Living in Kouvola
In Kouvola, rents across existing tenancies average €10.83 per m² a month (2026) and unemployment is 14.1% (2024).
At the end of 2024, the foreign population was 3,008.
Higher unemployment than 84% of Finnish cities that publish it and more recorded crime than 82% of Finnish cities that publish it.
Which Finland-wide rules apply when you move to Kouvola?
National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.
Housing and cost
How much does it cost to rent in Kouvola?
Average net cold rent is 10.83 EUR/m² per month (2026Q2), 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): 10.83 EUR/m²/month · pxweb2.stat.fi5
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited | 29.9 EUR/month | 30 Sept 2026 | DNA fixed broadband1Official · national market |
| Mobile plan, 10 GB | 24.93 EUR/month | 30 Sept 2026 | Telia Finland mobile plan17Official · national market |
| Dwellings | 42,468 dwellings | 31 Dec 2024 | Statistics Finland8Official |
| Average net rent (nettokalt) | 10.83 EUR/m²/monthcountry median €12.27 | 27 Aug 2026 | pxweb2.stat.fi5Official |
Is Kouvola 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.
Worked out from these numbers
What does a 60 m² flat cost?
About 650 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of 10.83 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.
Work and income
What is the unemployment rate in Kouvola?
The unemployment rate is 14.1 % (2024). Source: Statistics Finland10
Kouvola 14.1%
Unemployment rate (%)
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| People in employment | 30,292 people | 31 Dec 2024 | Statistics Finland9Official |
| Employment rate | 70.9 % | 31 Dec 2024 | Statistics Finland8Official |
| Median gross salary (regional) | 3,547 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2024 | pxweb2.stat.fi6Official |
| Unemployment rate | 14.1 %country median 10.6% | 31 Dec 2024 | Statistics Finland10Official |
What does a salary buy in Kouvola?
Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.
RentInternetMobileLeft over
Line-by-line breakdown and sources
| Each month | € |
|---|---|
| Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions. | €2,639 |
| Rent, 60 m²€10.83/m² · official · pxweb2.stat.fi · 2026-08-27 | − €650 |
| Internet€30 · official · DNA fixed broadband · 2026-09-30 | − €30 |
| Mobile plan€25 · official · Telia Finland mobile plan · 2026-09-30 | − €25 |
| Other everyday billsnot published for this city: public transport pass, utilities | — |
| Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish | €1,935 |
Public employment service
No exact public employment office is currently linked to Kouvola. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.
Job Market Finland — Public employment service
Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Kouvola. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Family and education
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residents with high school education or higher | 74.3 % | 31 Dec 2024 | Statistics Finland8Official |
School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 6 to 18, and public school is free. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: suomi/ruotsi toisena kielenä (S2) + valmistava opetus (preparatory education) + mother-tongue subsidies. How to enrol a child (oph.fi).
A country-wide rule for Finland; Kouvola's school authority applies it locally.
Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2025–2026.
Safety
How safe is Kouvola?
Police recorded about 10,948 incidents per 100,000 (2024). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: statfin.stat.fi7
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents | 10,948 incidents per 100,000country median 9,016 | 31 Dec 2024 | statfin.stat.fi7Official |
Mobility and administration
The nearest airport was LPP, 80.2 km away, with 3 listed destinations in June 2026.
Language courses and integration
No exact city-level course record is currently published for Kouvola. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.
Municipal integration services and integration training — Integration course
Municipalities and employment services in Finland
For immigrants needing an integration plan.
Climate and air quality
Is the air quality good in Kouvola?
The annual PM2.5 mean is 4.7 µg/m³ (2024) — within the WHO 2021 guideline. Source: FMI PM2.5 annual station statistics 20242
Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.
Night-time low to daytime high
mm
hours
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.
Kouvola 4.7
Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 — annual mean | 4.7 µg/m³country median 4.9 | 31 Dec 2024 | FMI PM2.5 annual station statistics 20242Official |
| Average daytime high by month | Jan -3.4 · Feb -3.4 · Mar 1.3 · Apr 8.3 · May 15.9 · Jun 20.2 · Jul 22.9 · Aug 20.8 · Sep 14.9 · Oct 7.5 · Nov 2.1 · Dec -1.1 °C | 31 Dec 1991 | World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI18Official |
| Average night-time low by month | Jan -9.1 · Feb -9.7 · Mar -6.3 · Apr -0.8 · May 4.7 · Jun 10 · Jul 13 · Aug 11.6 · Sep 7.1 · Oct 2 · Nov -2.2 · Dec -6 °C | 31 Dec 1991 | World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI19Official |
| Average temperature by month | Jan -6.1 · Feb -6.4 · Mar -2.3 · Apr 3.7 · May 10.6 · Jun 15.2 · Jul 18 · Aug 16.1 · Sep 10.8 · Oct 4.7 · Nov 0.1 · Dec -3.5 °C | 31 Dec 1991 | World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI20Official |
| Average precipitation by month | Jan 54.3 · Feb 45.1 · Mar 41.5 · Apr 31.1 · May 41 · Jun 62.9 · Jul 68.6 · Aug 71.1 · Sep 63.4 · Oct 72.4 · Nov 66.4 · Dec 63.5 mm | 31 Dec 1991 | World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI21Official |
| Average sunshine by month | Jan 27.5 · Feb 61.5 · Mar 135 · Apr 186.8 · May 274.5 · Jun 254.5 · Jul 273.4 · Aug 214.4 · Sep 134.6 · Oct 59.6 · Nov 22.6 · Dec 13.8 hours | 31 Dec 1991 | World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI22Official |
Similar climate. In Finland: Lahti ±0.6 °C. Elsewhere: Jönköping (Sweden) ±2.1 °C, Barrie (Canada) ±2.2 °C, Tartu linn (Estonia) ±1.4 °C, Pärnu (Estonia) ±1.8 °C, Huddinge (Sweden) ±1.9 °C. Twenty closest, compared month by month
Monthly highs and lows against the 1991–2020 station normals of the nearest station; ± is the average monthly difference.
Population and city profile
How many people live in Kouvola?
The published population was 78,386 people in 2024. Source: Tilastokeskus PxWeb table 11ra: population on 31 December by municipality and year.15
By nationality
National passport96.2%
Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| City area | 2,558 km² | 1 Jan 2024 | www.maanmittauslaitos.fi23Official |
| Foreign-resident share | 4.1 % | 31 Dec 2025 | Statistics Finland8Official |
| Foreign residents | 3,008 people | 31 Dec 2024 | Statistics Finland official municipality key figures (11ra)15Official |
| Population density | 30.6 people/km² | 31 Dec 2024 | Statistics Finland official municipality key figures (11ra)15Official |
| Population | 78,386 people | 31 Dec 2024 | Tilastokeskus PxWeb table 11ra: population on 31 December by municipality and year.15Official |
| Population covered by crime statistics | 77,625 people | 31 Dec 2025 | Statistics Finland StatFin vaerak/11ra (Key figures on population)16Official |
People and communities
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| No religion or other, share | 31 % | 31 Dec 2025 | Statistics Finland11Official |
International community in Kouvola
Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.
Country of birth
Population at the end of the statistical reference period; Statistics Finland population structure; total sex · 2025
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 77,625 | 100.0% |
| Finland | 72,825 | 93.8% |
| FOREIGN COUNTRIES, TOTAL | 4,800 | 6.2% |
| EUROPE | 3,081 | 4.0% |
| Former Soviet Union | 1,346 | 1.7% |
| ASIA | 1,125 | 1.4% |
| AFRICA | 371 | 0.5% |
| Estonia | 354 | 0.5% |
| Ukraine | 288 | 0.4% |
| Russia | 246 | 0.3% |
| Sweden | 220 | 0.3% |
Show 44 more groups
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 200 | 0.3% |
| Turkey | 182 | 0.2% |
| Philippines | 117 | 0.2% |
| Somalia | 113 | 0.1% |
| China | 109 | 0.1% |
| AMERICA | 109 | 0.1% |
| Unknown | 105 | 0.1% |
| Sri Lanka | 103 | 0.1% |
| Iraq | 103 | 0.1% |
| Nepal | 75 | 0.1% |
| Pakistan | 73 | 0.1% |
| United Kingdom | 61 | 0.1% |
| Germany | 53 | 0.1% |
| Bangladesh | 49 | 0.1% |
| Vietnam | 46 | 0.1% |
| Latvia | 44 | 0.1% |
| Syria | 44 | 0.1% |
| Ethiopia | 41 | 0.1% |
| Iran | 39 | 0.1% |
| Afghanistan | 37 | 0.0% |
| India | 34 | 0.0% |
| United States | 33 | 0.0% |
| Poland | 32 | 0.0% |
| Egypt | 31 | 0.0% |
| Eritrea | 28 | 0.0% |
| Hungary | 27 | 0.0% |
| Lithuania | 25 | 0.0% |
| Myanmar | 22 | 0.0% |
| Morocco | 22 | 0.0% |
| Romania | 22 | 0.0% |
| Kenya | 21 | 0.0% |
| Spain | 21 | 0.0% |
| Former Yugoslavia | 21 | 0.0% |
| Sudan | 20 | 0.0% |
| Italy | 15 | 0.0% |
| Belgium | 11 | 0.0% |
| Brazil | 11 | 0.0% |
| Canada | 11 | 0.0% |
| Greece | 11 | 0.0% |
| Netherlands | 11 | 0.0% |
| Nigeria | 11 | 0.0% |
| Belarus | 10 | 0.0% |
| France | 10 | 0.0% |
| OCEANIA | 9 | 0.0% |
Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source13
Citizenship
Population at the end of the statistical reference period; Statistics Finland population structure; total sex · 2025
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 77,625 | 100.0% |
| Finland | 74,481 | 95.9% |
| FOREIGN COUNTRIES, TOTAL | 3,144 | 4.1% |
| EUROPE | 1,889 | 2.4% |
| ASIA | 888 | 1.1% |
| Ukraine | 520 | 0.7% |
| Russia | 495 | 0.6% |
| Estonia | 359 | 0.5% |
| AFRICA | 258 | 0.3% |
| Turkey | 142 | 0.2% |
| Thailand | 121 | 0.2% |
Show 41 more groups
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Philippines | 100 | 0.1% |
| Sri Lanka | 96 | 0.1% |
| China | 93 | 0.1% |
| Pakistan | 79 | 0.1% |
| Iraq | 73 | 0.1% |
| AMERICA | 66 | 0.1% |
| Nepal | 64 | 0.1% |
| Somalia | 57 | 0.1% |
| Bangladesh | 49 | 0.1% |
| Eritrea | 44 | 0.1% |
| Vietnam | 40 | 0.1% |
| Afghanistan | 38 | 0.0% |
| United Kingdom | 38 | 0.0% |
| Latvia | 37 | 0.0% |
| Germany | 32 | 0.0% |
| Poland | 30 | 0.0% |
| Sweden | 30 | 0.0% |
| Lithuania | 29 | 0.0% |
| India | 28 | 0.0% |
| Ethiopia | 26 | 0.0% |
| Iran | 24 | 0.0% |
| Hungary | 22 | 0.0% |
| United States | 22 | 0.0% |
| Without citizenship | 22 | 0.0% |
| Romania | 21 | 0.0% |
| Syria | 21 | 0.0% |
| Kenya | 20 | 0.0% |
| Spain | 19 | 0.0% |
| Sudan | 19 | 0.0% |
| Egypt | 19 | 0.0% |
| Unknown | 17 | 0.0% |
| Myanmar | 16 | 0.0% |
| Burundi | 14 | 0.0% |
| Italy | 14 | 0.0% |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 13 | 0.0% |
| Belarus | 12 | 0.0% |
| Netherlands | 12 | 0.0% |
| Greece | 10 | 0.0% |
| Ireland | 10 | 0.0% |
| Nigeria | 10 | 0.0% |
| OCEANIA | 4 | 0.0% |
Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source12
Language spoken at home
Population at the end of the statistical reference period; Statistics Finland population structure; total sex · 2025
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 77,625 | 100.0% |
| NATIONAL LANGUAGES, TOTAL | 72,785 | 93.8% |
| Finnish | 72,506 | 93.4% |
| FOREIGN LANGUAGES, TOTAL | 4,840 | 6.2% |
| Russian | 1,539 | 2.0% |
| Ukrainian | 469 | 0.6% |
| Estonian | 390 | 0.5% |
| Swedish | 275 | 0.4% |
| Arabic | 243 | 0.3% |
| English | 183 | 0.2% |
| Somali | 180 | 0.2% |
Show 34 more groups
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Thai | 178 | 0.2% |
| Turkish | 162 | 0.2% |
| Kurdish | 105 | 0.1% |
| Chinese | 104 | 0.1% |
| Sinhala; Sinhalese | 87 | 0.1% |
| Tagalog | 79 | 0.1% |
| Spanish; Castilian | 77 | 0.1% |
| Nepali | 77 | 0.1% |
| Urdu | 77 | 0.1% |
| Persian, Farsi | 66 | 0.1% |
| Other language | 56 | 0.1% |
| Tigrinya | 52 | 0.1% |
| Bengali, (Bangla) | 50 | 0.1% |
| Vietnamese | 46 | 0.1% |
| German | 45 | 0.1% |
| Albanian | 37 | 0.0% |
| Unknown | 37 | 0.0% |
| Latvian | 36 | 0.0% |
| Polish | 35 | 0.0% |
| Hungarian | 34 | 0.0% |
| Lithuanian | 30 | 0.0% |
| Romanian | 30 | 0.0% |
| Burmese | 22 | 0.0% |
| French | 20 | 0.0% |
| Portuguese | 20 | 0.0% |
| Amharic | 18 | 0.0% |
| Kinyarwanda | 18 | 0.0% |
| Hindi | 14 | 0.0% |
| Italian | 14 | 0.0% |
| Swahili | 14 | 0.0% |
| Dutch | 13 | 0.0% |
| Turkmen | 13 | 0.0% |
| Tamil | 12 | 0.0% |
| Rundi | 10 | 0.0% |
Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source14
Additional context
Alternatives for people set on Kouvola
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.
Vaasa as a Kouvola alternative in the same country
Better on 2 of 4 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0. Rent and recorded crime, per 100k cannot be compared like for like.
- Unemployment: 8.8% Vaasa vs 14.1% Kouvola−38%
- Rent: €13.15/m² Vaasa vs €10.83/m² Kouvolano percentage
- Nearest airport: 8.9 km Vaasa vs 80.2 km Kouvola−89%
- Recorded crime, per 100k: 9,184 Vaasa vs 10,948 Kouvolano percentage
- Residents: 70,361 Vaasa vs 78,386 Kouvola−10%
- Median gross pay, region: €3,475 Vaasa vs €3,547 Kouvolasame level
Cities near Kouvola
Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.
Alternative cities in Finland
Other cities in Finland to compare with Kouvola, nearest in population first.
How does Kouvola compare?
Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Kouvola's.
Kouvola in rankings
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Kouvola 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 guideCommon questions
Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.
How many people live in Kouvola?
The published population was 78,386 people in 2024. Source: Tilastokeskus PxWeb table 11ra: population on 31 December by municipality and year..
How much does it cost to rent in Kouvola?
Average net cold rent is 10.83 EUR/m² per month (2026Q2), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 758 EUR a month before utilities. Source: pxweb2.stat.fi.
Is the air quality good in Kouvola?
The annual PM2.5 mean is 4.7 µg/m³ (2024) — within the WHO 2021 guideline. Source: FMI PM2.5 annual station statistics 2024.
How safe is Kouvola?
Police recorded about 10,948 incidents per 100,000 (2024). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: statfin.stat.fi.
What is the unemployment rate in Kouvola?
The unemployment rate is 14.1 % (2024). Source: Statistics Finland.
What is the typical salary around Kouvola?
The median gross salary is 3,547 EUR/month. Source: pxweb2.stat.fi.
Is Kouvola a good place to live?
Kouvola 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.
Which cities are near Kouvola?
Elimäki is near Kouvola. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.
How many people born in Finland live in Kouvola?
The official country of birth distribution records 72,825 people (93.8%) in the source-defined population for 2025. This is a country of birth measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.
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). Kouvola, Finland: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version f66a504a39dc7bc1ee4b856e7cc7c56c]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/fi/kouvola/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_kouvola-finland-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_f8579222819d,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Kouvola, Finland: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-16},
version = {f66a504a39dc7bc1ee4b856e7cc7c56c},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/fi/kouvola/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Kouvola, Finland: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/fi/kouvola/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version f66a504a39dc7bc1ee4b856e7cc7c56c; 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
- DNA fixed broadband dna.fi · checked 2026-09-15
- FMI PM2.5 annual station statistics 2024 assets.ctfassets.net · checked 2026-09-23
- OpenFlights — routes.dat OpenFlights · raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-07-14
- OurAirports — airports.csv OurAirports · davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-07-14
- pxweb2.stat.fi pxweb2.stat.fi · checked 2026-08-27
- pxweb2.stat.fi pxweb2.stat.fi · checked 2026-08-27
- statfin.stat.fi statfin.stat.fi · checked 2026-08-26
- Statistics Finland pxweb2.stat.fi · checked 2026-08-07
- Statistics Finland pxweb2.stat.fi · checked 2026-08-07
- Statistics Finland pxdata.stat.fi · checked 2026-08-05
Show 15 more sources
- Statistics Finland pxweb2.stat.fi · checked 2026-08-07
- Statistics Finland citizenship distribution pxdata.stat.fi · checked 2026-08-28
- Statistics Finland country of birth distribution pxdata.stat.fi · checked 2026-08-28
- Statistics Finland language spoken at home distribution pxdata.stat.fi · checked 2026-08-28
- Statistics Finland official municipality key figures (11ra) pxdata.stat.fi · checked 2026-07-14
- Statistics Finland StatFin vaerak/11ra (Key figures on population) statfin.stat.fi · checked 2026-09-05
- Telia Finland mobile plan telia.fi · checked 2026-09-15
- World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
- World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
- World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
- World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
- World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
- www.maanmittauslaitos.fi maanmittauslaitos.fi · checked 2026-07-14
- Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
- Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
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.