Living in Smiltene

Smiltene had 17,557 residents at the start of 2025 and is a city in Latvia. For Smiltene, the nearest airport was TAY, 108.6 km away, with 1 listed destinations in June 2026.

Which Latvia-wide rules apply when you move to Smiltene?

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 LatviaNational rates and thresholds that apply in Smiltene.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

No city-level rent or cost figure is published for Smiltene yet. Latvia has country-level context; it is not substituted for this city.

Net rent across major citiesSmiltene highlighted among comparable cities

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Dwellings Count	7,787 dwellings	31 Dec 2024	VZD Building register (Būvju kadastrs) + CSP Census 2024 estimate¹⁴Official
Property Price Avg Eur	650 EUR/m²	31 Dec 2025	VZD (Valsts zemes dienests) — Latvijas nekustamā īpašuma tirgus statistika¹³Official

Worked out from these numbers

How international is the population?

2.1% of residents hold a foreign nationality — 360 people of 17,557 people. This counts nationality, not place of birth, so long-settled residents who naturalised are not in it.

Work and income

The unemployment rate was 5.3% at the start of 2025.

Unemployment across cities in LatviaUnemployment in Smiltene is 5.3%. Of 34 cities with data, 11 have unemployment of 4 to under 5%.

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median gross salary (regional)	1,224 EUR/month	31 Dec 2024	Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia¹Official · regional context
Unemployment rate	5.3 %country median 5.5%	1 Jan 2025	CSB Latvia RIG090 — share of unemployed persons among economically active population aged 15-74⁸Official

Public employment service

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

Country-level information

State Employment Agency — Public employment service

Nodarbinātības valsts aģentūra (NVA)

Job SearchTraining

Open official service

Open the Latvia service overview

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

Mobility and administration

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Destinations from nearest airport	1 count	13 Jun 2026	OpenFlights — routes.dat¹¹Official
Nearest airport	TAY	13 Jun 2026	OurAirports — airports.csv¹²Official
Distance to nearest airport	108.6 km	13 Jun 2026	OurAirports — airports.csv¹²Official

Language courses and integration

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

Country-level information

2026 Latvian language courses for Ukrainian civilians — State Language Course

Society Integration Foundation

For Ukrainian civilians in Latvia.

LatvianIn Personfree

Open official information

Open the full Latvia section

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

Climate and air quality

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Average January temperature	-4 °C	31 Dec 2020	LVĢMC — Climate normals 1991-2020 (nearest station observation)⁹Official · nearest-station reading
Climate Monthly Extreme High C	Jan 8.14 · Feb 7.37 · Mar 15.13 · Apr 23.46 · May 26.96 · Jun 28.89 · Jul 30.06 · Aug 30.04 · Sep 27.28 · Oct 20.31 · Nov 11.59 · Dec 8.64 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center¹⁰Official
Climate Monthly Extreme Low C	Jan -39.35 · Feb -35 · Mar -22.88 · Apr -10.54 · May -3.6 · Jun 2.39 · Jul 5.76 · Aug 4.87 · Sep -1.78 · Oct -14.56 · Nov -21.92 · Dec -24.24 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center¹⁰Official
Average temperature by month	Jan -6.64 · Feb -6.57 · Mar -2.06 · Apr 4.77 · May 11.17 · Jun 15.07 · Jul 17.98 · Aug 16.71 · Sep 12.08 · Oct 5.39 · Nov 0.79 · Dec -3.59 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center¹⁰Official

Cities of a similar size in Latvia

Closest published populations, for a like-for-like comparison.

All Latvia cities

Krāslava19,505 residents Preiļi15,536 residents Olaine20,677 residents Ādaži23,608 residents Salaspils23,818 residents Saldus26,631 residents

Population and city profile

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Area	1,801 km²	27 Aug 2026	VZD Latvia¹⁵Official
Foreign residents	360 people	1 Jan 2025	CSB Latvia IRV031 — population by citizenship and sex⁷Official
Population density	721 people/km²	8 Aug 2026	Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia²Official
Population	17,557 people	1 Jan 2025	CSB Latvia IRS031 — population at the beginning of year in regions, cities, towns and municipalities⁶Official

International community in Smiltene

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

Country of birth

Official Latvian register-based population estimate at the beginning of 2026; all ages; total sex · 2026 (beginning of year)

Published group	People	Share
Total	17,306	100.0%
Latvia	16,659	96.3%
Born abroad	647	3.7%
Other countries (excluding EU-27 from 2020)	495	2.9%
EU-27 from 2020 (excluding Latvia)	152	0.9%

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

Citizenship

Official Latvian register-based population estimate at the beginning of 2026; all ages; total sex · 2026 (beginning of year)

Published group	People	Share
Total	17,306	100.0%
Citizens of Latvia	16,958	98.0%
Non-citizens of Latvia	249	1.4%
Other citizenship	92	0.5%
Citizens of European Union 27 countries from 2020 (excluding Latvia)	7	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source³

Ancestry or ethnicity

Official Latvian register-based population estimate at the beginning of 2026; all ages; total population · 2026 (beginning of year)

Published group	People	Share
Total	17,306	100.0%
Latvians	16,155	93.3%
Russians	560	3.2%
Ukrainians	149	0.9%
Belarusians	138	0.8%
Other ethnicities, including not selected and not indicated ethnicity	127	0.7%
Poles	92	0.5%
Estonians	38	0.2%
Lithuanians	29	0.2%
Roma	15	0.1%
Jews	3	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁴

Is Smiltene 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 worker53%strong on work, weak on safety · range 42–64%

Skilled employee58%strong on work, weak on safety · range 48–68%

Student53%strong on cost, weak on safety · range 41–65%

Family51%strong on family, weak on safety · range 39–63%

Retirement55%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 41–69%

Foreign residents360 people1 Jan 2025Official source · CSB Latvia IRV031 — population by citizenship and sex

Population17,557 people1 Jan 2025Official source · CSB Latvia IRS031 — population at the beginning of year in regions, cities, towns and municipalities

Median gross salary (regional)1,224 EUR/month31 Dec 2024Official source · Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia

Unemployment rate5.3 %1 Jan 2025Official source · CSB Latvia RIG090 — share of unemployed persons among economically active population aged 15-74

Average January temperature-4 °C31 Dec 2020Official source · LVĢMC — Climate normals 1991-2020 (nearest station observation)

Area1,801 km²27 Aug 2026Official source · VZD Latvia

Every value keeps its source, geographic scope and verification date · Last checked 2026-08-28

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Smiltene 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.

Common questions

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

What is the typical salary around Smiltene?

The median gross salary is 1,224 EUR/month. Source: Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia.

What is the unemployment rate in Smiltene?

The unemployment rate is 5.3 %. Source: CSB Latvia RIG090 — share of unemployed persons among economically active population aged 15-74.

How many people live in Smiltene?

The published population is 17,557 people. Source: CSB Latvia IRS031 — population at the beginning of year in regions, cities, towns and municipalities.

How many foreign residents live in Smiltene?

360 people residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: CSB Latvia IRV031 — population by citizenship and sex.

Is Smiltene a good place to live?

Smiltene 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 Born abroad live in Smiltene?

The official country of birth distribution records 647 people (3.7%) in the source-defined population for 2026 (beginning of year). 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, September 12). Smiltene, Latvia: salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/lv/smiltene/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_smiltene-latvia-salary-cost-of-living_9463be60ac5c,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Smiltene, Latvia: salary, cost of living},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-09-12},
  version = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  snapshot = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/lv/smiltene/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Smiltene, Latvia: salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/lv/smiltene/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; retrieved 2026-09-12; built 2026-09-12.

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

Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-08-07
Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-08-08
Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-08-30
Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia ancestry_or_ethnicity distribution api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-08-28
Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia country_of_birth distribution api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-08-28
CSB Latvia IRS031 — population at the beginning of year in regions, cities, towns and municipalities CSB Latvia IRS031 · api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-07-26
CSB Latvia IRV031 — population by citizenship and sex CSB Latvia IRV031 · api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-07-26
CSB Latvia RIG090 — share of unemployed persons among economically active population aged 15-74 CSB Latvia RIG090 · api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-07-26
LVĢMC — Climate normals 1991-2020 (nearest station observation) LVĢMC · data.gov.lv · checked 2026-06-12
NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-03

Show 5 more sources

OpenFlights — routes.dat OpenFlights · raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-07-14
OurAirports — airports.csv OurAirports · davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-07-14
VZD (Valsts zemes dienests) — Latvijas nekustamā īpašuma tirgus statistika VZD (Valsts zemes dienests) · vzd.gov.lv · checked 2026-06-12
VZD Building register (Būvju kadastrs) + CSP Census 2024 estimate vzd.gov.lv · checked 2026-06-12
VZD Latvia data.gov.lv · checked 2026-06-12

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.