Living in Setúbal
The unemployment rate was 3.23% in June 2026. Monthly mean temperatures were 10.3°C in January and 23.2°C in July. The population of Setúbal, in Portugal, was 141,266 in 2025. There were 550 physicians per 100,000 residents in 2024.
Pricier rent than 87% of Portuguese cities that publish it, higher unemployment than 86% of Portuguese cities that publish it and more recorded crime than 76% of Portuguese cities that publish it.
Which Portugal-wide rules apply when you move to Setúbal?
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 Setúbal?
Average net cold rent is 11.11 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): 11.11 EUR/m²/month · www.ine.pt13
Supplemental estimate lane; these items are not official statistics.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitness club membership, monthly | 33.7 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v215Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context |
| Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited | 33.84 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v215Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context |
| Private kindergarten, monthly | 422.9 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v215Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context |
| Meal at an inexpensive restaurant | 9.95 EUR | 31 Dec 2022 | Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v215Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context |
| Mobile plan, 10 GB | 18.41 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2025 | Numbeo — Cost of Living in Setubal (Wayback capture 20250518071646)17Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context |
| Monthly transport pass | 39.81 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v215Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context |
| Basic utilities, 85 m² home | 96.53 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v215Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context |
| Average net rent (nettokalt) | 11.11 EUR/m²/monthcountry median €6.19 | 26 Aug 2026 | www.ine.pt13Official |
Cost of living
Fixed monthly costs for one person in an 85 m² flat were about €1,133 in the latest published figures. From a median gross salary of €1,341, that leaves €208 before income tax and social contributions.
- Net rent, 85 m² · 83%€944
- Utilities, 85 m² · 9%€97
- Transport pass · 4%€40
- Internet and mobile · 5%€52
One person, 85 m² flat; the ring splits the €1,133 fixed basket before income tax and social contributions, latest published figures (checked 2026-08-26).
Worked out from these numbers
What does a 60 m² flat cost?
About 667 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of 11.11 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.
Is rent affordable on a local salary?
A 60 m² flat at the published average rent is about 667 EUR a month, which is 50% of the published median gross salary of 1,341 (2022). Gross, not take-home, and before heating and operating charges.
Work and income
What is the typical salary in Setúbal?
The median gross salary is about 1,341 EUR/month (2022). Source: Collected source1
City-scope median, gross, before tax and social contributions.
What is the unemployment rate in Setúbal?
The unemployment rate is about 3.2 % (June 2026).
- Unemployment rate: 3.23 % · IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 202616
Unemployment rate (%)
Public employment service
No exact public employment office is currently linked to Setúbal. 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 Setúbal. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Healthcare
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physicians per 100,000 residents | 550 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 Setúbal 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 Setúbal?
Police recorded 3,330 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: 3,330 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 | 3,330 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 20224Official |
Mobility and administration
Language courses and integration
No exact city-level course record is currently published for Setúbal. 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 precipitation was 87.4 mm in January and 2.1 mm in July. Annual PM2.5 was 4.99 µg/m³ in 2024. Annual PM10 was 17.8 µg/m³ in 2024.
Is the air quality good in Setúbal?
The annual PM2.5 mean is about 5 µg/m³ (2024) — within the WHO 2021 guideline.
Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.
- PM2.5 — annual mean: 4.99 µg/m³ · official validated air-quality station bulk; no exact target station-period input found18
City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.
Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| NO₂ — annual mean | 11.92 µg/m³country median 10.5 | 2024 | official validated air-quality station bulk; no exact target station-period input found18Independent |
| PM10 — annual mean | 17.83 µg/m³country median 18.6 | 2024 | official validated air-quality station bulk; no exact target station-period input found18Independent |
| PM2.5 — annual mean | 4.99 µg/m³country median 6.2 | 2024 | official validated air-quality station bulk; no exact target station-period input found18Independent |
| Average daytime high by month | Jan 15.5 · Feb 16.8 · Mar 19.5 · Apr 21.1 · May 24.2 · Jun 27.9 · Jul 30.2 · Aug 30.7 · Sep 28.1 · Oct 23.8 · Nov 18.8 · Dec 16.1 °C | 31 Dec 2020 | IPMA climate normal — mean monthly maximum air temperature, Setúbal, 1991-20208Official |
| Average night-time low by month | Jan 5.2 · Feb 5.6 · Mar 7.6 · Apr 9.3 · May 11.8 · Jun 14.3 · Jul 16.2 · Aug 16.5 · Sep 14.8 · Oct 12.5 · Nov 8.9 · Dec 6.3 °C | 31 Dec 2020 | IPMA climate normal — mean monthly minimum air temperature, Setúbal, 1991-20208Official |
| Average temperature by month | Jan 10.3 · Feb 11.2 · Mar 13.6 · Apr 15.2 · May 18 · Jun 21.1 · Jul 23.2 · Aug 23.6 · Sep 21.4 · Oct 18.1 · Nov 13.8 · Dec 11.2 °C | 31 Dec 2020 | IPMA climate normal — mean monthly air temperature, Setúbal, 1991-20208Official |
| Average precipitation by month | Jan 87.4 · Feb 62.5 · Mar 64.6 · Apr 62.6 · May 53.5 · Jun 15.2 · Jul 2.1 · Aug 3.1 · Sep 30 · Oct 99 · Nov 103.1 · Dec 100.6 mm | 31 Dec 2020 | IPMA climate normal — mean monthly precipitation, Setúbal, 1991-20208Official |
Annual PM2.5 fell 58.5% between 2015 and 2024, from 12.0 to 5.0.
Alternatives with a better balance
Nearby is not always better: the greyed row leaves less than Setúbal at the same fixed-cost basket. Every alternative publishes the same metric families, each with its own source and date.
Cities of a similar size in Portugal
Closest published populations, for a like-for-like comparison.
Population and city profile
The city covered 230.3 km² in 2021. Population density was 536.2 people per km² in 2021.
How many people live in Setúbal?
The published population was 141,266 people in 2025. Source: INE Portugal indicator 0012917 — annual resident population estimates5
Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| City area | 230.3 km² | 2021 | INE — Portal municipal (quadro)3Official |
| Foreign-resident share | 12.2 % | 31 Dec 2023 | Eurostat2Official |
| Foreign residents | 14,935 people | 2023 | Foreign population with legal resident status at 31 December; Total Nacionalidade; annual municipality value.14Independent |
| Population density | 536.2 people/km² | 2021 | Reproducible derived density from the same-period INE populationTotal divided by areaKm2; no external density number was substituted.12Official |
| Population | 141,266 people | 31 Dec 2025 | INE Portugal indicator 0012917 — annual resident population estimates5Official |
Population rose 36.3% between 1991 and 2025, from 103,634 to 141,266.
Foreign residents rose 120.2% between 2011 and 2023, from 6,784 to 14,935.
International community in Setúbal
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 | 123,496 | 100.0% |
| Portuguesa | 107,710 | 87.2% |
| Estrangeira | 15,786 | 12.8% |
| África | 5,897 | 4.8% |
| América | 5,885 | 4.8% |
| Brasil | 5,505 | 4.5% |
| Europa | 3,292 | 2.7% |
| Angola | 3,083 | 2.5% |
| União Europeia 27 (s/ PT - a partir de 2020) | 1,820 | 1.5% |
| Outros países - Europa | 1,472 | 1.2% |
| Moçambique | 1,148 | 0.9% |
Show 49 more groups
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cabo Verde | 916 | 0.7% |
| Ásia | 701 | 0.6% |
| França | 592 | 0.5% |
| Ucrânia | 483 | 0.4% |
| Moldávia | 421 | 0.3% |
| Roménia | 315 | 0.3% |
| Alemanha | 291 | 0.2% |
| Outros países - Ásia | 250 | 0.2% |
| Reino Unido | 235 | 0.2% |
| Outros países - África | 228 | 0.2% |
| Guiné-Bissau | 222 | 0.2% |
| China | 217 | 0.2% |
| São Tomé e Príncipe | 174 | 0.1% |
| Espanha | 164 | 0.1% |
| Federação da Rússia | 141 | 0.1% |
| Suíça | 129 | 0.1% |
| África do Sul | 126 | 0.1% |
| Venezuela | 122 | 0.1% |
| Outros países - América | 107 | 0.1% |
| Itália | 103 | 0.1% |
| Estados Unidos da América | 93 | 0.1% |
| Nepal | 90 | 0.1% |
| Bélgica | 82 | 0.1% |
| Índia | 80 | 0.1% |
| Países Baixos (Reino dos) | 69 | 0.1% |
| Bulgária | 67 | 0.1% |
| Outros | 63 | 0.1% |
| Canadá | 39 | 0.0% |
| Polónia | 38 | 0.0% |
| Paquistão | 34 | 0.0% |
| Bangladeche | 30 | 0.0% |
| Argentina | 19 | 0.0% |
| Luxemburgo | 18 | 0.0% |
| Letónia | 13 | 0.0% |
| Oceânia | 11 | 0.0% |
| Austrália | 10 | 0.0% |
| Hungria | 10 | 0.0% |
| Chéquia | 9 | 0.0% |
| Dinamarca | 8 | 0.0% |
| Lituânia | 8 | 0.0% |
| Suécia | 8 | 0.0% |
| Áustria | 6 | 0.0% |
| Grécia | 6 | 0.0% |
| Finlândia | 4 | 0.0% |
| Irlanda | 4 | 0.0% |
| Croácia | 3 | 0.0% |
| Outros países - Oceânia | 1 | 0.0% |
| Estónia | 1 | 0.0% |
| Eslováquia | 1 | 0.0% |
Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source7
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 | 123,496 | 100.0% |
| Portuguesa | 114,955 | 93.1% |
| Estrangeira | 8,540 | 6.9% |
| América | 4,590 | 3.7% |
| Brasil | 4,409 | 3.6% |
| Europa | 1,880 | 1.5% |
| África | 1,516 | 1.2% |
| União Europeia 27 (s/ PT - a partir de 2020) | 1,171 | 0.9% |
| Angola | 717 | 0.6% |
| Outros países - Europa | 709 | 0.6% |
| Ásia | 547 | 0.4% |
Show 50 more groups
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cabo Verde | 441 | 0.4% |
| Roménia | 330 | 0.3% |
| Ucrânia | 265 | 0.2% |
| China | 263 | 0.2% |
| França | 230 | 0.2% |
| Moldávia | 177 | 0.1% |
| Itália | 161 | 0.1% |
| Reino Unido | 117 | 0.1% |
| Espanha | 104 | 0.1% |
| Guiné-Bissau | 101 | 0.1% |
| Outros países - África | 93 | 0.1% |
| Nepal | 91 | 0.1% |
| Outros países - Ásia | 90 | 0.1% |
| Alemanha | 89 | 0.1% |
| Moçambique | 87 | 0.1% |
| Federação da Rússia | 82 | 0.1% |
| São Tomé e Príncipe | 72 | 0.1% |
| Outros países - América | 68 | 0.1% |
| Estados Unidos da América | 55 | 0.0% |
| Bulgária | 51 | 0.0% |
| Países Baixos (Reino dos) | 51 | 0.0% |
| Venezuela | 48 | 0.0% |
| Bélgica | 44 | 0.0% |
| Outros | 39 | 0.0% |
| Índia | 36 | 0.0% |
| Bangladeche | 34 | 0.0% |
| Paquistão | 33 | 0.0% |
| Polónia | 33 | 0.0% |
| Suíça | 29 | 0.0% |
| Letónia | 12 | 0.0% |
| Hungria | 11 | 0.0% |
| Irlanda | 9 | 0.0% |
| Lituânia | 9 | 0.0% |
| Oceânia | 7 | 0.0% |
| Áustria | 7 | 0.0% |
| Chéquia | 6 | 0.0% |
| Dinamarca | 6 | 0.0% |
| Argentina | 5 | 0.0% |
| Austrália | 5 | 0.0% |
| Canadá | 5 | 0.0% |
| Grécia | 5 | 0.0% |
| África do Sul | 5 | 0.0% |
| Suécia | 4 | 0.0% |
| Finlândia | 3 | 0.0% |
| Croácia | 3 | 0.0% |
| Outros países - Oceânia | 2 | 0.0% |
| Apátrida | 1 | 0.0% |
| Estónia | 1 | 0.0% |
| Luxemburgo | 1 | 0.0% |
| Eslováquia | 1 | 0.0% |
Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source6
Is Setúbal 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.
Common questions
Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.
Is Setúbal expensive?
Fixed monthly costs for one person in an 85 m² flat — net rent, utilities, a transport pass, internet and mobile — came to about €1,133 against a median gross salary of €1,341 (figures), leaving about €208 before income tax. Sources: the rent, recurring-cost and salary series published on this page, each with its own source and date.
How many people live in Setúbal?
The published population was 141,266 people in 2025. Source: INE Portugal indicator 0012917 — annual resident population estimates.
How much does it cost to rent in Setúbal?
Average net cold rent is 11.11 EUR/m² per month (2026-Q1), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 778 EUR a month before utilities. Source: www.ine.pt.
Is the air quality good in Setúbal?
The annual PM2.5 mean is about 5 µg/m³ (2024) — within the WHO 2021 guideline. Source: official validated air-quality station bulk; no exact target station-period input found.
How safe is Setúbal?
Police recorded 3,330 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 typical salary in Setúbal?
The median gross salary is about 1,341 EUR/month (2022). Source: Collected source.
What is the unemployment rate in Setúbal?
The unemployment rate is about 3.2 % (June 2026). Source: IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 2026.
Is Setúbal a good place to live?
Setúbal 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 Setúbal?
The official country of birth distribution records 3,292 people (2.7%) 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). Setúbal, Portugal: cost of living, rent and salaries [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/setubal/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_setubal-portugal-cost-of-living-rent-and-salaries_01c2b2f1367d,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Setúbal, Portugal: cost of living, rent and salaries},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-09-12},
version = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
snapshot = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/setubal/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Setúbal, Portugal: cost of living, rent and salaries](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/setubal/) — 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
- Collected source ine.pt · checked 2026-08-04
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-02
- 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
- INE Portugal indicator 0012917 — annual resident population estimates INE Portugal indicator 0012917 · ine.pt · checked 2026-09-01
- 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, Setúbal, 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
- OpenFlights — routes.dat OpenFlights · raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-07-14
Show 8 more sources
- 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
- Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2 Global Cost of Living · kaggle.com · checked 2026-07-27
- IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 2026 IEFP · iefp.pt · checked 2026-07-26
- Numbeo — Cost of Living in Setubal (Wayback capture 20250518071646) Numbeo · web.archive.org · checked 2026-08-01
- official validated air-quality station bulk; no exact target station-period input found aqportal.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-15
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.