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Living in Valka

In Valka, unemployment is 6.9% (2025).

In 2026, Valka had a population of 4,562. The unemployment rate was 6.9% at the start of 2025.

Last checked 2026-10-0717 sources

Population4,562people1 Jan 2026Official source · Population number and share by citizenship and sex in regions, cities, municipalities, towns, neighbourhoods and densely populated areas at the beginning of year
Median gross salary (region)1,149EUR/month31 Dec 2024Official source · Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia
Unemployment rate6.9%country median 6.0% — 14% aboveOfficial source · CSB Latvia RIG090 — share of unemployed persons among economically active population aged 15-74
Recorded crime2,007incidents per 100,00031 Dec 2025Official source · Recorded crimes and crime rates by State city and municipality (after administrative-territorial reform in 2021) 2021-2025

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

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 Valka.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

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

What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month
Valka recurring monthly costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€7
Mobile plan, 10 GB€7
Net rent across major citiesValka highlighted among comparable cities
Net rent across major cities with Valka highlighted

net rent, € / m² / month

Rīga€5.77
Daugavpils€4.50
Liepāja€1.18
MetricValuePeriodSource
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited6.99 EUR/month30 Sept 2026Tele2 Latvia fixed internet14Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB6.99 EUR/month31 May 2025Tele2 Latvia 10GB data plan13Official · national market
Dwellings3,375 dwellings31 Dec 2024VZD Building register (Būvju kadastrs) + CSP Census 2024 estimate17Official
Average property price per m²600 EUR/m²31 Dec 2025VZD (Valsts zemes dienests) — Latvijas nekustamā īpašuma tirgus statistika16Official

Is Valka 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 housing · range 43–63%
Skilled employee57%strong on legal route, weak on education · range 47–67%
Student58%strong on cost, weak on education · range 47–69%
Family59%strong on family, weak on education · range 49–69%
Retirement60%strong on safety, weak on admin · range 48–72%

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Valka?

The unemployment rate is 6.9 % (January 2025). Source: CSB Latvia RIG090 — share of unemployed persons among economically active population aged 15-747

Unemployment across cities in LatviaUnemployment in Valka is 6.9%. Of 38 cities with data, 14 have unemployment of 4 to under 6%.

Unemployment rate (%)

MetricValuePeriodSource
Median gross salary (regional)1,149 EUR/month31 Dec 2024Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia1Official · regional context
Unemployment rate6.9 %country median 6.0%1 Jan 2025CSB Latvia RIG090 — share of unemployed persons among economically active population aged 15-747Official

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Valka. 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 Valka. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Safety

How safe is Valka?

Police recorded 2,007 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Recorded crimes and crime rates by State city and municipality (after administrative-territorial reform in 2021) 2021-202512

Recorded crime across major citiesValka highlighted among comparable cities
Recorded crime across major cities with Valka highlighted

recorded incidents per 100k residents

Daugavpils2,987
Rīga2,760
Liepāja2,071
Jūrmala1,832
MetricValuePeriodSource
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents2,007 incidents per 100,00031 Dec 2025Recorded crimes and crime rates by State city and municipality (after administrative-territorial reform in 2021) 2021-202512Official

Mobility and administration

The nearest airport was TAY, 71.4 km away, with 1 listed destinations in June 2026.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Destinations from nearest airport1 count13 Jun 2026OpenFlights — routes.dat9Official
Nearest airportTAY13 Jun 2026OurAirports — airports.csv10Official
Distance to nearest airport71.4 km13 Jun 2026OurAirports — airports.csv10Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Valka. 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 Valka.

Find courses near Valka

Climate and air quality

MetricValuePeriodSource
Average January temperature-4 °C31 Dec 2020LVĢMC — Climate normals 1991-2020 (nearest station observation)8Official · nearest-station reading

Population and city profile

How many people live in Valka?

The published population was 4,562 people in January 2026. Source: Population number and share by citizenship and sex in regions, cities, municipalities, towns, neighbourhoods and densely populated areas at the beginning of year11

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

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

MetricValuePeriodSource
City area13.88 km²1 Jan 2026Total and land area of regions, cities, municipalities, towns and rural territories at the beginning of year (km²)15Official
Foreign residents537 people1 Jan 2025CSB Latvia IRV031 — population by citizenship and sex6Official
Population density329 people/km²8 Aug 2026Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia2Official · town sub municipal
Population4,562 people1 Jan 2026Population number and share by citizenship and sex in regions, cities, municipalities, towns, neighbourhoods and densely populated areas at the beginning of year11Official

International community in Valka

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 groupPeopleShare
Total7,501100.0%
Latvia6,61588.2%
Born abroad88611.8%
Other countries (excluding EU-27 from 2020)5417.2%
EU-27 from 2020 (excluding Latvia)3454.6%

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 groupPeopleShare
Total7,501100.0%
Citizens of Latvia6,99593.3%
Non-citizens of Latvia4205.6%
Other citizenship490.7%
Citizens of European Union 27 countries from 2020 (excluding Latvia)370.5%

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 groupPeopleShare
Total7,501100.0%
Latvians6,17082.3%
Russians82511.0%
Belarusians1512.0%
Ukrainians1451.9%
Other ethnicities, including not selected and not indicated ethnicity881.2%
Poles430.6%
Estonians360.5%
Lithuanians300.4%
Roma130.2%

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

Alternatives for people set on Valka

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.

Jūrmala as a Valka alternative in the same country

Better on 3 of 3 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0. Recorded crime, per 100k cannot be compared like for like.

  • Unemployment: 4.9% Jūrmala vs 6.9% Valka−29%
  • Nearest airport: 13.3 km Jūrmala vs 71.4 km Valka−81%
  • Recorded crime, per 100k: 1,832 Jūrmala vs 2,007 Valkano percentage
  • Median gross pay, region: €1,272 Jūrmala vs €1,149 Valka+11%
Full comparisonMore about Jūrmala

Alternative cities in Latvia

Other cities in Latvia to compare with Valka, nearest in population first.

All Latvia cities
Ķekava4,967 residentsSmiltene4,994 residentsSaulkrasti5,311 residentsBalvi5,500 residentsAizpute3,763 residentsPreiļi5,724 residents

How does Valka compare?

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

Open the full comparison

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Valka 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: additional support in learning the Latvian language (papildu atbalsts latviešu valodā; regulation for pupils with asylum/alternative status). How to enrol a child (izm.gov.lv).

A country-wide rule for Latvia; Valka'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 Valka?

The published population was 4,562 people in January 2026. Source: Population number and share by citizenship and sex in regions, cities, municipalities, towns, neighbourhoods and densely populated areas at the beginning of year.

How safe is Valka?

Police recorded 2,007 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Recorded crimes and crime rates by State city and municipality (after administrative-territorial reform in 2021) 2021-2025.

What is the unemployment rate in Valka?

The unemployment rate is 6.9 % (January 2025). Source: CSB Latvia RIG090 — share of unemployed persons among economically active population aged 15-74.

What is the typical salary around Valka?

The median gross salary is 1,149 EUR/month. Source: Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia.

How many foreign residents live in Valka?

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

Is Valka a good place to live?

Valka 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 Latvia live in Valka?

The official country of birth distribution records 6,615 people (88.2%) 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, October 16). Valka, Latvia: population, salary, cost of living, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version f60d329c9d7893a722708385ee39969b]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/lv/valka/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_valka-latvia-population-salary-cost-of-living-jobs_088eaa65ed28,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Valka, Latvia: population, salary, cost of living, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {f60d329c9d7893a722708385ee39969b},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/lv/valka/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
Markdown citation
[Valka, Latvia: population, salary, cost of living, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/lv/valka/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version f60d329c9d7893a722708385ee39969b; 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
  1. Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-08-07
  2. Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-08-08
  3. Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-08-30
  4. Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia ancestry or ethnicity distribution api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-08-28
  5. Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia country of birth distribution api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-08-28
  6. CSB Latvia IRV031 — population by citizenship and sex CSB Latvia IRV031 · api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-07-26
  7. 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
  8. LVĢMC — Climate normals 1991-2020 (nearest station observation) LVĢMC · data.gov.lv · checked 2026-06-12
  9. OpenFlights — routes.dat OpenFlights · raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-07-14
  10. OurAirports — airports.csv OurAirports · davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-07-14
Show 7 more sources
  1. Population number and share by citizenship and sex in regions, cities, municipalities, towns, neighbourhoods and densely populated areas at the beginning of year api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-09-27
  2. Recorded crimes and crime rates by State city and municipality (after administrative-territorial reform in 2021) 2021-2025 api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-10-05
  3. Tele2 Latvia 10GB data plan tele2.lv · checked 2026-09-15
  4. Tele2 Latvia fixed internet tele2.lv · checked 2026-09-15
  5. Total and land area of regions, cities, municipalities, towns and rural territories at the beginning of year (km²) api.stat.gov.lv · checked 2026-09-27
  6. VZD (Valsts zemes dienests) — Latvijas nekustamā īpašuma tirgus statistika VZD (Valsts zemes dienests) · vzd.gov.lv · checked 2026-06-12
  7. VZD Building register (Būvju kadastrs) + CSP Census 2024 estimate vzd.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.