Municipality

Alta

Municipality no. 5601 · Finnmark - Finnmárku - Finmarkku · 22,074 inhabitants · KOSTRA group 9

Municipality card for sharing Add to comparison

Municipality index · based on 2025

55 of 100

Between rank 4 and 22 of 27 in KOSTRA group 9 (rank 8 with the default weights). Between 44 and 309 of 357 in Norway (114 with the default weights).

The rank is shown as a range when it moves a lot with other weights, normalisations and handling of missing data. The range covers 90 per cent of 1,000 draws. Methodology

Development index 55 of 100: how the key figures have changed over about the last three years, compared with the group. Profile: High level · improving.

Sub-indices for the municipality against the group median
Part	Score (0–100)	Group median	Development (0–100)	Score as a bar
Work and business	73	52	53
Economy	40	49	34
Population and growth	63	48	77
Work, education and housing	19	47	90
Health and living conditions	Bottom quarter of the group			Shown as a quarter, not as a score or rank
Local economy (our company data)	95	48	47

The score is the percentile rank in the group: 50 means middle of the pack among municipalities like it. The index does not measure the quality of services.

Similar municipalities

Steinkjer 24,007 inhabitants · index 21
Narvik 21,647 inhabitants · index 36
Harstad 25,204 inhabitants · index 40
Rana 25,844 inhabitants · index 48
Kristiansund 24,479 inhabitants · index 30
Voss 16,438 inhabitants · index 57
Vefsn 13,481 inhabitants · index 41
Namsos 15,112 inhabitants · index 39

Chosen by population, centrality, commuting and industry structure (employment by industry), not by the index.

Summary analysis

Alta has a municipality index of 55 of 100 against its KOSTRA group.

Strongest: Local economy (our company data): 95 of 100 (group 48). Work and business: 73 of 100 (group 52).

Weakest: Work, education and housing: 19 of 100 (group 47). Health and living conditions: 25 of 100 (group 50).

Worth a closer look

Share living in overcrowded homes: 11.5% against 7.6% in the group (2025).
Disability benefit recipients aged 20–66 (standardised): 12.3% against 11.1% in the group (2024).

Written by fixed rules from the figures. Describes the figures, does not explain causes. Not investment or financial advice. How the summary is made

Key figures from Statistics Norway

Work and business

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Employed, share of age 20–66 (high scores high)	77.2% 2025	76.3%	76.7%	table 11618 figures from an earlier municipality number
Job coverage (jobs per employed resident) (shown, not in the index)	98.9% 2025	95.5%	90.0%	table 11618 figures from an earlier municipality number
Registered unemployed, share of labour force (low scores high)	1.3% 2025	1.5%	1.3%	table 13563 figures from an earlier municipality number
New enterprises per 1,000 inhabitants (high scores high)	11.9 2023	8.9	9.2	table 13701 figures from an earlier municipality number
Limited company bankruptcies per 1,000 inhabitants (low scores high)	0.4 2025	0.5	0.5	table 07165 figures from an earlier municipality number

Economy

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Household income after tax, median (high scores high)	NOK 722,600 2024	NOK 693,200	NOK 657,600	table 06944 figures from an earlier municipality number
Net operating result, share of operating revenue (municipal group) (high scores high)	−0.7% 2025	0.9%	1.3%	table 12143 figures from an earlier municipality number
Unrestricted reserves, share of operating revenue (high scores high)	1.0% 2025	8.6%	10.4%	table 12143 figures from an earlier municipality number
Net debt, share of operating revenue (low scores high)	73.6% 2025	96.4%	84.9%	table 12143 figures from an earlier municipality number
Net operating expenditure per inhabitant (shown, not in the index)	NOK 98,185 2025	NOK 78,761	NOK 96,691	table 12137 figures from an earlier municipality number
Gross operating revenue per inhabitant (shown, not in the index)	NOK 140,215 2025	NOK 112,754	NOK 141,010	table 12137 figures from an earlier municipality number

Population and growth

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Population on 1 January (shown, not in the index)	22,074 2026	25,569	5,447	table 11342 figures from an earlier municipality number
Population growth, last year (high scores high)	0.9% 2026	0.5%	0.3%	table 06913 figures from an earlier municipality number
Net migration per 1,000 inhabitants (shown, not in the index)	2.7 2025	2.7	4.1	table 06913 figures from an earlier municipality number some years withheld by SSB
Share aged 80 and over (shown, not in the index)	3.8% 2026	5.4%	6.3%	table 07459 figures from an earlier municipality number
Projected population growth to 2030 (main alternative) (high scores high)	1.0% 2026	1.1%	1.1%	table 14746
Projected population growth to 2050 (main alternative) (shown, not in the index)	5.7% 2026	7.0%	3.6%	table 14746

Work, education and housing

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Net in-commuting, share of employed residents (shown, not in the index)	−0.7% 2025	−3.8%	−10.2%	table 11616 figures from an earlier municipality number
Children aged 1–5 in kindergarten (high scores high)	90.3% 2025	96.2%	94.1%	table 13502 figures from an earlier municipality number
Share with university or college education (16 and over) (high scores high)	34.8% 2025	33.5%	27.5%	table 09429
Share living in overcrowded homes (low scores high)	11.5% 2025	7.6%	6.9%	table 14902
Detached houses, share of all dwellings (shown, not in the index)	59.8% 2026	58.3%	75.1%	table 06265 figures from an earlier municipality number
Net expenditure on culture per inhabitant (shown, not in the index)	NOK 2,802 2025	NOK 2,669	NOK 3,310	table 13135 figures from an earlier municipality number

Health and living conditions

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Life expectancy at birth (15-year period) (high scores high)	81.6 years 2025	82.8 years	82.4 years	FHI table 508
Share in households with persistent low income (EU60) (low scores high)	7.6% 2024	7.7%	8.1%	FHI table 403
Completed upper secondary education (standardised) (high scores high)	74.6% 2025	81.2%	80.5%	FHI table 623
Young people satisfied with their health (Ungdata, latest survey) (high scores high)	62.6% 2025	64.3%	64.7%	FHI table 349
Disability benefit recipients aged 20–66 (standardised) (low scores high)	12.3% 2024	11.1%	11.2%	FHI table 787

Local economy (our company data)

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Limited companies we follow per 1,000 inhabitants (high scores high)	26.7 2026	14.4	16.7	Our data
Median operating margin, companies we follow (shown, not in the index)	4.7% 2025	3.0%	3.2%	Our data
New bankruptcies and liquidations per 1,000 limited companies (low scores high)	8.5 2025	13.8	13.5	Our data

Public contracts

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Trend	Source
Share of the municipality's contracts (Doffin) won by local companies (shown, not in the index)	25.0% 2025	11.8%	9.4%		Our data

Education (shown, not counted)

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Share with lower secondary as highest education (16 and over) (shown, not in the index)	26.3% 2025	23.3%	25.1%	table 09429
Share with upper secondary as highest education (16 and over) (shown, not in the index)	34.7% 2025	37.5%	42.0%	table 09429
Share with tertiary vocational education as highest (16 and over) (shown, not in the index)	3.8% 2025	3.7%	3.8%	table 09429
Municipal primary and lower secondary schools (shown, not in the index)	16 2025	10	3	table 11971 figures from an earlier municipality number
Pupils per municipal school (shown, not in the index)	155 2025	258	177	table 11971 figures from an earlier municipality number
Primary and lower secondary schools in operation (public and private) (shown, not in the index)	17 2026	12	4	Norwegian Mapping Authority and Directorate for Education (NSR)
Share of private primary and lower secondary schools (shown, not in the index)	11.8% 2026	10.0%	0.0%	Norwegian Mapping Authority and Directorate for Education (NSR)
Pupils per primary school (median, public and private) (shown, not in the index)	137 2026	214	146	Norwegian Mapping Authority and Directorate for Education (NSR)
Upper secondary schools in operation (shown, not in the index)	1 2026	2	1	Norwegian Mapping Authority and Directorate for Education (NSR)
Average lower secondary school points (shown, not in the index)	41 2025	42	42	table 12255 figures from an earlier municipality number some years withheld by SSB
Pupils at mastery levels 3–5, national reading test, year 8 (shown, not in the index)	55.0% 2025	63.3%	62.0%	table 12255 figures from an earlier municipality number some years withheld by SSB
Pupils at mastery levels 3–5, national numeracy test, year 8 (shown, not in the index)	60.6% 2025	63.7%	62.5%	table 12255 figures from an earlier municipality number some years withheld by SSB

Each key figure is for the year shown beside it. Municipalities that merged or were renumbered get the figures from the old number where Statistics Norway has not recalculated them.

Industries in the municipality · 2025

The largest industries by persons employed with their workplace in the municipality (11,502 in all in 2025), with the change since 2020.

Industry (SN2007)	Employed	Share	Change since 2020	Change in Norway	Location quotient	Trend
Undervisning 85	1,092	9.5%	1.2%	4.1%	1.17	Stable
Pleie- og omsorgstjenester i institusjon 87	939	8.2%	20.8%	6.4%	1.49	Rising
Helsetjenester 86	922	8.0%	12.6%	13.3%	0.88	Stable
Spesialisert bygge- og anleggsvirksomhet 43	893	7.8%	3.2%	4.0%	1.63	Stable
Detaljhandel, unntatt med motorvogner 47	867	7.5%	0.8%	4.0%	1.09	Stable
Sosiale omsorgstjenester uten botilbud 88	806	7.0%	3.2%	1.7%	1.11	Stable
Fiske, fangst og akvakultur 03	597	5.2%	11.2%	17.8%	6.45	Stable
Offentlig administrasjon og forsvar, og trygdeordninger underlagt offentlig forvaltning 84	597	5.2%	11.2%	8.7%	0.81	Stable
Oppføring av bygninger 41	446	3.9%	−3.9%	−3.4%	1.62	Stable
Handel med og reparasjon av motorvogner 45	370	3.2%	11.4%	10.0%	1.73	Stable
Landtransport og rørtransport 49	231	2.0%	0.9%	7.8%	0.87	Stable
Elektrisitets-, gass-, damp- og varmtvannsforsyning 35	198	1.7%	−2.0%	13.9%	2.68	Stable

A location quotient above 1 means the industry is larger here than in the rest of Norway (2 = twice the share). “Rising” and “Falling” need both at least a 10% change over five years and a change at least 5 percentage points better or worse than in Norway. Industries with fewer than 20 employed are shown as a three-year moving average and are not classified. Source: Statistics Norway, table 13470 (employed by workplace, 4th quarter).

See business development in the municipality

Housing and labour market · 2025

Alta has about as many jobs as employed residents. The municipality has 11,501 jobs and 11,568 employed residents, and 89% of the residents work in the municipality.

Jobs (employed by workplace): 11,501
Employed residents: 11,568
Jobs per employed resident: 0.99
Commute in: 1,174
Commute out: 1,241

Where the residents work (outside the municipality)

Municipality	Employed	Share of employed residents
Tromsø	203	1.8%
Oslo	138	1.2%
Hammerfest	133	1.1%
Vadsø	55	0.5%
Sokkelen sør for 62 grader N	41	0.4%

Where those who work here live (outside the municipality)

Municipality	Employed	Share of jobs
Hammerfest	196	1.7%
Kvænangen	72	0.6%
Guovdageaidnu	67	0.6%
Tromsø	57	0.5%
Nordkapp	56	0.5%

Employed persons aged 15–74 in the 4th quarter, by home and work municipality (SSB 03321). Job municipality: at least 10% more jobs than employed residents. Home municipality: at least 10% fewer. Flows under 10 people are counted but not shown. Work on the continental shelf is shown as its own workplace.

Stress test: the oil downturn and the pandemic

How did employment and unemployment in the municipality develop in two downturns, compared with the country?

The oil downturn (2014–2016)

The number of jobs changed by +1.2% from 2014 to 2016, against −1.3% in the country: a stronger development than the country.

Measure	Alta	Country	Difference
Change in jobs 2014–2016	+1.2%	−1.3%	+2.5 pp
Change in jobs 2014–2018 (recovery)	+3.9%	+2.0%	+1.9 pp
Change in registered unemployment 2014–2016	−0.4 pp	+0.3 pp	−0.8 pp
Registered unemployment 2014	1.9%	2.1%	–
Share of jobs in oil and gas 2014 (extraction and services)	2.0%	–	–

The change in jobs is in the second-strongest quarter of municipalities in the period.

The pandemic (2019–2020)

The number of jobs changed by +0.8% from 2019 to 2020, against −0.9% in the country: a stronger development than the country.

Measure	Alta	Country	Difference
Change in jobs 2019–2020	+0.8%	−0.9%	+1.7 pp
Change in jobs 2019–2022 (recovery)	+4.2%	+4.2%	0.0 pp
Change in registered unemployment 2019–2020	+0.4 pp	+1.1 pp	−0.7 pp
Registered unemployment 2019	1.5%	1.8%	–

The change in jobs is in the second-strongest quarter of municipalities in the period.

Jobs are employed persons aged 15–74 by workplace in the 4th quarter (SSB 07984). Unemployment is registered unemployed as a share of the labour force (SSB 13563). The country is the sum of the municipalities, on today's municipality map. Within one percentage point counts as “about like the country”. Oil and gas is industry 05–09 (extraction and services), without the supply industry. pp = percentage points.

Cost and quality of services · 2025

Cost per user and one quality measure for three services, compared with the median of the municipality group (KOSTRA).

Service	Cost	Group median	Quality measure	Group median	Position against the group
Kindergarten cost per child in municipal kindergartens, share of qualified kindergarten teachers	NOK 270,274 −12% against the median	NOK 308,691	38%	42%	Lower cost, lower quality measure (27 municipalities in the group)
Primary school net expenditure per inhabitant aged 6–15, lower secondary school points	NOK 167,304 +6% against the median	NOK 158,122	40.6	41.8	Higher cost, lower quality measure (27 municipalities in the group)
Nursing homes expenditure per resident day, share of care staff with health education	NOK 6,721 +11% against the median	NOK 6,060	68%	72%	Higher cost, lower quality measure (27 municipalities in the group)

KOSTRA (SSB 12379, 13502, 12255 and 12209). One measure is not the whole quality of a service, and school points also reflect the pupils' background. Cost depends on settlement patterns and distances. The figures are a starting point for questions, not a grade.

Companies registered in the municipality

Limited companies we follow: 590
With accounts 2026: 1
Turnover 2026 (NOK): 237 MNOK
Median operating margin 2026: too few companies

Only limited companies in the sectors we follow, by business address. The head office can be elsewhere than the activity. Companies reporting in another currency than NOK are left out of turnover.

Largest companies in the municipality

ISHAVSKRAFT AS 3,125 MNOK (2025)
ENTREPRENØR HARALD NILSEN AS 740 MNOK (2025)
ALTA MOTORSENTER AS 343 MNOK (2025)
ANLEGG NORD AS 310 MNOK (2025)
HAK ENTREPRENØR AS 284 MNOK (2024)
PEDERSENS VARMESERVICE AS 259 MNOK (2025)
FINNMARKSAPOTEKENE AS 237 MNOK (2026)
GEIR SVENDSEN ENTREPRENØR AS 194 MNOK (2025)
ARCTIC SWAN AS 193 MNOK (2025)
2TAL AS 180 MNOK (2025)
MILJØSANERING NORD AS 171 MNOK (2025)
SKIDOO SENTERET AS 155 MNOK (2025)
XL-BYGG MATHISEN & CO AS 154 MNOK (2025)
MLS FRITID AS 145 MNOK (2025)
ALUT AS 137 MNOK (2025)

590 limited companies in the sectors we follow have their business address here.

Latest awards from buyers in the municipality

Medisinsk oksygen rammeavtale Alta kommune · 14 October 2026
Ny El-varebil til kommunalteknikk, vannmåler Alta kommune · 16 September 2026
Rammeavtale arbeidstøy, sengetøy og frottè til helseinstitusjoner Alta kommune · 8 September 2026
Tømrertjenester - Rammeavtale Alta kommune · 3 September 2026
Frisk luft - Natur og gårdsaktiviteter for mennesker med funksjonsnedsettelser Alta kommune · 17 August 2026
Møbler til barnehager og skoler rammeavtale Alta kommune · 14 August 2026

From Doffin. The buyer's address decides the municipality; state agencies are often where their head office is.

Contains data under the Norwegian licence for public data (NLOD 2.0) made available by Doffin/the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management (DFØ). NLOD 2.0

Earlier municipalities

Alta (5403) · renumbered 2024

Indications based on open data. Not advice. Methodology

Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 03321, table 06265, table 06913, table 06944, table 07165, table 07459, table 07984, table 09429, table 11342, table 11616, table 11618, table 11971, table 12137, table 12143, table 12209, table 12255, table 12379, table 13135, table 13470, table 13502, table 13563, table 13701, table 14746, table 14902, table kartverket:grunnskole, table kartverket:vgs, municipality map and KOSTRA groups from Klass. CC BY 4.0.

Source for health and living conditions: Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), Folkehelsestatistikk, FHI table 349, FHI table 403, FHI table 508, FHI table 623, FHI table 787. NLOD 2.0.