Living in Castelo Branco

Castelo Branco is a city in Portugal. In 2023, the foreign population was 3,819. There were 570 physicians per 100,000 residents in 2024. The unemployment rate was 3.31% in June 2026. Castelo Branco had a population of 56,109 in 2021.

Cheaper rent than 66% of Portuguese cities that publish it, higher unemployment than 87% of Portuguese cities that publish it and more recorded crime than 74% of Portuguese cities that publish it.

Which Portugal-wide rules apply when you move to Castelo Branco?

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 PortugalNational rates and thresholds that apply in Castelo Branco.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

How much does it cost to rent in Castelo Branco?

Average net cold rent is 5.34 EUR/m² per month (2026-Q1), excluding heating and operating charges.

Published average over existing tenancies; a specific flat can sit either side of it. Asking-rent series, where present, are separate rows in the table.

Average net rent (nettokalt): 5.34 EUR/m²/month · www.ine.pt⁹

City-level rent is published below; no city-level cost-of-living basket is published for Castelo Branco yet.

Net rent across major citiesCastelo Branco highlighted among comparable cities

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Average net rent (nettokalt)	5.34 EUR/m²/monthcountry median €6.19	26 Aug 2026	www.ine.pt⁹Official

Worked out from these numbers

What does a 60 m² flat cost?

About 320 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of 5.34 EUR/m² per month, before heating and operating charges.

Heating, water and operating charges come on top, and a specific flat can sit either side of an average.

Source period: 2026-Q1

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Castelo Branco?

The unemployment rate is about 3.3 % (June 2026).

Unemployment rate: 3.31 % · IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 2026¹¹

Unemployment across cities in PortugalUnemployment in Castelo Branco is 3.3%. Of 251 cities with data, 118 have unemployment of 2 to under 3%.

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Unemployment rate	3.31 %country median 2.3%	30 Jun 2026	IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 2026¹¹Independent

Public employment service

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

Country-level information

Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional — Public employment service

Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional (IEFP)

Job SearchRegistrationTraining

Open the Portugal service overview

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

Healthcare

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Physicians per 100,000 residents	570 per 100,000	2024	Official INE Statistics of Health Personnel indicator 0012837: physicians per 1,000 inhabitants by municipality of residence. Exact municipality row selected by INE DICO geocod; value converted to the requested per-100k unit.⁶Official

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Castelo Branco 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.

Safety

How safe is Castelo Branco?

Police recorded 3,280 incidents per 100,000 (2022). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source.

Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents: 3,280 incidents per 100k · INE — Taxa de criminalidade (‰) por Localização geográfica (NUTS 2013) e Categoria de crime; Anual, indicador 0008074, categoria Total, ano 2022²

Recorded crime across major citiesCastelo Branco highlighted among comparable cities

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	3,280 incidents per 100kcountry median 2,715	31 Dec 2022	INE — Taxa de criminalidade (‰) por Localização geográfica (NUTS 2013) e Categoria de crime; Anual, indicador 0008074, categoria Total, ano 2022²Official

Mobility and administration

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Nearest airport	VSE	13 Jun 2026	OurAirports — airports.csv⁷Official
Distance to nearest airport	105.8 km	13 Jun 2026	OurAirports — airports.csv⁷Official

Language courses and integration

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

Country-level information

PLA search route through Portal da Oferta Formativa — State Language Course

AIMA / Portal da Oferta Formativa

For migrants seeking Portuguese as a non-native language.

Portuguesevaries

Open official information

Português Língua de Acolhimento (PLA) — State Language Course

AIMA / DGEstE public-school network / IEFP / Centros Qualifica

For migrants aged 16 or older whose mother tongue is not Portuguese, residence-permit holders, people with pending residence/protection/NISS evidence.

PortugueseCEFR A1–B2varies

Open official information

Open the full Portugal section

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

Climate and air quality

Monthly mean temperatures were 8.3°C in January and 24.9°C in July. Monthly precipitation was 87.6 mm in January and 6.9 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 daytime high by month	Jan 12.3 · Feb 14.2 · Mar 17.4 · Apr 19.4 · May 23.4 · Jun 28.7 · Jul 32.5 · Aug 32.5 · Sep 27.9 · Oct 21.7 · Nov 15.8 · Dec 12.7 °C	31 Dec 2020	IPMA climate normal — mean monthly maximum air temperature, Castelo Branco, 1991-2020⁵Official
Average night-time low by month	Jan 4.2 · Feb 5 · Mar 7.3 · Apr 8.8 · May 11.7 · Jun 15 · Jul 17.4 · Aug 17.7 · Sep 15.4 · Oct 12.1 · Nov 7.8 · Dec 5.1 °C	31 Dec 2020	IPMA climate normal — mean monthly minimum air temperature, Castelo Branco, 1991-2020⁵Official
Average temperature by month	Jan 8.3 · Feb 9.6 · Mar 12.3 · Apr 14.1 · May 17.6 · Jun 21.9 · Jul 24.9 · Aug 25.1 · Sep 21.7 · Oct 16.9 · Nov 11.8 · Dec 8.9 °C	31 Dec 2020	IPMA climate normal — mean monthly air temperature, Castelo Branco, 1991-2020⁵Official
Average precipitation by month	Jan 87.6 · Feb 66.5 · Mar 70.9 · Apr 65.1 · May 53.8 · Jun 17.4 · Jul 6.9 · Aug 6.7 · Sep 39.4 · Oct 114.9 · Nov 110.7 · Dec 104.5 mm	31 Dec 2020	IPMA climate normal — mean monthly precipitation, Castelo Branco, 1991-2020⁵Official

Cities of a similar size in Portugal

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

All Portugal cities

Paços de Ferreira56,340 residents Portimão55,614 residents Alcobaça55,597 residents Ovar55,398 residents Pombal55,217 residents Felgueiras58,065 residents

Population and city profile

The city covered 1,438.2 km² in 2021. Population density was 39 people per km² in 2021.

How many people live in Castelo Branco?

The published population was 56,109 people in 2021. Source: INE — Portal municipal (quadro)¹

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	1,438 km²	2021	INE — Portal municipal (quadro)¹Official
Foreign residents	3,819 people	2023	Foreign population with legal resident status at 31 December; Total Nacionalidade; annual municipality value.¹⁰Independent
Population density	39.01 people/km²	2021	Reproducible derived density from the same-period INE populationTotal divided by areaKm2; no external density number was substituted.⁸Official
Population	56,109 people	2021	INE — Portal municipal (quadro)¹Official

International community in Castelo Branco

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

Country of birth

Resident population at the 19 April 2021 Census reference date; total sex (HM) and total age; source-native indicator universe · 2021-04-19

Published group	People	Share
Total	52,272	100.0%
Portuguesa	48,126	92.1%
Estrangeira	4,146	7.9%
Europa	1,793	3.4%
União Europeia 27 (s/ PT - a partir de 2020)	1,360	2.6%
África	1,257	2.4%
França	998	1.9%
América	801	1.5%
Brasil	681	1.3%
Angola	639	1.2%
Outros países - Europa	433	0.8%

Show 44 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Moçambique	311	0.6%
Ásia	293	0.6%
Reino Unido	177	0.3%
Ucrânia	132	0.3%
Índia	130	0.2%
Alemanha	122	0.2%
Cabo Verde	99	0.2%
Suíça	95	0.2%
Guiné-Bissau	88	0.2%
Roménia	74	0.1%
Outros países - Ásia	64	0.1%
Espanha	61	0.1%
Outros países - África	51	0.1%
Paquistão	45	0.1%
Venezuela	40	0.1%
África do Sul	40	0.1%
Países Baixos (Reino dos)	38	0.1%
China	35	0.1%
Estados Unidos da América	30	0.1%
São Tomé e Príncipe	29	0.1%
Outros países - América	27	0.1%
Bélgica	15	0.0%
Canadá	15	0.0%
Nepal	15	0.0%
Federação da Rússia	14	0.0%
Luxemburgo	11	0.0%
Moldávia	11	0.0%
Bulgária	10	0.0%
Argentina	8	0.0%
Suécia	8	0.0%
Itália	6	0.0%
Polónia	6	0.0%
Bangladeche	4	0.0%
Outros	4	0.0%
Finlândia	3	0.0%
Irlanda	3	0.0%
Oceânia	2	0.0%
Outros países - Oceânia	1	0.0%
Austrália	1	0.0%
Chéquia	1	0.0%
Estónia	1	0.0%
Grécia	1	0.0%
Lituânia	1	0.0%
Malta	1	0.0%

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

Citizenship

Resident population at the 19 April 2021 Census reference date; total sex (HM) and total age; source-native indicator universe · 2021-04-19

Published group	People	Share
Total	52,272	100.0%
Portuguesa	50,513	96.6%
Estrangeira	1,759	3.4%
América	602	1.2%
Europa	598	1.1%
Brasil	549	1.1%
União Europeia 27 (s/ PT - a partir de 2020)	306	0.6%
África	293	0.6%
Outros países - Europa	292	0.6%
Ásia	266	0.5%
Reino Unido	166	0.3%

Show 42 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Índia	117	0.2%
Ucrânia	98	0.2%
Angola	95	0.2%
França	91	0.2%
Guiné-Bissau	79	0.2%
Roménia	61	0.1%
Outros países - Ásia	55	0.1%
Cabo Verde	55	0.1%
Paquistão	40	0.1%
China	36	0.1%
Alemanha	36	0.1%
Países Baixos (Reino dos)	29	0.1%
Espanha	28	0.1%
Outros países - África	24	0.0%
Estados Unidos da América	22	0.0%
Outros países - América	18	0.0%
Itália	17	0.0%
Moçambique	17	0.0%
São Tomé e Príncipe	16	0.0%
Nepal	14	0.0%
Suíça	13	0.0%
Bulgária	10	0.0%
Federação da Rússia	9	0.0%
Bélgica	8	0.0%
Suécia	7	0.0%
África do Sul	7	0.0%
Argentina	6	0.0%
Polónia	5	0.0%
Bangladeche	4	0.0%
Canadá	4	0.0%
Irlanda	4	0.0%
Moldávia	3	0.0%
Venezuela	3	0.0%
Outros	3	0.0%
Estónia	2	0.0%
Finlândia	2	0.0%
Chéquia	1	0.0%
Dinamarca	1	0.0%
Grécia	1	0.0%
Lituânia	1	0.0%
Luxemburgo	1	0.0%
Malta	1	0.0%

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

Is Castelo Branco 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 worker65%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 56–74%

Skilled employee70%strong on work, weak on education · range 62–78%

Student59%strong on legal route, weak on education · range 50–68%

Family54%strong on family, weak on education · range 46–62%

Retirement58%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 48–68%

Foreign residents3,819 people2023Independent source · Foreign population with legal resident status at 31 December; Total Nacionalidade; annual municipality value.

Population56,109 people2021Official source · INE — Portal municipal (quadro)

Average net rent (nettokalt)5.34 EUR/m²/month26 Aug 2026Official source · www.ine.pt

Unemployment rate3.31 %30 Jun 2026Independent source · IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 2026

City area1,438 km²2021Official source · INE — Portal municipal (quadro)

Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents3,280 incidents per 100k31 Dec 2022Official source · INE — Taxa de criminalidade (‰) por Localização geográfica (NUTS 2013) e Categoria de crime; Anual, indicador 0008074, categoria Total, ano 2022

Every value keeps its source, geographic scope and verification date · Last checked 2026-08-26

Common questions

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

How many people live in Castelo Branco?

The published population was 56,109 people in 2021. Source: INE — Portal municipal (quadro).

How much does it cost to rent in Castelo Branco?

Average net cold rent is 5.34 EUR/m² per month (2026-Q1), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 374 EUR a month before utilities. Source: www.ine.pt.

How safe is Castelo Branco?

Police recorded 3,280 incidents per 100,000 (2022). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: INE — Taxa de criminalidade (‰) por Localização geográfica (NUTS 2013) e Categoria de crime; Anual, indicador 0008074, categoria Total, ano 2022.

What is the unemployment rate in Castelo Branco?

The unemployment rate is about 3.3 % (June 2026). Source: IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 2026.

How many foreign residents live in Castelo Branco?

3,819 people residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Foreign population with legal resident status at 31 December; Total Nacionalidade; annual municipality value..

Is Castelo Branco a good place to live?

Castelo Branco 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 Europa live in Castelo Branco?

The official country of birth distribution records 1,793 people (3.4%) in the source-defined population for 2021-04-19. 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). Castelo Branco, Portugal: rent, jobs, safety [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/castelo-branco/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_castelo-branco-portugal-rent-jobs-safety_67c41dd665b0,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Castelo Branco, Portugal: rent, jobs, safety},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-09-12},
  version = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  snapshot = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/castelo-branco/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Castelo Branco, Portugal: rent, jobs, safety](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/castelo-branco/) — 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

INE — Portal municipal (quadro) INE · ine.pt · checked 2026-07-14
INE — Taxa de criminalidade (‰) por Localização geográfica (NUTS 2013) e Categoria de crime; Anual, indicador 0008074, categoria Total, ano 2022 INE · ine.pt · checked 2026-07-31
Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), Portugal Censos 2021 indicator 0014632 nationality ine.pt · checked 2026-09-01
Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), Portugal Censos 2021 indicator 0014633 country of birth ine.pt · checked 2026-09-01
IPMA climate normal — mean monthly maximum air temperature, Castelo Branco, 1991-2020 IPMA climate normal · ipma.pt · checked 2026-07-26
Official INE Statistics of Health Personnel indicator 0012837: physicians per 1,000 inhabitants by municipality of residence. Exact municipality row selected by INE DICO geocod; value converted to the requested per-100k unit. ine.pt · checked 2026-07-15
OurAirports — airports.csv OurAirports · davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-07-14
Reproducible derived density from the same-period INE populationTotal divided by areaKm2; no external density number was substituted. ine.pt · checked 2026-07-15
www.ine.pt ine.pt · checked 2026-08-26
Foreign population with legal resident status at 31 December; Total Nacionalidade; annual municipality value. pordata.pt · checked 2026-07-15

Show 1 more source

IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 2026 IEFP · iefp.pt · checked 2026-07-26

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.