Living in Harstad

In Harstad, unemployment is 0.9% (2026).

Car density was 460 vehicles per 1,000 residents at the end of 2025. There were 380 physicians per 100,000 residents in 2024. There were 3.5 doctors per 1,000 people in 2024. The unemployment rate was 0.9% in June 2026.

Last checked 2026-09-1918 sources

Population25,204people1 Jan 2026Official source · SSB table 11342: municipality population/area by region and year.

Median gross salary (region)4,563EUR/month31 Dec 2025Official source · data.ssb.no

Unemployment rate0.9%country median 1.7% — 47% belowOfficial source · NAV HL301 — fully unemployed by county and municipality, June 2026

Recorded crime5,060incidents per 100,000country median 4,460 — 13% aboveOfficial source · data.ssb.no

PM2.5, annual mean5µg/m³31 Dec 2024Official source · air.discomap.eea.europa.eu

Lower unemployment than any other Norwegian city that publishes it and more recorded crime than 67% of Norwegian cities that publish it.

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

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 Harstad.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

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

What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€83

Mobile plan, 10 GB€28

Net rent across major citiesHarstad highlighted among comparable cities

net rent, € / m² / month

Trondheim€21.79

Bergen€20.40

Stavanger€19.55

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	83.29 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	Telenor fixed broadband¹²Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	27.7 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	ice 18GB mobile plan⁴Official · national market
Dwellings	11,456 dwellings	31 Dec 2025	Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB)¹⁰Official

Is Harstad 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 employee69%strong on work, weak on housing · range 59–79%

Student44%strong on cost, weak on housing · range 33–55%

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

Retirement43%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 31–55%

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Harstad?

The unemployment rate is 0.9 % (June 2026). Source: NAV HL301 — fully unemployed by county and municipality, June 2026⁷

Unemployment across cities in NorwayUnemployment in Harstad is 0.9%. Of 177 cities with data, 60 have unemployment of 1.5 to under 2%.

0.5–11–1.51.5–22–2.52.5–33–3.5

Harstad 0.9%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median gross salary (regional)	4,563 EUR/month	31 Dec 2025	data.ssb.no²Official
Unemployment rate	0.9 %country median 1.7%	30 Jun 2026	NAV HL301 — fully unemployed by county and municipality, June 2026⁷Official

Public employment service

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

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
International schools	2 schools	31 Dec 2025	Utdanningsdirektoratet¹⁸Independent · fylke observation

School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 6 to 16. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: særskilt norskopplæring (adapted Norwegian language education). How to enrol a child (regjeringen.no).

A country-wide rule for Norway; Harstad's school authority applies it locally.

Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2025–2026.

Healthcare

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Doctors per 1,000 residents	3.5 per 1,000	31 Dec 2024	Helsedirektoratet¹⁴Independent · fylke observation
Physicians per 100,000 residents	380 per 100,000	31 Dec 2024	Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB)¹⁷Independent · fylke observation

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Harstad 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 residents3.5 per 1,000Verified 2026-06-12

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Safety

How safe is Harstad?

Police recorded 5,060 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.no³

Recorded crime across major citiesHarstad highlighted among comparable cities

recorded incidents per 100k residents

Oslo8,790

Kristiansand8,170

Trondheim6,890

Drammen6,870

Stavanger6,540

Bergen6,410

Fredrikstad6,280

Lillestrøm5,790

Sandnes5,270

Bærum5,170

Harstad5,060

Asker4,500

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	5,060 incidents per 100,000country median 4,460	31 Dec 2024	data.ssb.no³Official

Language courses and integration

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

Find courses near Harstad

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Harstad?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 5 µg/m³ (2024) — within the WHO 2021 guideline. Source: air.discomap.eea.europa.eu¹

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

PM2.55WHO 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	5 µg/m³	31 Dec 2024	air.discomap.eea.europa.eu¹Official source, approximated value · Supplemental context
Average January temperature	-3.5 °C	28 Aug 2026	MET Norway (Meteorologisk institutt)⁶Official · nearest-station reading
Average temperature by month	Jan -1.8 · Feb -2.2 · Mar -0.7 · Apr 2.4 · May 6.6 · Jun 9.9 · Jul 13.2 · Aug 12.4 · Sep 8.9 · Oct 4.3 · Nov 1.4 · Dec -0.5 °C	31 Dec 1991	World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI¹³Official

Population and city profile

The city covered 445 km² in 2026. Population density was 57 people per km² in 2026.

How many people live in Harstad?

The published population was 25,204 people in 2026. Source: SSB table 11342: municipality population/area by region and year.⁹

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport87.2%
Foreign residents12.8%

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Area	372 km²	1 Jan 2026	Kartverket⁵Official · kommune observation
Cars per 1,000 residents	460 per 1,000	31 Dec 2025	Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB)¹⁶Independent · fylke observation
City area	445 km²	1 Jan 2026	SSB 11342 ArealKm2⁹Official
Foreign residents	3,216 people	1 Jan 2026	SSB 09817 B-C / country background Total / Persons⁸Official
Population density	57 people/km²	1 Jan 2026	SSB 11342 ArealKm2⁹Official
Population	25,204 people	1 Jan 2026	SSB table 11342: municipality population/area by region and year.⁹Official

International community in Harstad

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	330	1.3%
Europe except EU/EFTA/UK, Africa, Asia, America except USA and Canada, Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, polar regions	246	1.0%
Nordic countries except Norway, EU/EFTA, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand	84	0.3%
Myanmar	29	0.1%
Syria	28	0.1%
Eritrea	26	0.1%
Poland	23	0.1%
Afghanistan	21	0.1%
Thailand	19	0.1%
Iraq	18	0.1%
Sudan	12	0.1%

Show 35 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Germany	9	0.0%
Ethiopia	8	0.0%
Romania	7	0.0%
United Kingdom	7	0.0%
Ukraine	7	0.0%
Netherlands	6	0.0%
Lithuania	6	0.0%
Somalia	6	0.0%
Philippines	6	0.0%
Sweden	5	0.0%
Ghana	5	0.0%
Guatemala	5	0.0%
Denmark	4	0.0%
Finland	4	0.0%
Russia	4	0.0%
Bosnia-Herzegovina	4	0.0%
Egypt	4	0.0%
Sri Lanka	4	0.0%
Iran	4	0.0%
China	4	0.0%
Pakistan	4	0.0%
Faroe Islands	3	0.0%
Iceland	3	0.0%
France	3	0.0%
Belarus	3	0.0%
Latvia	3	0.0%
Serbia	3	0.0%
Montenegro	3	0.0%
Angola	3	0.0%
Burundi	3	0.0%
Congo	3	0.0%
Nigeria	3	0.0%
India	3	0.0%
Palestine	3	0.0%
Colombia	3	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁸

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	3,216	12.8%
Europe except EU/EFTA/UK, Africa, Asia, America except USA and Canada, Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, polar regions	2,083	8.3%
Nordic countries except Norway, EU/EFTA, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand	1,133	4.5%
Ukraine	487	1.9%
Poland	297	1.2%
Thailand	192	0.8%
Syria	170	0.7%
Myanmar	117	0.5%
Eritrea	116	0.5%
Romania	97	0.4%
Germany	95	0.4%

Show 89 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Afghanistan	93	0.4%
Sweden	87	0.3%
Russia	85	0.3%
Philippines	82	0.3%
United Kingdom	66	0.3%
Sudan	55	0.2%
Ethiopia	54	0.2%
Somalia	54	0.2%
Iraq	54	0.2%
Denmark	52	0.2%
Lithuania	48	0.2%
Bulgaria	43	0.2%
Netherlands	42	0.2%
Spain	40	0.2%
Finland	36	0.1%
Iran	36	0.1%
China	31	0.1%
United States	31	0.1%
Latvia	28	0.1%
Pakistan	28	0.1%
France	26	0.1%
Palestine	25	0.1%
Serbia	24	0.1%
Bosnia-Herzegovina	22	0.1%
Türkiye	19	0.1%
Estonia	17	0.1%
Croatia	17	0.1%
Portugal	17	0.1%
Congo	17	0.1%
Guatemala	16	0.1%
Tanzania	15	0.1%
Sri Lanka	15	0.1%
Brazil	15	0.1%
Slovakia	14	0.1%
India	14	0.1%
Ghana	13	0.1%
Czech Republic	12	0.1%
Malaysia	12	0.1%
Iceland	11	0.0%
Italy	11	0.0%
Libya	11	0.0%
Indonesia	11	0.0%
Lebanon	11	0.0%
Belarus	10	0.0%
Hungary	10	0.0%
Uganda	10	0.0%
Vietnam	10	0.0%
Saudi Arabia	9	0.0%
Colombia	9	0.0%
Moldova	8	0.0%
Venezuela	8	0.0%
Burundi	7	0.0%
Egypt	7	0.0%
Liberia	7	0.0%
Kazakhstan	7	0.0%
Canada	7	0.0%
Ecuador	7	0.0%
Belgium	6	0.0%
Nigeria	6	0.0%
Switzerland	5	0.0%
Austria	5	0.0%
Cameroon	5	0.0%
Rwanda	5	0.0%
South Sudan	5	0.0%
Faroe Islands	4	0.0%
Albania	4	0.0%
Angola	4	0.0%
Mexico	4	0.0%
Argentina	4	0.0%
Peru	4	0.0%
Greece	3	0.0%
Ireland	3	0.0%
Slovenia	3	0.0%
Montenegro	3	0.0%
Algeria	3	0.0%
Guinea	3	0.0%
Kenya	3	0.0%
Morocco	3	0.0%
Central African Republic	3	0.0%
South Africa	3	0.0%
Chad	3	0.0%
Armenia	3	0.0%
Georgia	3	0.0%
Hong Kong	3	0.0%
Jordan	3	0.0%
Uzbekistan	3	0.0%
Cuba	3	0.0%
Chile	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 source⁸

Ancestry or ethnicity

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

Published group	People	Share
Total	2,886	11.4%
Europe except EU/EFTA/UK, Africa, Asia, America except USA and Canada, Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, polar regions	1,837	7.3%
Nordic countries except Norway, EU/EFTA, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand	1,049	4.2%
Ukraine	480	1.9%
Poland	274	1.1%
Thailand	173	0.7%
Syria	142	0.6%
Romania	90	0.4%
Eritrea	90	0.4%
Myanmar	88	0.3%
Germany	86	0.3%

Show 88 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Sweden	82	0.3%
Russia	81	0.3%
Philippines	76	0.3%
Afghanistan	72	0.3%
United Kingdom	59	0.2%
Denmark	48	0.2%
Somalia	48	0.2%
Ethiopia	46	0.2%
Bulgaria	43	0.2%
Sudan	43	0.2%
Lithuania	42	0.2%
Spain	40	0.2%
Netherlands	36	0.1%
Iraq	36	0.1%
Finland	32	0.1%
Iran	32	0.1%
United States	31	0.1%
China	27	0.1%
Latvia	26	0.1%
France	24	0.1%
Pakistan	24	0.1%
Serbia	22	0.1%
Palestine	22	0.1%
Türkiye	19	0.1%
Bosnia-Herzegovina	18	0.1%
Portugal	17	0.1%
Estonia	16	0.1%
Croatia	16	0.1%
Brazil	15	0.1%
Congo	14	0.1%
Tanzania	14	0.1%
Slovakia	13	0.1%
Czech Republic	12	0.1%
Malaysia	12	0.1%
Italy	11	0.0%
Libya	11	0.0%
Sri Lanka	11	0.0%
India	11	0.0%
Indonesia	11	0.0%
Lebanon	11	0.0%
Guatemala	11	0.0%
Hungary	10	0.0%
Vietnam	10	0.0%
Belarus	9	0.0%
Uganda	9	0.0%
Iceland	8	0.0%
Moldova	8	0.0%
Ghana	8	0.0%
Saudi Arabia	8	0.0%
Colombia	8	0.0%
Venezuela	8	0.0%
Kazakhstan	7	0.0%
Canada	7	0.0%
Liberia	6	0.0%
Ecuador	6	0.0%
Belgium	5	0.0%
Switzerland	5	0.0%
Austria	5	0.0%
Burundi	5	0.0%
Rwanda	5	0.0%
Cameroon	4	0.0%
Nigeria	4	0.0%
South Sudan	4	0.0%
Mexico	4	0.0%
Argentina	4	0.0%
Peru	4	0.0%
Faroe Islands	3	0.0%
Albania	3	0.0%
Greece	3	0.0%
Ireland	3	0.0%
Malta	3	0.0%
Slovenia	3	0.0%
Angola	3	0.0%
Egypt	3	0.0%
Guinea	3	0.0%
Morocco	3	0.0%
South Africa	3	0.0%
Chad	3	0.0%
United Arab Emirates	3	0.0%
Georgia	3	0.0%
Taiwan	3	0.0%
Hong Kong	3	0.0%
Jordan	3	0.0%
Uzbekistan	3	0.0%
Cuba	3	0.0%
Chile	3	0.0%
Paraguay	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 source⁸

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Registered cars	14,036 vehicles	31 Dec 2025	Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB)¹⁶Official
Universities	2 institutions	31 Dec 2025	HK-dir (DBH)¹⁵Independent · fylke observation

Alternatives for people set on Harstad

Nothing here reaches an argued comparison yet: no other published city shares enough metrics with Harstad from the same source, period and grain. What is collected is below.

Alternative cities in Norway

Other cities in Norway to compare with Harstad, nearest in population first.

All Norway cities

Stjørdal25,108 residents Nes24,948 residents Grimstad25,569 residents Rana25,844 residents Kristiansund24,479 residents Nittedal26,032 residents

How does Harstad compare?

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

Open the full comparison

Harstad in rankings

#1 of 30 in Cities with lowest unemployment in Norway #1 of 30 in Cities with the lowest published unemployment #30 of 30 in Safest cities in Norway by recorded crime

Put Harstad'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 Harstad?

The published population was 25,204 people in 2026. Source: SSB table 11342: municipality population/area by region and year..

Is the air quality good in Harstad?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 5 µg/m³ (2024) — within the WHO 2021 guideline. Source: air.discomap.eea.europa.eu.

How safe is Harstad?

Police recorded 5,060 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 Harstad?

The unemployment rate is 0.9 % (June 2026). Source: NAV HL301 — fully unemployed by county and municipality, June 2026.

What is the typical salary around Harstad?

The median gross salary is 4,563 EUR/month. Source: data.ssb.no.

How many foreign residents live in Harstad?

3,216 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: SSB 09817 B-C / country background Total / Persons.

Is Harstad a good place to live?

Harstad 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 Europe except EU/EFTA/UK, Africa, Asia, America except USA and Canada, Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, polar regions ancestry or ethnicity group in Harstad?

The official ancestry or ethnicity distribution records 246 people (1.0%) 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, October 16). Harstad, Norway: population, salary, cost of living, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version cf2b8b75608b9422c321526fa027f685]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/no/harstad/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_harstad-norway-population-salary-cost-of-living-jobs_bb20868261d0,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Harstad, Norway: population, salary, cost of living, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {cf2b8b75608b9422c321526fa027f685},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/no/harstad/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Harstad, Norway: population, salary, cost of living, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/no/harstad/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version cf2b8b75608b9422c321526fa027f685; 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

air.discomap.eea.europa.eu air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-26
data.ssb.no data.ssb.no · checked 2026-08-27
data.ssb.no data.ssb.no · checked 2026-08-27
ice 18GB mobile plan ice.no · checked 2026-09-15
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

Show 8 more sources

Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB) data.ssb.no · checked 2026-06-12
Telenor fixed broadband telenor.no · checked 2026-09-15
World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI ncei.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-02
Helsedirektoratet helsedirektoratet.no · checked 2026-07-14
HK-dir (DBH) dbh.hkdir.no · checked 2026-07-14
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

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.