Municipalities creating the most value

Analysis: why are some at the top and others at the bottom?

We compared value creation per inhabitant with every other municipal figure we have, from Statistics Norway, NIPH and the Brønnøysund Register Centre. Below are the figures that go most closely together with value creation per inhabitant across the country, and what marks the municipalities at the top and bottom on those figures.

The pattern across the country

• Municipalities that rank high on «Job coverage (jobs per employed resident)» most often also rank high on value creation per inhabitant (moderate association, rank correlation 0.50 across 357 municipalities; Statistics Norway table 11618).
• Municipalities that rank high on «Net in-commuting, share of employed residents» most often also rank high on value creation per inhabitant (moderate association, rank correlation 0.49 across 357 municipalities; Statistics Norway table 11616).
• Municipalities that rank high on «Gross income per person aged 17 and over, mean» most often also rank high on value creation per inhabitant (moderate association, rank correlation 0.43 across 357 municipalities; Statistics Norway table 03068).
• Municipalities that rank high on «Limited companies we follow per 1,000 inhabitants» most often also rank high on value creation per inhabitant (moderate association, rank correlation 0.32 across 347 municipalities; Brønnøysund Register Centre, our own calculations).

The highest and the lowest

• No. 1 Frøya (1,642,970 kr) Fits the pattern: «Job coverage (jobs per employed resident)» 129.8% (no. 3 of 357 from the top; Statistics Norway table 11618); «Net in-commuting, share of employed residents» 29.5% (no. 3 of 357 from the top; Statistics Norway table 11616); «Gross income per person aged 17 and over, mean» 720,300 kr (no. 7 of 357 from the top; Statistics Norway table 03068). Most distinctive industry: fiske, fangst og akvakultur, 22% of the jobs, 26.9 times the national share (Statistics Norway table 13470, 2025).
• No. 2 Sola (1,437,910 kr) Fits the pattern: «Job coverage (jobs per employed resident)» 184.8% (no. 1 of 357 from the top; Statistics Norway table 11618); «Net in-commuting, share of employed residents» 79.8% (no. 1 of 357 from the top; Statistics Norway table 11616); «Gross income per person aged 17 and over, mean» 747,400 kr (no. 4 of 357 from the top; Statistics Norway table 03068). Most distinctive industry: tjenester tilknyttet bergverksdrift og utvinning, 33% of the jobs, 26.4 times the national share (Statistics Norway table 13470, 2025).
• No. 3 Lurøy (946,824 kr) Fits the pattern: «Gross income per person aged 17 and over, mean» 876,100 kr (no. 1 of 357 from the top; Statistics Norway table 03068); «Job coverage (jobs per employed resident)» 117.3% (no. 11 of 357 from the top; Statistics Norway table 11618); «Net in-commuting, share of employed residents» 15.0% (no. 15 of 357 from the top; Statistics Norway table 11616). Most distinctive industry: fiske, fangst og akvakultur, 28% of the jobs, 35.1 times the national share (Statistics Norway table 13470, 2025).
• No. 357 Leka (12,501 kr, among the lowest) Fits the pattern: «Limited companies we follow per 1,000 inhabitants» 33.56 per 1,000 (no. 343 of 347 from the top; Brønnøysund Register Centre, our own calculations). Most distinctive industry: sjøfart, 11% of the jobs, 18.0 times the national share (Statistics Norway table 13470, 2025).
• No. 356 Aremark (12,943 kr, among the lowest) Fits the pattern: «Job coverage (jobs per employed resident)» 49.8% (no. 346 of 357 from the top; Statistics Norway table 11618); «Net in-commuting, share of employed residents» −48.0% (no. 343 of 357 from the top; Statistics Norway table 11616); «Limited companies we follow per 1,000 inhabitants» 49.48 per 1,000 (no. 268 of 347 from the top; Brønnøysund Register Centre, our own calculations). Most distinctive industry: skogbruk og tjenester tilknyttet skogbruk, 7% of the jobs, 29.9 times the national share (Statistics Norway table 13470, 2025).
• No. 355 Fedje (17,146 kr, among the lowest) The municipality does not stand out on the figures that otherwise go together with the measure. The explanation probably lies in something we have no figures for. Most distinctive industry: sjøfart, 6% of the jobs, 10.3 times the national share (Statistics Norway table 13470, 2025).

The analysis describes what goes together, not what causes what. Two figures can follow each other because both depend on something else, such as size, location or industry. The figures are from the latest year available for each source, so the years can differ. Rank correlation runs from −1 to 1; values near 1 mean the municipalities lie in roughly the same order on both measures.