Living in Smolyan
In Smolyan, unemployment is 8.7% (2021).
Smolyan is a city in Bulgaria, with a population of 31,514 at the end of 2025. The unemployment rate was 8.7% in September 2021.
Which Bulgaria-wide rules apply when you move to Smolyan?
National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.
Housing and cost
No city-level rent figure is published for Smolyan. The available city-level cost figures remain below.
Is Smolyan 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.
Work and income
What is the unemployment rate in Smolyan?
The unemployment rate is 8.7 % (September 2021). Source: NSI Infostat 2016 — activity, employment and unemployment rates by municipality8
Smolyan 8.7%
Unemployment rate (%)
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average gross earnings | 805.7 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2024 | Average annual wages and salaries of the employees under labour contract by statistical regions and districts in 2024 (EUR)2Official · county |
| Unemployment rate | 8.7 %country median 9.2% | 7 Sept 2021 | NSI Infostat 2016 — activity, employment and unemployment rates by municipality8Official |
Public employment service
No exact public employment office is currently linked to Smolyan. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.
Employment Agency — Public employment service
Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Smolyan. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Mobility and administration
Language courses and integration
No exact city-level course record is currently published for Smolyan. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.
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.
Climate and air quality
Is the air quality good in Smolyan?
The annual PM2.5 mean is 7 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: EEA air quality statistics — BG PM2.5 annual mean 2024 (station AMS Rozhen peak)4
Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.
Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³
City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| PM10 — annual mean | 21 µg/m³ | 31 Dec 2024 | EEA air quality statistics — BG PM10 annual mean 2024 (station AMS Bibliotekata-Smolyan)3Official · nearest-station reading |
| PM2.5 — annual mean | 7 µg/m³ | 31 Dec 2024 | EEA air quality statistics — BG PM2.5 annual mean 2024 (station AMS Rozhen peak)4Official · nearest-station reading |
| Climate Monthly Extreme High C | Jan 16.23 · Feb 19.61 · Mar 23.75 · Apr 26.33 · May 30.62 · Jun 38.44 · Jul 40.2 · Aug 37.28 · Sep 34.49 · Oct 29.74 · Nov 26.58 · Dec 17.84 °C | 31 Dec 2001 | NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center6Official |
| Climate Monthly Extreme Low C | Jan -20.57 · Feb -18.43 · Mar -16.75 · Apr -9.48 · May -0.45 · Jun 3.92 · Jul 8.75 · Aug 8.64 · Sep 1.25 · Oct -4.99 · Nov -7.84 · Dec -15.55 °C | 31 Dec 2001 | NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center6Official |
| Average temperature by month | Jan -0.51 · Feb 0.94 · Mar 4.53 · Apr 8.76 · May 14.21 · Jun 18.74 · Jul 21.62 · Aug 21.64 · Sep 16.77 · Oct 11.06 · Nov 6.16 · Dec 1.06 °C | 31 Dec 2001 | NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center6Official |
Population and city profile
How many people live in Smolyan?
The published population was 31,514 people in 2025. Source: NSI Infostat 1062 — population by sex, residence districts and municipalities7
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| City area | 87 km² | 31 Dec 2024 | Bulgaria city identity collection5Official |
| G01 Area Km2 | 87 km² | 31 Dec 2024 | migrationfit.com5Official |
| G01 Density Per Km2 | 347 people/km² | 31 Dec 2024 | migrationfit.com5Official |
| Population | 31,514 people | 31 Dec 2025 | NSI Infostat 1062 — population by sex, residence districts and municipalities7Official |
Alternatives for people set on Smolyan
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.
Yambol as a Smolyan alternative in the same country
Better on 2 of 3 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0.
- Residents: 58,997 Yambol vs 31,514 Smolyan+87%
- Nearest airport: 13.0 km Yambol vs 56.0 km Smolyan−77%
- Unemployment: 8.2% Yambol vs 8.7% Smolyan−6%
Alternative cities in Bulgaria
Other cities in Bulgaria to compare with Smolyan, nearest in population first.
How does Smolyan compare?
Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Smolyan's.
Smolyan in rankings
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Smolyan 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 guideSchool 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; Smolyan'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 Smolyan?
The published population was 31,514 people in 2025. Source: NSI Infostat 1062 — population by sex, residence districts and municipalities.
Is the air quality good in Smolyan?
The annual PM2.5 mean is 7 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: EEA air quality statistics — BG PM2.5 annual mean 2024 (station AMS Rozhen peak).
What is the unemployment rate in Smolyan?
The unemployment rate is 8.7 % (September 2021). Source: NSI Infostat 2016 — activity, employment and unemployment rates by municipality.
Is Smolyan a good place to live?
Smolyan 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, September 29). Smolyan, Bulgaria: population, salary, cost of living, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 6e9253f59d0d707a85d1e8878c0d2cfa]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/bg/smolyan/ Retrieved 2026-09-29. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_smolyan-bulgaria-population-salary-cost-of-living-jobs_4fa6906b7668,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Smolyan, Bulgaria: population, salary, cost of living, jobs},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-09-29},
version = {6e9253f59d0d707a85d1e8878c0d2cfa},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/bg/smolyan/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-09-29. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Smolyan, Bulgaria: population, salary, cost of living, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/bg/smolyan/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 6e9253f59d0d707a85d1e8878c0d2cfa; retrieved 2026-09-29; built 2026-09-29.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
- A1 Bulgaria fixed internet a1.bg · checked 2026-09-15
- 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
- EEA air quality statistics — BG PM10 annual mean 2024 (station AMS Bibliotekata-Smolyan) EEA air quality statistics · air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-31
- EEA air quality statistics — BG PM2.5 annual mean 2024 (station AMS Rozhen peak) EEA air quality statistics · air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-31
- migrationfit.com migrationfit.com · checked 2026-06-14
- NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
- NSI Infostat 1062 — population by sex, residence districts and municipalities NSI Infostat 1062 · nsi.bg · checked 2026-07-27
- NSI Infostat 2016 — activity, employment and unemployment rates by municipality NSI Infostat 2016 · nsi.bg · checked 2026-07-27
- OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
- OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
Show 1 more source
- Vivacom mobile data plan vivacom.bg · checked 2026-09-15
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