Living in Vila Real
In Vila Real, average gross earnings are €1,427 a month (2024), rents in new contracts average €6.10 per m² a month (2026) and unemployment is 3.4% (2026).
Vila Real had 51,850 residents in 2021 and is a city in Portugal. In 2024, annual PM2.5 was 5.01 µg/m³. The city covered 378.8 km² in 2021. Population density was 136.9 people per km² in 2021. In 2024, there were 870 physicians per 100,000 residents.
Higher unemployment than 88% of Portuguese cities that publish it, less recorded crime than 74% of Portuguese cities that publish it and cleaner air than 61% of Portuguese cities that publish it.
Which Portugal-wide rules apply when you move to Vila Real?
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 Vila Real?
Average net cold rent is 6.1 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): 6.1 EUR/m²/month · www.ine.pt12
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited | 29.99 EUR/month | 30 Sept 2026 | MEO fixed fibre7Official · national market |
| Mobile plan, 10 GB | 15 EUR/month | 30 Sept 2026 | Vodafone Portugal mobile plan11Official · national market |
| Average net rent (nettokalt) | 6.1 EUR/m²/monthcountry median €6.20 | 26 Aug 2026 | www.ine.pt12Official |
Is Vila Real 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 366 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of 6.1 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 3.41% in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Vila Real?
The unemployment rate is about 3.4 % (June 2026).
- Unemployment rate: 3.41 % · IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 202624
Vila Real 3.4%
Unemployment rate (%)
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average gross earnings | 1,427 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2024 | INE — Ganho médio mensal (€), indicator 0012649 (Quadros de Pessoal)1Official |
| Unemployment rate | 3.41 %country median 2.3% | 30 Jun 2026 | IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 202624Independent |
What does a salary buy in Vila Real?
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€6.10/m² · official · ine.pt · 2026-08-26 | − €366 |
| 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 | €509 |
Public employment service
No exact public employment office is currently linked to Vila Real. 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 Vila Real. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Healthcare
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physicians per 100,000 residents | 870 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.8Official |
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Vila Real 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 Vila Real?
Police recorded 2,330 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: 2,330 incidents per 100k · INE — Taxa de criminalidade (‰) por Localização geográfica (NUTS 2013) e Categoria de crime; Anual, indicador 0008074, categoria Total, ano 20223
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents | 2,330 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 20223Official |
Mobility and administration
Language courses and integration
No exact city-level course record is currently published for Vila Real. 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 6.3°C in January and 21.8°C in July. Monthly precipitation was 129.4 mm in January and 12.7 mm in July.
Is the air quality good in Vila Real?
The annual PM2.5 mean is about 5 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³.
Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.
- PM2.5 — annual mean: 5.01 µg/m³ · official validated air-quality station bulk; no exact target station-period input found25
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.
Vila Real 5.0
Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| NO₂ — annual mean | 4.56 µg/m³country median 10.5 | 2024 | official validated air-quality station bulk; no exact target station-period input found25Independent |
| PM10 — annual mean | 9.53 µg/m³country median 18.6 | 2024 | official validated air-quality station bulk; no exact target station-period input found25Independent |
| PM2.5 — annual mean | 5.01 µg/m³country median 6.2 | 2024 | official validated air-quality station bulk; no exact target station-period input found25Independent |
| Average daytime high by month | Jan 9.9 · Feb 12.2 · Mar 15.6 · Apr 17.4 · May 21.2 · Jun 25.3 · Jul 28.8 · Aug 29 · Sep 25.2 · Oct 19.3 · Nov 13.2 · Dec 10.4 °C | 31 Dec 2020 | IPMA climate normal — mean monthly maximum air temperature, Vila Real, 1991-20206Official |
| Average night-time low by month | Jan 2.8 · Feb 3.5 · Mar 5.6 · Apr 7.1 · May 9.7 · Jun 12.6 · Jul 14.7 · Aug 14.9 · Sep 13 · Oct 10.1 · Nov 6 · Dec 3.6 °C | 31 Dec 2020 | IPMA climate normal — mean monthly minimum air temperature, Vila Real, 1991-20206Official |
| Average temperature by month | Jan 6.3 · Feb 7.9 · Mar 10.6 · Apr 12.2 · May 15.4 · Jun 18.9 · Jul 21.8 · Aug 21.9 · Sep 19.1 · Oct 14.7 · Nov 9.6 · Dec 7 °C | 31 Dec 2020 | IPMA climate normal — mean monthly air temperature, Vila Real, 1991-20206Official |
| Average precipitation by month | Jan 129.4 · Feb 83.6 · Mar 91.1 · Apr 84.8 · May 63.4 · Jun 29.2 · Jul 12.7 · Aug 21.5 · Sep 48.9 · Oct 120.9 · Nov 122.8 · Dec 142.8 mm | 31 Dec 2020 | IPMA climate normal — mean monthly precipitation, Vila Real, 1991-20206Official |
Population and city profile
How many people live in Vila Real?
The published population was 51,850 people in 2021. Source: INE — Portal municipal (quadro)2
By nationality
National passport95.9%
Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| City area | 378.8 km² | 2021 | INE — Portal municipal (quadro)2Official |
| Foreign residents | 2,131 people | 2023 | Foreign population with legal resident status at 31 December; Total Nacionalidade; annual municipality value.23Independent |
| Population density | 136.9 people/km² | 2021 | Reproducible derived density from the same-period INE populationTotal divided by areaKm2; no external density number was substituted.10Official |
| Population | 51,850 people | 2021 | INE — Portal municipal (quadro)2Official |
International community in Vila Real
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 | 49,571 | 100.0% |
| Portuguesa | 46,092 | 93.0% |
| Estrangeira | 3,479 | 7.0% |
| Europa | 1,624 | 3.3% |
| União Europeia 27 (s/ PT - a partir de 2020) | 1,136 | 2.3% |
| África | 1,057 | 2.1% |
| Angola | 755 | 1.5% |
| França | 732 | 1.5% |
| América | 728 | 1.5% |
| Brasil | 623 | 1.3% |
| Outros países - Europa | 488 | 1.0% |
Show 38 more groups
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Suíça | 378 | 0.8% |
| Moçambique | 213 | 0.4% |
| Alemanha | 179 | 0.4% |
| Espanha | 78 | 0.2% |
| Ásia | 68 | 0.1% |
| Luxemburgo | 56 | 0.1% |
| Ucrânia | 52 | 0.1% |
| Bélgica | 40 | 0.1% |
| Reino Unido | 37 | 0.1% |
| China | 35 | 0.1% |
| Venezuela | 35 | 0.1% |
| Estados Unidos da América | 32 | 0.1% |
| Outros países - Ásia | 27 | 0.1% |
| Outros países - África | 22 | 0.0% |
| São Tomé e Príncipe | 21 | 0.0% |
| África do Sul | 21 | 0.0% |
| Canadá | 20 | 0.0% |
| Cabo Verde | 19 | 0.0% |
| Outros países - América | 15 | 0.0% |
| Itália | 12 | 0.0% |
| Roménia | 12 | 0.0% |
| Federação da Rússia | 10 | 0.0% |
| Países Baixos (Reino dos) | 7 | 0.0% |
| Bulgária | 6 | 0.0% |
| Guiné-Bissau | 6 | 0.0% |
| Polónia | 6 | 0.0% |
| Outros | 6 | 0.0% |
| Moldávia | 5 | 0.0% |
| Hungria | 4 | 0.0% |
| Índia | 4 | 0.0% |
| Argentina | 3 | 0.0% |
| Oceânia | 2 | 0.0% |
| Austrália | 2 | 0.0% |
| Bangladeche | 2 | 0.0% |
| Finlândia | 1 | 0.0% |
| Grécia | 1 | 0.0% |
| Irlanda | 1 | 0.0% |
| Suécia | 1 | 0.0% |
Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source5
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 | 49,571 | 100.0% |
| Portuguesa | 48,828 | 98.5% |
| Estrangeira | 739 | 1.5% |
| América | 392 | 0.8% |
| Brasil | 361 | 0.7% |
| Europa | 206 | 0.4% |
| União Europeia 27 (s/ PT - a partir de 2020) | 135 | 0.3% |
| África | 76 | 0.2% |
| Outros países - Europa | 71 | 0.1% |
| Ásia | 65 | 0.1% |
| Espanha | 50 | 0.1% |
Show 34 more groups
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| China | 49 | 0.1% |
| Angola | 46 | 0.1% |
| França | 31 | 0.1% |
| Ucrânia | 29 | 0.1% |
| Suíça | 23 | 0.0% |
| Itália | 15 | 0.0% |
| Venezuela | 14 | 0.0% |
| Outros países - Ásia | 11 | 0.0% |
| Reino Unido | 11 | 0.0% |
| Alemanha | 10 | 0.0% |
| Outros países - África | 9 | 0.0% |
| Estados Unidos da América | 9 | 0.0% |
| Cabo Verde | 7 | 0.0% |
| Moçambique | 7 | 0.0% |
| Outros países - América | 6 | 0.0% |
| Bélgica | 6 | 0.0% |
| Polónia | 6 | 0.0% |
| Roménia | 5 | 0.0% |
| Federação da Rússia | 5 | 0.0% |
| Apátrida | 4 | 0.0% |
| Bulgária | 4 | 0.0% |
| Países Baixos (Reino dos) | 4 | 0.0% |
| São Tomé e Príncipe | 4 | 0.0% |
| Luxemburgo | 3 | 0.0% |
| Bangladeche | 2 | 0.0% |
| Moldávia | 2 | 0.0% |
| Paquistão | 2 | 0.0% |
| África do Sul | 2 | 0.0% |
| Argentina | 1 | 0.0% |
| Canadá | 1 | 0.0% |
| Guiné-Bissau | 1 | 0.0% |
| Irlanda | 1 | 0.0% |
| Índia | 1 | 0.0% |
| Outros | 1 | 0.0% |
Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source4
Alternatives for people set on Vila Real
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.
Amarante as a Vila Real alternative in the same region
28 km away, better on 3 of 5 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1.
- Nearest airport: 29.9 km Amarante vs 3.2 km Vila Real+834%
- Rent: €4.63/m² Amarante vs €6.10/m² Vila Real−24%
- Unemployment: 2.9% Amarante vs 3.4% Vila Real−16%
- Recorded crime, per 100k: 2,010 Amarante vs 2,330 Vila Real−14%
- Residents: 52,264 Amarante vs 51,850 Vila Real+1%
Pombal as a Vila Real alternative in the same country
A move, not a commute, at 170 km, better on 3 of 5 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1.
- Nearest airport: 109.7 km Pombal vs 3.2 km Vila Real+3328%
- Unemployment: 1.8% Pombal vs 3.4% Vila Real−47%
- Rent: €5.56/m² Pombal vs €6.10/m² Vila Real−9%
- Recorded crime, per 100k: 2,100 Pombal vs 2,330 Vila Real−10%
- Residents: 55,217 Pombal vs 51,850 Vila Real+6%
Cities near Vila Real
Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.
- Rent
- 5.05 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2026-08-26
- Rent
- 4.88 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2026-08-26
- Rent
- 4.05 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2025-12-31
- Rent
- 4.89 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2026-08-26
- Rent
- 3.48 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2026-08-26
Alternative cities in Portugal
Other cities in Portugal to compare with Vila Real, nearest in population first.
How does Vila Real compare?
Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Vila Real's.
Vila Real 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; Vila Real'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 Vila Real?
The published population was 51,850 people in 2021. Source: INE — Portal municipal (quadro).
How much does it cost to rent in Vila Real?
Average net cold rent is 6.1 EUR/m² per month (2026-Q1), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 427 EUR a month before utilities. Source: www.ine.pt.
Is the air quality good in Vila Real?
The annual PM2.5 mean is about 5 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: official validated air-quality station bulk; no exact target station-period input found.
How safe is Vila Real?
Police recorded 2,330 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 unemployment rate in Vila Real?
The unemployment rate is about 3.4 % (June 2026). Source: IEFP — registered unemployment by municipality, June 2026.
How many foreign residents live in Vila Real?
2,131 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Foreign population with legal resident status at 31 December; Total Nacionalidade; annual municipality value..
Is Vila Real a good place to live?
Vila Real 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 Vila Real?
Santa Marta de Penaguião, Vilela, Sabrosa, Peso da Régua, Armamar are near Vila Real. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.
How many people born in Portuguesa live in Vila Real?
The official country of birth distribution records 46,092 people (93.0%) 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). Vila Real, Portugal: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety [ImmigrationDB compilation; version ffa436b605c32eca8bfb2364d3b41c6b]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/vila-real/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_vila-real-portugal-population-rent-salary-jobs-safety_d8ce577f30b3,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Vila Real, Portugal: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-16},
version = {ffa436b605c32eca8bfb2364d3b41c6b},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/vila-real/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Vila Real, Portugal: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/pt/vila-real/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version ffa436b605c32eca8bfb2364d3b41c6b; 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
- 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, Vila Real, 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
- Reproducible derived density from the same-period INE populationTotal divided by areaKm2; no external density number was substituted. ine.pt · checked 2026-07-15
Show 15 more sources
- Vodafone Portugal mobile plan vodafone.pt · checked 2026-09-15
- www.ine.pt ine.pt · checked 2026-08-26
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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.