34 °C31 Dec 2001NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center7Official

Population and city profile

How many people live in Pleven?

The published population was 108,440 people in 2025. Source: NSI Infostat 1062 — population by sex, residence districts and municipalities9

Foreign residents and their share come from different publications that count different groups (for example citizens of another country, or people born abroad, or of foreign origin), so 894 is not 1.4% of the population. Each row names its source.

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

MetricValuePeriodSource
City area809.8 km²31 Dec 2024Eurostat GISCO, European Commission5Official
Foreign-resident share1.4 %31 Dec 2022Eurostat3Official
Foreign residents894 people31 Dec 2018Eurostat — City statistics, urb_cpopcb (indicator DE2012V), Pleven4Official
City area91.5 km²31 Dec 2024migrationfit.com6Official
Population density1,169 people/km²31 Dec 2024migrationfit.com6Official
Population108,440 people31 Dec 2025NSI Infostat 1062 — population by sex, residence districts and municipalities9Official
Foreign residents over time11 published observations, 2010–2022

Foreign residents rose 102.8% between 2010 and 2022, from 632 to 1,282.

Alternatives for people set on Pleven

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Pernik as a Pleven alternative in the same country

Better on 2 of 6 metrics measured the same way, worse on 2.

  • Rent: €1.17/m² Pernik vs €1.58/m² Pleven−26%
  • Foreign residents: 0.7% Pernik vs 1.4% Pleven−50%
  • Nearest airport: 33.0 km Pernik vs 94.0 km Pleven−65%
  • Unemployment: 9.0% Pernik vs 7.9% Pleven+14%
  • Residents: 80,576 Pernik vs 108,440 Pleven−26%
  • Recorded crime, per 100k: 1,140 Pernik vs 1,139 Plevensame level
Full comparisonMore about Pernik

Alternative cities in Bulgaria

Other cities in Bulgaria to compare with Pleven, nearest in population first.

All Bulgaria cities
Sliven109,879 residentsPazardzhik87,766 residentsRuse136,112 residentsStara Zagora141,748 residentsPernik80,576 residentsHaskovo78,235 residents

How does Pleven compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Pleven's.

Open the full comparison

Pleven in rankings

#5 of 17 in Cheapest cities to rent in Bulgaria #8 of 30 in Largest cities in Bulgaria #8 of 16 in Most international cities in Bulgaria #10 of 30 in Cities with lowest unemployment in Bulgaria

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Pleven when the national insurance or residence conditions are met.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide
Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 7 to 16, and public school is free. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: Free Bulgarian-language training for migrant children (school-based intensive language preparation). How to enrol a child (mon.gov.bg).

A country-wide rule for Bulgaria; Pleven's school authority applies it locally.

Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2025–2026.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Pleven?

The published population was 108,440 people in 2025. Source: NSI Infostat 1062 — population by sex, residence districts and municipalities.

How much does it cost to rent in Pleven?

Average net cold rent is 1.58 EUR/m² per month (2020), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 111 EUR a month before utilities. Source: NSI City Statistics — Average annual rent for housing (per m2), Euro/m2.

How safe is Pleven?

Police recorded about 1,139 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Report on the activity of the Ministry of Interior in 2025, Figure 2: registered crimes per 100,000 population.

What is the unemployment rate in Pleven?

The unemployment rate is 7.9 % (September 2021). Source: NSI Infostat 2016 — activity, employment and unemployment rates by municipality.

How many foreign residents live in Pleven?

894 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Eurostat — City statistics, urb_cpopcb (indicator DE2012V), Pleven.

How much is public transport in Pleven?

A monthly transport pass is 20.18 EUR/month. This is a supplemental estimate, not an official municipal measurement. Source: Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2.

Is Pleven a good place to live?

Pleven may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Pleven, Bulgaria: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 041a8a6db936b8ae018a2aa526d2b8aa]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/bg/pleven/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_pleven-bulgaria-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_1538db1cb54b,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Pleven, Bulgaria: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {041a8a6db936b8ae018a2aa526d2b8aa},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/bg/pleven/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
Markdown citation
[Pleven, Bulgaria: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/bg/pleven/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 041a8a6db936b8ae018a2aa526d2b8aa; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown
  1. Average annual wages and salaries of the employees under labour contract by statistical regions and districts in 2024 (EUR) nsi.bg · checked 2026-09-23
  2. Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
  3. Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-02
  4. Eurostat — City statistics, urb_cpopcb (indicator DE2012V), Pleven Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-31
  5. Eurostat GISCO, European Commission gisco-services.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
  6. migrationfit.com migrationfit.com · checked 2026-06-14
  7. NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
  8. NSI City Statistics — Average annual rent for housing (per m2), Euro/m2 NSI City Statistics · nsi.bg · checked 2026-09-18
  9. NSI Infostat 1062 — population by sex, residence districts and municipalities NSI Infostat 1062 · nsi.bg · checked 2026-07-27
  10. NSI Infostat 2016 — activity, employment and unemployment rates by municipality NSI Infostat 2016 · nsi.bg · checked 2026-07-27
Show 4 more sources
  1. OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
  2. Report on the activity of the Ministry of Interior in 2025, Figure 2: registered crimes per 100,000 population mvr.bg · checked 2026-09-28
  3. Vivacom mobile data plan vivacom.bg · checked 2026-09-15
  4. Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2 Global Cost of Living · kaggle.com · checked 2026-07-27

Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.