Living in Kaunas

In Kaunas, average gross earnings are €2,734 a month (2026) and unemployment is 6.1% (2024).

The unemployment rate was 6.05% at the end of 2024. Annual PM2.5 levels for Kaunas stood at 13 µg/m³ at the end of 2024.

Last checked 2026-09-2313 sources

Population302,835people5 Aug 2026Official source · State Data Agency of Lithuania (LSD)

Average gross salary2,734EUR/month30 Jun 2026Official source · Statistics Lithuania OSP S3R0050_M3060322 — Monthly gross wages by administrative territory

Unemployment rate6.05%country median 8.8% — 31% belowOfficial source · Eurostat

Recorded crime1,666offences per 100,00031 Dec 2025Official source · Information Technology and Communications Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania

PM2.5, annual mean13µg/m³31 Dec 2024Nearest stationOfficial source · European Environment Agency

Which Lithuania-wide rules apply when you move to Kaunas?

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 LithuaniaNational rates and thresholds that apply in Kaunas.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

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

What recurs every month5 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Private kindergarten€627

Fitness club€29

Transport pass€28

Internet, 60 Mbps€15

Mobile plan, 10 GB€15

Supplemental estimate lane; these items are not official statistics.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Fitness club membership, monthly	29.15 EUR/month	3 Aug 2026	Numbeo¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	15.45 EUR/month	3 Aug 2026	Numbeo¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Private kindergarten, monthly	626.7 EUR/month	3 Aug 2026	Numbeo¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant	10.99 eur	3 Aug 2026	Numbeo¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Mobile plan, 10 GB	14.77 EUR/month	3 Aug 2026	Numbeo¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Monthly transport pass	28 EUR/month	3 Aug 2026	Numbeo¹³Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context

Is Kaunas 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 worker54%strong on work, weak on housing · range 44–64%

Skilled employee59%strong on work, weak on education · range 49–69%

Student55%strong on cost, weak on education · range 44–66%

Family55%strong on family, weak on education · range 45–65%

Retirement57%strong on safety, weak on admin · range 45–69%

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Kaunas?

The unemployment rate is about 6.1 % (2024).

Unemployment rate: 6.05 % · Eurostat²

Unemployment across cities in LithuaniaUnemployment in Kaunas is 6.1%. Of 44 cities with data, 10 have unemployment of 7 to under 8%.

6–77–88–99–1010–1111–1212–1316–17

Kaunas 6.1%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Average gross earnings	2,734 EUR/month	30 Jun 2026	Statistics Lithuania OSP S3R0050_M3060322 — Monthly gross wages by administrative territory¹²Official
Public employment offices	1 count	12 Aug 2026	Kauno 1-asis skyrius (darbdavius aptarnaujantis skyrius) — exact current-export location record⁴Official
Unemployment rate	6.05 %country median 8.8%	31 Dec 2024	Eurostat²Official

Unemployment rate over time17 published observations, 1998–2024

3.6%

8.6%

13.6%

18.6%

6.0%1998200920182024

Unemployment rate fell 46.3% between 1998 and 2024, from 11.3% to 6.0%.

Public employment offices in Kaunas

Exact offices linked to this city from official sources. Check the office page before visiting because hours and appointment rules can change.

Verified locally

Kauno 1-asis skyrius (darbdavius aptarnaujantis skyrius) — Verified local office

E. Ožeškienės g. 37, Kaunas

Info.KaunoMiestas1@uzt.lt

Open official office page

Only exact city-linked public offices are listed; this is not a complete directory of private recruiters or every employment provider. Sources checked through 12 Aug 2026.

Safety

Kaunas's crime rate stood at 1,666.2 incidents per 100,000 residents at the end of 2025.

How safe is Kaunas?

Police recorded about 1,666 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source.

Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents: 1,666 offences per 100,000 · Information Technology and Communications Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania³

Recorded crime across major citiesKaunas highlighted among comparable cities

recorded incidents per 100k residents

Vilnius1,929

Klaipėda1,697

Kaunas1,666

Alytus1,565

Panevėžys1,502

Marijampolė1,343

Šiauliai1,321

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	1,666 offences per 100,000	31 Dec 2025	Information Technology and Communications Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania³Official

Mobility and administration

Kaunas's nearest airport was KUN, 13 km away and offered 19 direct destinations.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Direct destinations from the nearest major airport	19 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights⁶Official
Distance to the nearest major airport	13 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁷Official
Nearest major airport (IATA code)	KUN	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁷Official

Climate and air quality

Monthly mean temperatures were −5.6°C in January and 18.5°C in July.

Is the air quality good in Kaunas?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 13 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: European Environment Agency¹

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

PM2.513WHO 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	13 µg/m³	31 Dec 2024	European Environment Agency¹Official · nearest-station reading
Monthly extreme high temperature	Jan 9.63 · Feb 9.41 · Mar 17.46 · Apr 26.16 · May 28.11 · Jun 31.43 · Jul 31.56 · Aug 32.88 · Sep 31.05 · Oct 20.56 · Nov 14.51 · Dec 9.82 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁵Official · coordinate grid
Monthly extreme low temperature	Jan -38.78 · Feb -29.66 · Mar -19.55 · Apr -7.73 · May -4.62 · Jun 1.72 · Jul 6.79 · Aug 6.5 · Sep -0.81 · Oct -6.49 · Nov -14.32 · Dec -23.71 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁵Official · coordinate grid
Average temperature by month	Jan -5.63 · Feb -4.61 · Mar 0.06 · Apr 6.53 · May 12.62 · Jun 15.98 · Jul 18.5 · Aug 17.57 · Sep 12.83 · Oct 6.63 · Nov 2.09 · Dec -2.58 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁵Official · coordinate grid

Population and city profile

How many people live in Kaunas?

The published population was 302,835 people in January 2026. Source: State Data Agency of Lithuania (LSD)⁸

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Population	302,835 people	5 Aug 2026	State Data Agency of Lithuania (LSD)⁸Official

International community in Kaunas

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

Country of birth

Population enumerated in the Lithuania 2021 Census; all persons; official OSP municipality table · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Iš viso pagal gimimo vietą	298,753	100.0%
Lietuva	287,843	96.3%
Miestas	207,381	69.4%
Kaimas	80,465	26.9%
Užsienio valstybės	10,905	3.7%
Rusija	5,008	1.7%
Kitos valstybės	1,469	0.5%
Jungtinė Karalystė	1,182	0.4%
Ukraina	1,015	0.3%
Baltarusija	740	0.2%

Show 8 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Kazachstanas	427	0.1%
Latvija	389	0.1%
Vokietija	199	0.1%
Lenkija	140	0.0%
Jungtinės Valstijos	127	0.0%
Estija	96	0.0%
Azerbaidžanas	68	0.0%
Uzbekistanas	52	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹¹

Citizenship

Population enumerated in the Lithuania 2021 Census; all persons; official OSP municipality table · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Iš viso pagal pilietybę	298,753	100.0%
Gyventojai, turintys vieną pilietybę	297,904	99.7%
Lietuvos Respublikos	296,651	99.3%
Gyventojai, turintys daugiau nei vieną pilietybę	768	0.3%
Rusijos Federacijos	493	0.2%
Kitų valstybių	459	0.2%
Ukrainos	209	0.1%
Be pilietybės	77	0.0%
Baltarusijos Respublikos	76	0.0%
Lenkijos Respublikos	18	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹⁰

Ancestry or ethnicity

Population enumerated in the Lithuania 2021 Census; all persons; official OSP municipality table · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Iš viso pagal tautybę	298,753	100.0%
Lietuviai	281,943	94.4%
Rusai	8,634	2.9%
Nenurodyta	4,305	1.4%
Kitos	1,268	0.4%
Lenkai	1,085	0.4%
Ukrainiečiai	977	0.3%
Baltarusiai	550	0.2%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁹

Alternatives for people set on Kaunas

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.

Šiauliai as a Kaunas alternative in the same country

A move, not a commute, at 121 km, better on 2 of 4 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0.

Recorded crime, per 100k: 1,321 Šiauliai vs 1,666 Kaunas−21%
Residents: 110,965 Šiauliai vs 302,835 Kaunas−63%
Annual PM2.5: 11.0 µg/m³ Šiauliai vs 13.0 µg/m³ Kaunas−15%
Unemployment: 6.2% Šiauliai vs 6.1% Kaunassame level

Full comparison More about Šiauliai

Alternative cities in Lithuania

Other cities in Lithuania to compare with Kaunas, nearest in population first.

All Lithuania cities

Klaipėda160,026 residents Vilnius576,747 residents Šiauliai110,965 residents Panevėžys84,319 residents Marijampolė53,498 residents Mazeikiai50,934 residents

How does Kaunas compare?

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

Open the full comparison

Kaunas in rankings

#1 of 27 in Cities with lowest unemployment in Lithuania #2 of 28 in Largest cities in Lithuania #12 of 12 in Cities with cleanest air in Lithuania #16 of 24 in Cities with the highest published monthly salaries

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Kaunas 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 5 to 16. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: Lietuvių kalbos mokymas (Lithuanian language teaching for foreign pupils). How to enrol a child (smsm.lrv.lt).

A country-wide rule for Lithuania; Kaunas's school authority applies it locally.

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

Common questions

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

How many people live in Kaunas?

The published population was 302,835 people in January 2026. Source: State Data Agency of Lithuania (LSD).

Is the air quality good in Kaunas?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 13 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.

How safe is Kaunas?

Police recorded about 1,666 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Information Technology and Communications Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania.

What is the unemployment rate in Kaunas?

The unemployment rate is about 6.1 % (2024). Source: Eurostat.

How much is public transport in Kaunas?

A monthly transport pass is 28 EUR/month. This is a supplemental estimate, not an official municipal measurement. Source: Numbeo.

Is Kaunas a good place to live?

Kaunas 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.

How many people born in Iš viso pagal gimimo vietą live in Kaunas?

The official country of birth distribution records 298,753 people (100.0%) 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). Kaunas, Lithuania: population, salary, cost of living, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 1b078ee5cc3456426711f5579ef82a45]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/lt/kaunas/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_kaunas-lithuania-population-salary-cost-of-living-jobs_216700c29beb,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Kaunas, Lithuania: population, salary, cost of living, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {1b078ee5cc3456426711f5579ef82a45},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/lt/kaunas/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Kaunas, Lithuania: population, salary, cost of living, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/lt/kaunas/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 1b078ee5cc3456426711f5579ef82a45; 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

European Environment Agency air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
Information Technology and Communications Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania ird.lt · checked 2026-08-04
Kauno 1-asis skyrius (darbdavius aptarnaujantis skyrius) — exact current-export location record Kauno 1-asis skyrius (darbdavius aptarnaujantis skyrius) · uzt.lt · checked 2026-09-15
NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-05
OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
State Data Agency of Lithuania (LSD) osp-rs.stat.gov.lt · checked 2026-08-05
State Data Agency of Lithuania (Official Statistics Portal) ancestry or ethnicity distribution osp.stat.gov.lt · checked 2026-08-28
State Data Agency of Lithuania (Official Statistics Portal) citizenship distribution osp.stat.gov.lt · checked 2026-08-28

Show 3 more sources

State Data Agency of Lithuania (Official Statistics Portal) country of birth distribution osp.stat.gov.lt · checked 2026-08-28
Statistics Lithuania OSP S3R0050_M3060322 — Monthly gross wages by administrative territory Statistics Lithuania OSP S3R0050_M3060322 · osp-rs.stat.gov.lt · checked 2026-09-23
Numbeo numbeo.com · checked 2026-08-03

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.