Living in Alta

For Alta, the unemployment rate was 1.8% in June 2026. There were 400.3 physicians per 100,000 residents in 2024.

Which Norway-wide rules apply when you move to Alta?

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 NorwayNational rates and thresholds that apply in Alta.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Dwellings Count	10,034 dwellings	31 Dec 2025	Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB)⁸Official

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Alta?

The unemployment rate is 1.8 % (June 2026). Source: NAV HL301 — fully unemployed by county and municipality, June 2026⁵

Unemployment across cities in NorwayUnemployment in Alta is 1.8%. Of 176 cities with data, 59 have unemployment of 1.5 to under 2%.

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median gross salary (regional)	4,623 EUR/month	31 Dec 2025	data.ssb.no¹Official
Unemployment rate	1.8 %country median 1.7%	30 Jun 2026	NAV HL301 — fully unemployed by county and municipality, June 2026⁵Official

Public employment service

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

Country-level information

NAV employment service — Public employment service

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV)

Job Search

Search jobs

Open the Norway service overview

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

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
International schools	4 schools	31 Dec 2025	Utdanningsdirektoratet¹⁸Independent · fylke observation

Healthcare

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Doctors per 1,000 residents	3.97 per 1,000	31 Dec 2024	Helsedirektoratet¹⁰Independent · fylke observation
Physicians per 100,000 residents	400.3 per 100,000	31 Dec 2024	Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB)¹⁷Independent · fylke observation

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Alta 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

Doctors per 1,000 residents3.97 per 1,000Verified 2026-06-12

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Safety

How safe is Alta?

Police recorded 6,450 incidents per 100,000 (2024-2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: data.ssb.no²

Recorded crime across major citiesAlta highlighted among comparable cities

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	6,450 incidents per 100,000country median 4,455	31 Dec 2024	data.ssb.no²Official

Language courses and integration

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

Country-level information

Approved providers for Norwegian and social studies training — State Language Course

Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir)

For adult immigrants needing Norwegian and social studies training.

Norwegian

Open official information

Norwegian municipal introduction programme — Integration course

Municipalities under the national IMDi framework

For adult refugees and other eligible immigrants.

NorwegianIn Person

Open official information

Open the full Norway section

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

Climate and air quality

Monthly mean temperatures were −6.7°C in January and 13.9°C in July. Monthly precipitation was 39.9 mm in January and 50.2 mm in July.

Temperature through the yearAverage daytime high and night-time low, °C

Rainfall through the yearAverage monthly precipitation, mm

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Average January temperature	-1.53 °C	28 Aug 2026	MET Norway (Meteorologisk institutt)⁴Official · nearest-station reading
Average daytime high by month	Jan -3.31 · Feb -3.62 · Mar -0.393 · Apr 3.74 · May 8.84 · Jun 13.74 · Jul 17.63 · Aug 16.04 · Sep 11.46 · Oct 4.89 · Nov 0.26 · Dec -1.55 °C	31 Dec 2020	MET Norway Frost monthly observations — ALTA LUFTHAVN — 1991-2020 observational normal¹²Independent
Average night-time low by month	Jan -10.21 · Feb -10.34 · Mar -7.36 · Apr -2.79 · May 2.45 · Jun 7.37 · Jul 10.92 · Aug 9.5 · Sep 5.58 · Oct -0.083 · Nov -5.46 · Dec -8.05 °C	31 Dec 2020	MET Norway Frost monthly observations — ALTA LUFTHAVN — 1991-2020 observational normal¹³Independent
Average temperature by month	Jan -6.71 · Feb -6.87 · Mar -3.79 · Apr 0.493 · May 5.57 · Jun 10.23 · Jul 13.94 · Aug 12.54 · Sep 8.41 · Oct 2.37 · Nov -2.57 · Dec -4.73 °C	31 Dec 2020	MET Norway Frost monthly observations — ALTA LUFTHAVN — 1991-2020 observational normal¹⁴Independent
Average precipitation by month	Jan 39.92 · Feb 29.19 · Mar 32.08 · Apr 24.27 · May 25.23 · Jun 37.3 · Jul 50.19 · Aug 48.87 · Sep 37.96 · Oct 44.31 · Nov 32.69 · Dec 38.03 mm	31 Dec 2020	MET Norway Frost monthly observations — ALTA LUFTHAVN — 1991-2020 observational normal¹⁵Independent

Cities of a similar size in Norway

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

All Norway cities

Elverum21,937 residents Stange21,839 residents Narvik21,647 residents Klepp21,444 residents Ås22,725 residents Sunnfjord22,804 residents

Population and city profile

The city covered 3,849 km² in 2026. Population density was 6 people per km² in 2026.

How many people live in Alta?

The published population was 22,074 people in 2026. Source: SSB table 11342: municipality population/area by region and year.⁷

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Area	3,849 km²	1 Jan 2026	Kartverket³Official · kommune observation
Cars per 1,000 residents	442 per 1,000	31 Dec 2025	Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB)¹⁶Independent · fylke observation
City area	3,849 km²	1 Jan 2026	SSB 11342 ArealKm2⁷Official
Foreign residents	2,889 people	1 Jan 2026	SSB 09817 B-C / country background Total / Persons⁶Official
Population density	6 people/km²	1 Jan 2026	SSB 11342 ArealKm2⁷Official
Population	22,074 people	1 Jan 2026	SSB table 11342: municipality population/area by region and year.⁷Official

International community in Alta

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

Ancestry or ethnicity

Norwegian-born to immigrant parents; official SSB table 09817; reference date 1 January 2026 · 2026-01-01

Published group	People	Share
Total	234	1.1%
Europe except EU/EFTA/UK, Africa, Asia, America except USA and Canada, Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, polar regions	159	0.7%
Nordic countries except Norway, EU/EFTA, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand	75	0.3%
Afghanistan	33	0.1%
Poland	26	0.1%
Russia	21	0.1%
Ukraine	12	0.1%
Lithuania	11	0.1%
Eritrea	10	0.1%
Pakistan	8	0.0%
Finland	7	0.0%

Show 26 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Syria	7	0.0%
Germany	6	0.0%
Congo	6	0.0%
Somalia	6	0.0%
Sri Lanka	6	0.0%
Philippines	6	0.0%
Thailand	6	0.0%
Sudan	5	0.0%
Romania	4	0.0%
Hungary	4	0.0%
Slovakia	4	0.0%
Iraq	4	0.0%
Denmark	3	0.0%
Sweden	3	0.0%
Estonia	3	0.0%
Belarus	3	0.0%
Latvia	3	0.0%
Liberia	3	0.0%
Bhutan	3	0.0%
India	3	0.0%
Iran	3	0.0%
Palestine	3	0.0%
Nepal	3	0.0%
Vietnam	3	0.0%
Yemen	3	0.0%
Brazil	3	0.0%

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

Ancestry or ethnicity

Immigrants; official SSB table 09817; reference date 1 January 2026 · 2026-01-01

Published group	People	Share
Total	2,655	12.0%
Europe except EU/EFTA/UK, Africa, Asia, America except USA and Canada, Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, polar regions	1,589	7.2%
Nordic countries except Norway, EU/EFTA, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand	1,066	4.8%
Ukraine	528	2.4%
Poland	322	1.5%
Russia	190	0.9%
Thailand	122	0.6%
Afghanistan	120	0.5%
Finland	107	0.5%
Syria	99	0.5%
Sweden	97	0.4%

Show 84 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Lithuania	84	0.4%
Philippines	78	0.3%
Germany	63	0.3%
Denmark	51	0.2%
Eritrea	45	0.2%
Latvia	43	0.2%
Romania	31	0.1%
Türkiye	31	0.1%
United Kingdom	29	0.1%
Iceland	26	0.1%
Congo	26	0.1%
Estonia	25	0.1%
Somalia	24	0.1%
Italy	22	0.1%
Hungary	19	0.1%
Slovakia	19	0.1%
Spain	18	0.1%
United States	18	0.1%
Ethiopia	17	0.1%
Sudan	17	0.1%
Bulgaria	14	0.1%
Lebanon	14	0.1%
Brazil	14	0.1%
Netherlands	13	0.1%
India	13	0.1%
Iran	13	0.1%
Belarus	12	0.1%
Rwanda	12	0.1%
Bhutan	12	0.1%
France	11	0.1%
China	11	0.1%
Kenya	10	0.1%
South Sudan	10	0.1%
Portugal	9	0.0%
Czech Republic	9	0.0%
Serbia	9	0.0%
Iraq	9	0.0%
Croatia	8	0.0%
Moldova	8	0.0%
Uganda	8	0.0%
South Korea	8	0.0%
Pakistan	8	0.0%
Kosovo	7	0.0%
Nepal	7	0.0%
Sri Lanka	6	0.0%
Palestine	6	0.0%
Libya	5	0.0%
Cuba	5	0.0%
Belgium	4	0.0%
Switzerland	4	0.0%
Ghana	4	0.0%
Liberia	4	0.0%
Zambia	4	0.0%
Vietnam	4	0.0%
Greenland	3	0.0%
Faroe Islands	3	0.0%
Albania	3	0.0%
Greece	3	0.0%
Slovenia	3	0.0%
Bosnia-Herzegovina	3	0.0%
North Macedonia	3	0.0%
Burundi	3	0.0%
Egypt	3	0.0%
Guinea	3	0.0%
Nigeria	3	0.0%
Armenia	3	0.0%
Azerbaijan	3	0.0%
Bangladesh	3	0.0%
Myanmar	3	0.0%
Georgia	3	0.0%
Indonesia	3	0.0%
Israel	3	0.0%
Kazakhstan	3	0.0%
Kyrgyzstan	3	0.0%
Saudi Arabia	3	0.0%
Tajikistan	3	0.0%
Uzbekistan	3	0.0%
Yemen	3	0.0%
Canada	3	0.0%
Mexico	3	0.0%
Argentina	3	0.0%
Colombia	3	0.0%
Australia	3	0.0%
New Zealand	3	0.0%

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

Ancestry or ethnicity

Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents; official SSB table 09817; reference date 1 January 2026 · 2026-01-01

Published group	People	Share
Total	2,889	13.1%
Europe except EU/EFTA/UK, Africa, Asia, America except USA and Canada, Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, polar regions	1,748	7.9%
Nordic countries except Norway, EU/EFTA, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand	1,141	5.2%
Ukraine	540	2.5%
Poland	348	1.6%
Russia	211	1.0%
Afghanistan	153	0.7%
Thailand	128	0.6%
Finland	114	0.5%
Syria	106	0.5%
Sweden	99	0.5%

Show 85 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Lithuania	95	0.4%
Philippines	84	0.4%
Germany	69	0.3%
Eritrea	55	0.3%
Denmark	53	0.2%
Latvia	45	0.2%
Romania	35	0.2%
Congo	32	0.1%
Türkiye	31	0.1%
Somalia	30	0.1%
United Kingdom	29	0.1%
Estonia	28	0.1%
Iceland	27	0.1%
Hungary	23	0.1%
Slovakia	23	0.1%
Italy	22	0.1%
Sudan	22	0.1%
Spain	19	0.1%
United States	18	0.1%
Ethiopia	17	0.1%
India	16	0.1%
Pakistan	16	0.1%
Iran	15	0.1%
Brazil	15	0.1%
Bulgaria	14	0.1%
Belarus	14	0.1%
Bhutan	14	0.1%
Lebanon	14	0.1%
Netherlands	13	0.1%
Rwanda	13	0.1%
Iraq	13	0.1%
Sri Lanka	12	0.1%
France	11	0.1%
China	11	0.1%
Serbia	10	0.1%
Kenya	10	0.1%
South Sudan	10	0.1%
Portugal	9	0.0%
Czech Republic	9	0.0%
South Korea	9	0.0%
Palestine	9	0.0%
Nepal	9	0.0%
Croatia	8	0.0%
Moldova	8	0.0%
Uganda	8	0.0%
Kosovo	7	0.0%
Liberia	6	0.0%
Vietnam	6	0.0%
Switzerland	5	0.0%
Ghana	5	0.0%
Libya	5	0.0%
Yemen	5	0.0%
Cuba	5	0.0%
Belgium	4	0.0%
Slovenia	4	0.0%
Zambia	4	0.0%
Kazakhstan	4	0.0%
Greenland	3	0.0%
Faroe Islands	3	0.0%
Albania	3	0.0%
Greece	3	0.0%
Bosnia-Herzegovina	3	0.0%
North Macedonia	3	0.0%
Algeria	3	0.0%
Burundi	3	0.0%
Egypt	3	0.0%
Morocco	3	0.0%
Nigeria	3	0.0%
South Africa	3	0.0%
Armenia	3	0.0%
Azerbaijan	3	0.0%
Bangladesh	3	0.0%
United Arab Emirates	3	0.0%
Georgia	3	0.0%
Indonesia	3	0.0%
Kyrgyzstan	3	0.0%
Malaysia	3	0.0%
Saudi Arabia	3	0.0%
Uzbekistan	3	0.0%
Canada	3	0.0%
Mexico	3	0.0%
Argentina	3	0.0%
Colombia	3	0.0%
Australia	3	0.0%
New Zealand	3	0.0%

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

Is Alta 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 worker64%strong on work, weak on housing · range 54–74%

Skilled employee64%strong on work, weak on housing · range 54–74%

Student53%strong on education, weak on housing · range 42–64%

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

Retirement52%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 40–64%

Foreign residents2,889 people1 Jan 2026Official source · SSB 09817 B-C / country background Total / Persons

Population22,074 people1 Jan 2026Official source · SSB table 11342: municipality population/area by region and year.

Median gross salary (regional)4,623 EUR/month31 Dec 2025Official source · data.ssb.no

Unemployment rate1.8 %30 Jun 2026Official source · NAV HL301 — fully unemployed by county and municipality, June 2026

Average January temperature-1.53 °C28 Aug 2026Official source · MET Norway (Meteorologisk institutt)

Area3,849 km²1 Jan 2026Official source · Kartverket

Every value keeps its source, geographic scope and verification date · Last checked 2026-09-03

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Registered Cars Count	12,702 vehicles	31 Dec 2025	Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB)¹⁶Official
Universities	3 institutions	31 Dec 2025	HK-dir (DBH)¹¹Independent · fylke observation

How does Alta compare?

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Common questions

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

How many people live in Alta?

The published population was 22,074 people in 2026. Source: SSB table 11342: municipality population/area by region and year..

How safe is Alta?

Police recorded 6,450 incidents per 100,000 (2024-2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: data.ssb.no.

What is the unemployment rate in Alta?

The unemployment rate is 1.8 % (June 2026). Source: NAV HL301 — fully unemployed by county and municipality, June 2026.

What is the typical salary around Alta?

The median gross salary is 4,623 EUR/month. Source: data.ssb.no.

How many foreign residents live in Alta?

2,889 people residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: SSB 09817 B-C / country background Total / Persons.

Is Alta a good place to live?

Alta 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 are in the Denmark ancestry or ethnicity group in Alta?

The official ancestry or ethnicity distribution records 3 people (0.0%) in the source-defined population for 2026-01-01. This is a ancestry or ethnicity 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 14). Alta, Norway: salary, jobs, safety, climate, healthcare [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-c751ebb1b4085a62; version approved-static-c751ebb1b4085a62]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/no/alta/ Retrieved 2026-09-14. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_alta-norway-salary-jobs-safety-climate-healthcare_e6c808d28ce4,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Alta, Norway: salary, jobs, safety, climate, healthcare},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-09-14},
  version = {approved-static-c751ebb1b4085a62},
  snapshot = {approved-static-c751ebb1b4085a62},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/no/alta/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-09-14. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Alta, Norway: salary, jobs, safety, climate, healthcare](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/no/alta/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; snapshot approved-static-c751ebb1b4085a62; version approved-static-c751ebb1b4085a62; retrieved 2026-09-14; built 2026-09-14.

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

data.ssb.no data.ssb.no · checked 2026-08-27
data.ssb.no data.ssb.no · checked 2026-08-27
Kartverket kartverket.no · checked 2026-07-14
MET Norway (Meteorologisk institutt) frost.met.no · checked 2026-06-12
NAV HL301 — fully unemployed by county and municipality, June 2026 NAV HL301 · nav.no · checked 2026-07-26
SSB 09817 B-C / country background Total / Persons data.ssb.no · checked 2026-07-15
SSB table 11342: municipality population/area by region and year. data.ssb.no · checked 2026-07-14
Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB) data.ssb.no · checked 2026-06-12
Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB) data.ssb.no · checked 2026-06-12
Helsedirektoratet helsedirektoratet.no · checked 2026-07-14

Show 8 more sources

HK-dir (DBH) dbh.hkdir.no · checked 2026-07-14
MET Norway Frost monthly observations — ALTA LUFTHAVN — 1991-2020 observational normal MET Norway Frost monthly observations · rim.k8s.met.no · checked 2026-07-27
MET Norway Frost monthly observations — ALTA LUFTHAVN — 1991-2020 observational normal MET Norway Frost monthly observations · rim.k8s.met.no · checked 2026-07-27
MET Norway Frost monthly observations — ALTA LUFTHAVN — 1991-2020 observational normal MET Norway Frost monthly observations · rim.k8s.met.no · checked 2026-07-27
MET Norway Frost monthly observations — ALTA LUFTHAVN — 1991-2020 observational normal MET Norway Frost monthly observations · rim.k8s.met.no · checked 2026-07-27
Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB) data.ssb.no · checked 2026-07-14
Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB) data.ssb.no · checked 2026-07-14
Utdanningsdirektoratet udir.no · checked 2026-07-14

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