Living in Guarda
In Guarda, average gross earnings are €1,452 a month (2024), rents in new contracts average €5.09 per m² a month (2026) and unemployment is 2% (2026).
For Guarda, the nearest airport was VSE, 56.4 km away in June 2026. The city covered 712.1 km² in 2021. In 2021, population density was 59.7 people per km². Guarda is in Portugal; its population was 42,541 in 2021.
Cheaper rent than 69% of Portuguese cities that publish it, lower unemployment than 67% of Portuguese cities that publish it and less recorded crime than 61% of Portuguese cities that publish it.
Which Portugal-wide rules apply when you move to Guarda?
National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.
Housing and cost
How much does it cost to rent in Guarda?
Average net cold rent is 5.09 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): 5.09 EUR/m²/month · www.ine.pt14
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited | 29.99 EUR/month | 30 Sept 2026 | MEO fixed fibre8Official · national market |
| Mobile plan, 10 GB | 15 EUR/month | 30 Sept 2026 | Vodafone Portugal mobile plan13Official · national market |
| Average net rent (nettokalt) | 5.09 EUR/m²/monthcountry median €6.20 | 26 Aug 2026 | www.ine.pt14Official |
Is Guarda 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.
Worked out from these numbers
What does a 60 m² flat cost?
About 305 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of 5.09 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.
Work and income
The unemployment rate was 2.04% in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Guarda?
The unemployment rate is about 2 % (June 2026).
- Unemployment rate: 2.04 % · IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 202620
Guarda 2.0%
Unemployment rate (%)
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average gross earnings | 1,452 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2024 | INE — Ganho médio mensal (€), indicator 0012649 (Quadros de Pessoal)2Official |
| Unemployment rate | 2.04 %country median 2.3% | 30 Jun 2026 | IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 202620Independent |
What does a salary buy in Guarda?
Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.
RentInternetMobileLeft over
Line-by-line breakdown and sources
| Each month | € |
|---|---|
| Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions. | €920 |
| Rent, 60 m²€5.09/m² · official · ine.pt · 2026-08-26 | − €305 |
| Internet€30 · official · MEO fixed fibre · 2026-09-30 | − €30 |
| Mobile plan€15 · official · Vodafone Portugal mobile plan · 2026-09-30 | − €15 |
| Other everyday billsnot published for this city: public transport pass, utilities | — |
| Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish | €570 |
Public employment service
No exact public employment office is currently linked to Guarda. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.
Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional — Public employment service
Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Guarda. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Healthcare
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physicians per 100,000 residents | 810 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.9Official |
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Guarda 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 guideSafety
How safe is Guarda?
Police recorded 2,550 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: 2,550 incidents per 100k · INE — Taxa de criminalidade (‰) por Localização geográfica (NUTS 2013) e Categoria de crime; Anual, indicador 0008074, categoria Total, ano 20224
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents | 2,550 incidents per 100kcountry median 2,730 | 31 Dec 2022 | INE — Taxa de criminalidade (‰) por Localização geográfica (NUTS 2013) e Categoria de crime; Anual, indicador 0008074, categoria Total, ano 20224Official |
Mobility and administration
Language courses and integration
No exact city-level course record is currently published for Guarda. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.
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.
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.
Climate and air quality
Monthly mean temperatures were 4.3°C in January and 20.3°C in July. Monthly precipitation was 101.1 mm in January and 14.4 mm in July.
Is the air quality good in Guarda?
The annual PM2.5 mean is 4 µg/m³ (2023) — within the WHO 2021 guideline. Source: European Environment Agency1
Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.
Night-time low to daytime high
mm
Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³
City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.
Guarda 4.0
Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 — annual mean | 4 µg/m³country median 6.2 | 31 Dec 2023 | European Environment Agency1Official |
| Average daytime high by month | Jan 7.2 · Feb 8.6 · Mar 11.8 · Apr 13.6 · May 17.6 · Jun 22.6 · Jul 26.6 · Aug 26.3 · Sep 22 · Oct 15.9 · Nov 10.3 · Dec 8 °C | 31 Dec 2020 | IPMA climate normal — mean monthly maximum air temperature, Guarda, 1991-20207Official |
| Average night-time low by month | Jan 1.5 · Feb 2 · Mar 3.9 · Apr 5.2 · May 8.2 · Jun 11.6 · Jul 14 · Aug 14.4 · Sep 12.1 · Oct 8.8 · Nov 4.6 · Dec 2.4 °C | 31 Dec 2020 | IPMA climate normal — mean monthly minimum air temperature, Guarda, 1991-20207Official |
| Average temperature by month | Jan 4.3 · Feb 5.3 · Mar 7.9 · Apr 9.4 · May 12.9 · Jun 17.1 · Jul 20.3 · Aug 20.3 · Sep 17 · Oct 12.4 · Nov 7.4 · Dec 5.2 °C | 31 Dec 2020 | IPMA climate normal — mean monthly air temperature, Guarda, 1991-20207Official |
| Average precipitation by month | Jan 101.1 · Feb 75.9 · Mar 90.5 · Apr 96.3 · May 80.6 · Jun 26.8 · Jul 14.4 · Aug 11.2 · Sep 56.5 · Oct 149.5 · Nov 128.4 · Dec 133.3 mm | 31 Dec 2020 | IPMA climate normal — mean monthly precipitation, Guarda, 1991-20207Official |
Annual PM2.5 fell 33.3% between 2015 and 2023, from 6.0 to 4.0.
Population and city profile
How many people live in Guarda?
The published population was 42,541 people in 2021. Source: INE — Portal municipal (quadro)3
By nationality
National passport96.3%
Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| City area | 712.1 km² | 2021 | INE — Portal municipal (quadro)3Official |
| Foreign residents | 1,589 people | 2023 | Foreign population with legal resident status at 31 December; Total Nacionalidade; annual municipality value.19Independent |
| Population density | 59.74 people/km² | 2021 | Reproducible derived density from the same-period INE populationTotal divided by areaKm2; no external density number was substituted.11Official |
| Population | 42,541 people | 2021 | INE — Portal municipal (quadro)3Official |
International community in Guarda
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 | 40,117 | 100.0% |
| Portuguesa | 36,946 | 92.1% |
| Estrangeira | 3,171 | 7.9% |
| Europa | 1,490 | 3.7% |
| União Europeia 27 (s/ PT - a partir de 2020) | 1,287 | 3.2% |
| África | 1,193 | 3.0% |
| França | 1,044 | 2.6% |
| Angola | 555 | 1.4% |
| América | 422 | 1.1% |
| Brasil | 334 | 0.8% |
| Moçambique | 235 | 0.6% |
Show 39 more groups
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Outros países - Europa | 203 | 0.5% |
| São Tomé e Príncipe | 148 | 0.4% |
| Alemanha | 98 | 0.2% |
| Suíça | 92 | 0.2% |
| Guiné-Bissau | 92 | 0.2% |
| Espanha | 77 | 0.2% |
| Ucrânia | 75 | 0.2% |
| Cabo Verde | 72 | 0.2% |
| Ásia | 64 | 0.2% |
| Outros países - África | 59 | 0.1% |
| África do Sul | 32 | 0.1% |
| Venezuela | 31 | 0.1% |
| Estados Unidos da América | 29 | 0.1% |
| Reino Unido | 21 | 0.1% |
| China | 16 | 0.0% |
| Índia | 16 | 0.0% |
| Países Baixos (Reino dos) | 15 | 0.0% |
| Outros países - América | 13 | 0.0% |
| Bélgica | 12 | 0.0% |
| Nepal | 12 | 0.0% |
| Roménia | 11 | 0.0% |
| Paquistão | 10 | 0.0% |
| Outros países - Ásia | 9 | 0.0% |
| Canadá | 9 | 0.0% |
| Itália | 9 | 0.0% |
| Luxemburgo | 7 | 0.0% |
| Outros | 7 | 0.0% |
| Argentina | 6 | 0.0% |
| Moldávia | 6 | 0.0% |
| Bulgária | 5 | 0.0% |
| Dinamarca | 4 | 0.0% |
| Oceânia | 2 | 0.0% |
| Austrália | 2 | 0.0% |
| Lituânia | 2 | 0.0% |
| Federação da Rússia | 2 | 0.0% |
| Bangladeche | 1 | 0.0% |
| Finlândia | 1 | 0.0% |
| Irlanda | 1 | 0.0% |
| Polónia | 1 | 0.0% |
Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source6
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 | 40,117 | 100.0% |
| Portuguesa | 39,164 | 97.6% |
| Estrangeira | 953 | 2.4% |
| África | 414 | 1.0% |
| América | 241 | 0.6% |
| Europa | 230 | 0.6% |
| Brasil | 213 | 0.5% |
| União Europeia 27 (s/ PT - a partir de 2020) | 151 | 0.4% |
| São Tomé e Príncipe | 145 | 0.4% |
| Guiné-Bissau | 102 | 0.3% |
| Outros países - Europa | 79 | 0.2% |
Show 37 more groups
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Ásia | 68 | 0.2% |
| Cabo Verde | 65 | 0.2% |
| Angola | 50 | 0.1% |
| França | 50 | 0.1% |
| Espanha | 47 | 0.1% |
| Ucrânia | 46 | 0.1% |
| Outros países - África | 41 | 0.1% |
| China | 19 | 0.0% |
| Reino Unido | 18 | 0.0% |
| Índia | 17 | 0.0% |
| Nepal | 14 | 0.0% |
| Países Baixos (Reino dos) | 13 | 0.0% |
| Paquistão | 12 | 0.0% |
| Roménia | 11 | 0.0% |
| Outros países - América | 10 | 0.0% |
| Venezuela | 9 | 0.0% |
| Bulgária | 6 | 0.0% |
| Itália | 6 | 0.0% |
| Moçambique | 6 | 0.0% |
| Suíça | 5 | 0.0% |
| Estados Unidos da América | 5 | 0.0% |
| África do Sul | 5 | 0.0% |
| Outros | 5 | 0.0% |
| Outros países - Ásia | 4 | 0.0% |
| Bélgica | 4 | 0.0% |
| Alemanha | 4 | 0.0% |
| Canadá | 3 | 0.0% |
| Lituânia | 3 | 0.0% |
| Moldávia | 3 | 0.0% |
| Bangladeche | 2 | 0.0% |
| Dinamarca | 2 | 0.0% |
| Irlanda | 2 | 0.0% |
| Federação da Rússia | 2 | 0.0% |
| Argentina | 1 | 0.0% |
| Finlândia | 1 | 0.0% |
| Luxemburgo | 1 | 0.0% |
| Polónia | 1 | 0.0% |
Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source5
Alternatives for people set on Guarda
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.
Celorico da Beira as a Guarda alternative in the same region
15 km away, better on 2 of 5 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1.
- Rent: €3.16/m² Celorico da Beira vs €5.09/m² Guarda−38%
- Recorded crime, per 100k: 3,330 Celorico da Beira vs 2,550 Guarda+31%
- Residents: 7,693 Celorico da Beira vs 42,541 Guarda−82%
- Nearest airport: 42.5 km Celorico da Beira vs 56.4 km Guarda−25%
- Unemployment: 2.1% Celorico da Beira vs 2.0% Guardasame level
Amarante as a Guarda alternative in the same country
A move, not a commute, at 106 km, better on 3 of 5 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1.
- Unemployment: 2.9% Amarante vs 2.0% Guarda+40%
- Recorded crime, per 100k: 2,010 Amarante vs 2,550 Guarda−21%
- Rent: €4.63/m² Amarante vs €5.09/m² Guarda−9%
- Nearest airport: 29.9 km Amarante vs 56.4 km Guarda−47%
- Residents: 52,264 Amarante vs 42,541 Guarda+23%
Cities near Guarda
Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.
- Rent
- 5.09 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2026-03-31
- Rent
- 3.16 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2026-08-26
- Rent
- 3.49 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2026-08-26
Alternative cities in Portugal
Other cities in Portugal to compare with Guarda, nearest in population first.
How does Guarda compare?
Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Guarda's.
Guarda in rankings
School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 6 to 18, and public school is free. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: PLNM (Português Língua Não Materna). How to enrol a child (gov.pt).
A country-wide rule for Portugal; Guarda'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 Guarda?
The published population was 42,541 people in 2021. Source: INE — Portal municipal (quadro).
How much does it cost to rent in Guarda?
Average net cold rent is 5.09 EUR/m² per month (2026-Q1), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 356 EUR a month before utilities. Source: www.ine.pt.
Is the air quality good in Guarda?
The annual PM2.5 mean is 4 µg/m³ (2023) — within the WHO 2021 guideline. Source: European Environment Agency.
How safe is Guarda?
Police recorded 2,550 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 Guarda?
The unemployment rate is about 2 % (June 2026). Source: IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 2026.
How many foreign residents live in Guarda?
1,589 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Foreign population with legal resident status at 31 December; Total Nacionalidade; annual municipality value..
Is Guarda a good place to live?
Guarda 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.
Which cities are near Guarda?
Sequeira, Celorico da Beira, Belmonte are near Guarda. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.
How many people born in Portuguesa live in Guarda?
The official country of birth distribution records 36,946 people (92.1%) 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, October 16). Guarda, Portugal: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 61cb26223e66e98558d5bbe2033e3aa2]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/guarda/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_guarda-portugal-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_b1dacd4d6613,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Guarda, Portugal: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-16},
version = {61cb26223e66e98558d5bbe2033e3aa2},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/guarda/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Guarda, Portugal: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/guarda/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 61cb26223e66e98558d5bbe2033e3aa2; 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
- European Environment Agency air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- INE — Ganho médio mensal (€), indicator 0012649 (Quadros de Pessoal) INE · ine.pt · checked 2026-09-23
- 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, Guarda, 1991-2020 IPMA climate normal · ipma.pt · checked 2026-07-26
- MEO fixed fibre meo.pt · checked 2026-09-15
- 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
Show 10 more sources
- Reproducible derived density from the same-period INE populationTotal divided by areaKm2; no external density number was substituted. ine.pt · checked 2026-07-15
- Valor mediano das rendas de novos contratos de arrendamento de alojamentos familiares nos últimos 12 meses (Metodologia 2026 - €/ m²) por Localização geográfica (NUTS - 2024 - geografia 2025); Trimestral - INE, Estatísticas de Rendas da Habitação ao nível local ine.pt · checked 2026-09-23
- Vodafone Portugal mobile plan vodafone.pt · checked 2026-09-15
- www.ine.pt ine.pt · checked 2026-08-26
- Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
- Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
- Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
- Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
- Foreign population with legal resident status at 31 December; Total Nacionalidade; annual municipality value. pordata.pt · checked 2026-07-15
- 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.