Living in Irákleion

In Irákleion, unemployment is 12.7% (2021).

Irákleion numbered 149,501 residents at the end of 2021. At the end of 2021, unemployment in Irákleion reached 12.65%. Annual PM2.5 levels for Irákleion stood at 12 µg/m³ at the end of 2024.

Last checked 2026-09-2617 sources

Population149,501people31 Dec 2021Official source · Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)

Average gross salary1,843EUR/month31 Dec 2022Regional figureOfficial source · Mean annual earnings by NUTS 1 region - NACE Rev. 2, B-S excluding O (2022)

Average rent342.9EUR/month31 Dec 2024Regional figureOfficial source · Table 1.01 — Monthly average purchases and receipts in kind of households classified by Regions (HBS 2024)

Unemployment rate12.65%country median 13.6% — 7% belowOfficial source · Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), 2021 Population and Housing Census

Recorded crime1,906incidents per 100,00031 Dec 2024Regional figureOfficial source · A4. Offences committed by General Police Directorates and Regional General Police Directorates (2000–2024)

PM2.5, annual mean12µg/m³31 Dec 2024Nearest stationOfficial source · European Environment Agency (EEA)

Which Greece-wide rules apply when you move to Irákleion?

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 GreeceNational rates and thresholds that apply in Irákleion.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

No city-level rent figure is published for Irákleion. The available city-level cost figures remain below.

What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€21

Mobile plan, 10 GB€20

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	21 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	Nova Fiber100¹⁰Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	20 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	COSMOTE mobile plan²Official · national market
Average monthly rent (whole dwelling)	342.9 EUR/month	31 Dec 2024	Table 1.01 — Monthly average purchases and receipts in kind of households classified by Regions (HBS 2024)¹³Official · regional context

Is Irákleion 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 worker48%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 37–59%

Skilled employee49%strong on work, weak on education · range 38–60%

Student60%strong on cost, weak on education · range 48–72%

Family46%strong on safety, weak on education · range 34–58%

Retirement58%strong on safety, weak on admin · range 44–72%

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Irákleion?

The unemployment rate is about 12.7 % (October 2021).

Unemployment rate: 12.65 % · Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), 2021 Population and Housing Census⁷

Unemployment across cities in GreeceUnemployment in Irákleion is 12.7%. Of 274 cities with data, 210 have unemployment of 10 to under 20%.

210

0–1010–2020–3030–4040–5080–90

Irákleion 12.7%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Average gross earnings	1,843 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Mean annual earnings by NUTS 1 region - NACE Rev. 2, B-S excluding O (2022)⁸Official · regional context
Unemployment rate	12.65 %country median 13.6%	31 Dec 2021	Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), 2021 Population and Housing Census⁷Official

What does a salary buy in Irákleion?

Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.

Left over each month€645of €1,029 take-home

Rent
Internet
Mobile
Left 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.	€1,029
Rentaverage rent of a whole dwelling · official · Table 1.01 · 2024-12-31	− €343
Internet€21 · official · Nova Fiber100 · 2026-09-30	− €21
Mobile plan€20 · official · COSMOTE mobile plan · 2026-09-30	− €20
Other everyday billsnot published for this city: public transport pass, utilities	—
Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish	€645

Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Irákleion Salary needed to live in Irákleion

Safety

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	1,906 incidents per 100,000	31 Dec 2024	A4. Offences committed by General Police Directorates and Regional General Police Directorates (2000–2024)¹Official · regional context

Mobility and administration

Irákleion's nearest airport was HER, 4 km away and offered 59 direct destinations.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Direct destinations from the nearest major airport	59 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights¹¹Official
Distance to the nearest major airport	4 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹²Official
Nearest major airport (IATA code)	HER	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹²Official

Language courses and integration

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

Country-level information

Preparatory Greek-language classes for migrants and refugees in Second Chance Schools — State Language Course

General Secretariat for Vocational Education, Training and Lifelong Learning — Ministry of Education

For legally resident migrants, refugees aged 18 or over who meet the Second Chance School conditions.

GreekIn Person

Open official information

Open the full Greece section

National programme information is not treated as proof of a course location in Irákleion.

Climate and air quality

Monthly mean temperature moved from 12.9°C in January to 25.9°C in July.

Is the air quality good in Irákleion?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 12 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: European Environment Agency (EEA)³

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

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

Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³

PM2.512WHO 5 · EU 25

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	12 µg/m³	31 Dec 2024	European Environment Agency (EEA)³Official · nearest-station reading
Monthly extreme high temperature	Jan 20.07 · Feb 21.43 · Mar 23.97 · Apr 28.58 · May 32.73 · Jun 34.54 · Jul 34.14 · Aug 34.34 · Sep 32.71 · Oct 32.46 · Nov 26.24 · Dec 23.39 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁹Official · coordinate grid
Monthly extreme low temperature	Jan 4.94 · Feb 4.37 · Mar 5.74 · Apr 9.72 · May 13.49 · Jun 17.36 · Jul 20.75 · Aug 22.14 · Sep 18.74 · Oct 13.87 · Nov 9.59 · Dec 6.31 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁹Official · coordinate grid
Average temperature by month	Jan 12.91 · Feb 12.92 · Mar 14.28 · Apr 16.39 · May 19.98 · Jun 23.69 · Jul 25.89 · Aug 26.17 · Sep 24.3 · Oct 21.12 · Nov 17.87 · Dec 14.66 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁹Official · coordinate grid

Population and city profile

How many people live in Irákleion?

The published population was 149,501 people in 2021. Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)⁴

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Population	149,501 people	31 Dec 2021	Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)⁴Official

International community in Irákleion

Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.

Country of birth

Permanent resident population in the 2021 Population and Housing Census · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Total	149,500	100.0%
Greece	138,719	92.8%
Other country	10,785	7.2%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁵

Citizenship

Permanent resident population in the 2021 Population and Housing Census · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Total	149,500	100.0%
Greece	141,223	94.5%
Outside Greece	8,279	5.5%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁶

Alternatives for people set on Irákleion

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.

Gázi as an Irákleion alternative in the same region

6 km away, better on 1 of 3 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0. Recorded crime, per 100k cannot be compared like for like.

Residents: 16,256 Gázi vs 149,501 Irákleion−89%
Recorded crime, per 100k: 1,711 (2025) Gázi vs 1,906 (2024) Irákleionno percentage
Unemployment: 12.0% Gázi vs 12.7% Irákleion−5%
Annual PM2.5: 12.0 µg/m³ Gázi vs 12.0 µg/m³ Irákleionsame level

Full comparison More about Gázi

Lárisa as an Irákleion alternative in the same country

Better on 1 of 3 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1.

Annual PM2.5: 20.0 µg/m³ Lárisa vs 12.0 µg/m³ Irákleion+67%
Recorded crime, per 100k: 1,159 Lárisa vs 1,906 Irákleion−39%
Residents: 146,595 Lárisa vs 149,501 Irákleion−2%

Full comparison More about Lárisa

Cities near Irákleion

Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Alternative cities in Greece

Other cities in Greece to compare with Irákleion, nearest in population first.

All Greece cities

Lárisa146,595 residents Larissa164,095 residents Peristéri133,630 residents Piraeus168,151 residents Pátra170,755 residents Heraklion179,302 residents

How does Irákleion compare?

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

Open the full comparison

Irákleion in rankings

#8 of 30 in Largest cities in Greece

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Irákleion 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 4 to 15. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: Reception classes for pupils with insufficient Greek (ZEP measures). How to enrol a child (minedu.gov.gr).

A country-wide rule for Greece; Irákleion's school authority applies it locally.

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

Is Irákleion part of Heraklion?

Irákleion belongs to the official functional urban area of Heraklion; this describes an urban and commuting relationship, not municipal ownership. It is about 4.3 km away by straight-line distance. Heraklion city profile

Relationship type: Fua Member Of. Source¹⁷

Put Irákleion's key facts on your site — a card with this page's figures and a link back, free under CC BY 4.0.

Common questions

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

How many people live in Irákleion?

The published population was 149,501 people in 2021. Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

Is the air quality good in Irákleion?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 12 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: European Environment Agency (EEA).

What is the unemployment rate in Irákleion?

The unemployment rate is about 12.7 % (October 2021). Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), 2021 Population and Housing Census.

Is Irákleion a good place to live?

Irákleion 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.

Is Irákleion part of Heraklion?

Irákleion belongs to the official functional urban area of Heraklion; this describes an urban and commuting relationship, not municipal ownership. It is about 4.3 km away by straight-line distance.

Which cities are near Irákleion?

Gázi, Arkalochóri are near Irákleion. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.

How many people born in Greece live in Irákleion?

The official country of birth distribution records 138,719 people (92.8%) in the source-defined population for 2021 Census. 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). Irákleion, Greece: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 56443c59af7f34b634bfb326149b8d25]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/gr/irakleion/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_irakleion-greece-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_d564ace26e7d,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Irákleion, Greece: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {56443c59af7f34b634bfb326149b8d25},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/gr/irakleion/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Irákleion, Greece: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/gr/irakleion/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 56443c59af7f34b634bfb326149b8d25; 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

A4. Offences committed by General Police Directorates and Regional General Police Directorates (2000–2024) lms.statistics.gr · checked 2026-09-25
COSMOTE mobile plan cosmote.gr · checked 2026-09-15
European Environment Agency (EEA) air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) statistics.gr · checked 2026-08-05
Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) statistics.gr · checked 2026-08-30
Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) statistics.gr · checked 2026-08-30
Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), 2021 Population and Housing Census statistics.gr · checked 2026-08-05
Mean annual earnings by NUTS 1 region - NACE Rev. 2, B-S excluding O (2022) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-24
NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-05
Nova Fiber100 nova.gr · checked 2026-09-15

Show 7 more sources

OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
Table 1.01 — Monthly average purchases and receipts in kind of households classified by Regions (HBS 2024) Table 1.01 · statistics.gr · checked 2026-09-25
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
wikidata.org place coordinates wikidata.org · checked 2026-08-28

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