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Living in Santa Maria Maior

Santa Maria Maior is a city in Portugal. Santa Maria Maior registered an unemployment rate of 12.05% at the end of 2021. Santa Maria Maior recorded annual PM2.5 of 5.2 µg/m³ in 2024.

Pricier rent than any other Portuguese city that publishes it and higher unemployment than any other Portuguese city that publishes it.

Which Portugal-wide rules apply when you move to Santa Maria Maior?

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 Santa Maria Maior.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

City-level rent is published below; no city-level cost-of-living basket is published for Santa Maria Maior yet.

Net rent across major citiesSanta Maria Maior highlighted among comparable cities
Net rent across major cities with Santa Maria Maior highlighted€19.44Santa Maria Maior€16.50Cascais€15.42Oeiras€13.43Almada€13.00Amadora€11.98Matosinhos€11.73Loures€11.33Seixal€11.24Sintra€10.61Vila Nova de Gaia€10.15Porto€8.57Braganet rent, € / m² / month
MetricValuePeriodSource
Average net rent (nettokalt)19.44 EUR/m²/monthcountry median €6.1926 Aug 2026www.ine.pt5Official

Worked out from these numbers

What does a 60 m² flat cost?

About €1,166 a month in cold rent, from the published average of 19.44 EUR/m²/month. Heating, water and operating charges come on top, and a specific flat can sit either side of an average.

Work and income

Unemployment across cities in PortugalUnemployment in Santa Maria Maior is 12.1%. Of 251 cities with data, 118 have unemployment of 2 to under 3%.
unemployment rate, % · measured cities in Portugal per band6 cities: 0% to under 1%60–176 cities: 1% to under 2%761–2118 cities: 2% to under 3%1182–341 cities: 3% to under 4%413–44 cities: 4% to under 5%44–52 cities: 5% to under 6%25–61 city: 6% to under 7%16–71 city: 7% to under 8%17–81 city: 9% to under 10%19–101 city: 12% to under 13%112–13Santa Maria Maior 12.1%

Unemployment rate (%)

MetricValuePeriodSource
Unemployment rate12.05 %31 Dec 2021Eurostat1Official · parent municipality

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Santa Maria Maior. 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
Register Search jobs
Open the Portugal service overview

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

Mobility and administration

Santa Maria Maior's nearest airport was FNC, 12 km away and offered 30 direct destinations.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Airport Direct Destinations Count30 count3 Aug 2026OpenFlights3Official
Nearest Major Airport Distance Km12 km3 Aug 2026OurAirports4Official
Nearest Major Airport IataFNC3 Aug 2026OurAirports4Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Santa Maria Maior. 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 Santa Maria Maior.

Climate and air quality

Monthly mean temperature moved from 17.1°C in January to 22.6°C in July. Monthly precipitation was 67.1 mm in January and 1.7 mm in July.

Temperature through the yearAverage daytime high and night-time low, °C
Santa Maria Maior average monthly daytime high and night-time low temperature, °C0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND27°14°Daytime highNight-time low
Rainfall through the yearAverage monthly precipitation, mm
Santa Maria Maior average monthly precipitation, mm0255075100677262452782123918095JFMAMJJASONDmm
MetricValuePeriodSource
Average daytime high by monthJan 20 · Feb 19.9 · Mar 20.6 · Apr 21 · May 22 · Jun 23.7 · Jul 25.4 · Aug 26.8 · Sep 26.6 · Oct 25.2 · Nov 22.8 · Dec 21 °C31 Dec 2020IPMA climate normal — mean monthly maximum air temperature, Funchal, 1991-20202Official · parent municipality
Average night-time low by monthJan 14.3 · Feb 13.9 · Mar 14.3 · Apr 14.9 · May 16.2 · Jun 18.2 · Jul 19.7 · Aug 20.7 · Sep 20.4 · Oct 19.2 · Nov 17 · Dec 15.5 °C31 Dec 2020IPMA climate normal — mean monthly minimum air temperature, Funchal, 1991-20202Official · parent municipality
Average temperature by monthJan 17.1 · Feb 16.8 · Mar 17.4 · Apr 17.9 · May 19.1 · Jun 20.9 · Jul 22.6 · Aug 23.7 · Sep 23.5 · Oct 22.2 · Nov 19.9 · Dec 18.3 °C31 Dec 2020IPMA climate normal — mean monthly air temperature, Funchal, 1991-20202Official · parent municipality
Average precipitation by monthJan 67.1 · Feb 72.4 · Mar 62.3 · Apr 45.2 · May 27.2 · Jun 7.8 · Jul 1.7 · Aug 1.3 · Sep 23.1 · Oct 91.2 · Nov 80.3 · Dec 94.8 mm31 Dec 2020IPMA climate normal — mean monthly precipitation, Funchal, 1991-20202Official · parent municipality

Is Santa Maria Maior 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 worker42%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 30–54%
Skilled employee54%strong on work, weak on safety · range 42–66%
Student23%strong on legal route, weak on safety · range 12–34%
Family44%strong on family, weak on safety · range 31–57%
Retirement44%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 31–57%
Average net rent (nettokalt)19.44 EUR/m²/month26 Aug 2026Official source · www.ine.pt
Unemployment rate12.05 %31 Dec 2021Official source · Eurostat
Every value keeps its source, geographic scope and verification date · Last checked 2026-08-26

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Santa Maria Maior 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.

Common questions

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

How much does it cost to rent in Santa Maria Maior?

Average net cold rent is 19.44 EUR/m²/month, excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about €1,361 a month before utilities. Source: www.ine.pt.

What is the unemployment rate in Santa Maria Maior?

The unemployment rate is 12.05 %. Source: Eurostat.

Is Santa Maria Maior a good place to live?

Santa Maria Maior 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.

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). Santa Maria Maior, Portugal: rent, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/santa-maria-maior/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_santa-maria-maior-portugal-rent-jobs_141dc0c77a0c,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Santa Maria Maior, Portugal: rent, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-09-12},
  version = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  snapshot = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/santa-maria-maior/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
Markdown citation
[Santa Maria Maior, Portugal: rent, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/santa-maria-maior/) — 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
  1. Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-02
  2. IPMA climate normal — mean monthly maximum air temperature, Funchal, 1991-2020 IPMA climate normal · ipma.pt · checked 2026-07-26
  3. OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
  4. OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
  5. www.ine.pt ine.pt · checked 2026-08-26

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.