Jobs in Norway → Norway guide → 50 largest cities → Ålesund

Working in Ålesund

City dossier for Ålesund: live jobs, official statistics, commuting, large employers, a pay-versus-cost calculator and how it compares.

In short: Ålesund is the #17 largest municipality in Norway (59,663 residents, SSB 1 Jan 2026) in Møre og Romsdal county. It has 35,031 jobs by workplace, 27% of them held by commuters from other municipalities, and 165 live job ads today. Biggest industries: Health and social work (23% of jobs), Retail and wholesale trade (15% of jobs), Manufacturing (11% of jobs).
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Ålesund on the map of Norway

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By AtiveSite · Published 06/11/2026 · Updated 06/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.

59,663residents, 1 Jan 2026 (SSB)
35,031jobs by workplace, Q4 2025
165live job ads (NAV)
4.7ads per 1,000 jobs
27%of local jobs held by commuters

Overview

Ålesund is Norway's #17 municipality by population: 59,663 residents (SSB, 1 Jan 2026). It lies in Møre og Romsdal county, 547 km (497 min) by road from Oslo centre and offers 35,031 jobs by workplace (Q4 2025); the largest employing industries are Health and social work (23% of jobs), Retail and wholesale trade (15% of jobs), Manufacturing (11% of jobs). Ålesund is a regional job centre that draws commuters from the surrounding area. Compared with Norway as a whole, jobs are concentrated in manufacturing and finance and insurance. Today 165 job ads are live here (4.7 per 1,000 jobs).

See all 165 jobs in Ålesund →Møre og Romsdal county guideAll 50 cities

Jobs

LIVE · CITY (Ålesund) Live feed Source: NAV – Arbeidsplassen.no public feed · Data: live, checked 06/11/2026

165 active ads. Full-time 65% · permanent (Fast) 60% · substitute (Vikariat) 24% · private sector 49% · public sector 44%. Open the job search →

Fields (NAV occupational categories). Click a field for the county page

Sort:
Field ⇅Open ads ⇅Share ⇅
Health & social care (Helse og sosial)6237.6%
Education (Utdanning)2716.4%
Sales & service (Salg og service)2615.8%
Office & finance (Kontor og økonomi)127.3%
Skilled trades (Håndverkere)95.5%
Construction (Bygg og anlegg)74.2%
Transport & warehouse (Transport og lager)63.6%
Culture & creative (Kultur og kreative yrker)42.4%
Tourism & food (Reiseliv og mat)42.4%
Industry & production (Industri og produksjon)42.4%
Security & emergency (Sikkerhet og beredskap)21.2%
IT (IT)10.6%
Nature & environment (Natur og miljø)10.6%

Top employers

Sort:

Most common sub-categories

Sort:
Sub-category (NAV, Norwegian) ⇅Field ⇅Open ads ⇅
Salg, butikk- og varehandelSales & service19
SykepleierHealth & social care15
Barnehage- og skolefritidsassistenterEducation14
Hjemmehjelper og personlig assistentHealth & social care10
HelsefagarbeiderHealth & social care8
Kontor, forvaltning og saksbehandlingOffice & finance7
MiljøarbeidereHealth & social care6
LegeHealth & social care6
HelsesekretærHealth & social care5
VernepleierHealth & social care4
BarnehagelærerEducation4
GrunnskoleEducation3
Videregående skoleEducation3
Logistikk, lagerarbeid og innkjøpTransport & warehouse3
Tømrer og snekkerSkilled trades3
Arealplanlegging og arkitekturConstruction2
Rådgivere innen sosiale fagfeltHealth & social care2
Juridisk arbeidOffice & finance2
Andre ingeniørerConstruction2
Andre helseyrkerHealth & social care2

Ads are job offers, not the number of jobs that exist. NAV does not publish salary, so none is shown or estimated. Ads are removed when NAV marks them inactive.

Economy

CITY (Ålesund municipality) Official statistics Source: SSB table 13470 · Data: 4th quarter 2025

Ålesund had 35,031 employed persons by place of work in Q4 2025 (+1.0% vs 2024). A specialisation index above 1 means the industry weighs more here than in Norway as a whole.

Health and social work8,193 (23.4%)
Retail and wholesale trade5,142 (14.7%)
Manufacturing3,815 (10.9%)
Real estate, professional and technical services2,411 (6.9%)
Construction2,251 (6.4%)
Transport and storage1,938 (5.5%)
Administrative and support services1,394 (4.0%)
Accommodation and food service1,312 (3.7%)
Other services1,279 (3.7%)
Information and communication960 (2.7%)
Finance and insurance788 (2.2%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing606 (1.7%)
Sort:
Industry (SSB divisions) ⇅Employed ⇅Share here ⇅Share Norway ⇅Specialisation index ⇅
Agriculture, forestry and fishing6061.7%2.3%0.76
Mining and quarrying470.1%2.3%0.06
Manufacture3,81510.9%7.7%1.42
Electricity, water supply, sewerage, waste management4571.3%1.3%1.00
Construction2,2516.4%8.1%0.79
Wholesale and retail trade: repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles5,14214.7%12.4%1.19
Transportation and storage1,9385.5%4.8%1.16
Accommodation and food service activities1,3123.7%3.7%1.00
Information and communication9602.7%4.0%0.68
Financial and insurance activities7882.2%1.8%1.22
Real estate, professional, scientific and technical activities2,4116.9%6.8%1.01
Administrative and support service activities1,3944.0%4.4%0.90
Human health and social work activities8,19323.4%20.8%1.12
Other service activities1,2793.7%4.3%0.85

Commuting

CITY (workplace or residence = Ålesund) Official statistics Source: SSB table 03321 · Data: 4th quarter 2025

Of the 35,028 people who work in Ålesund, 25,561 (73%) also live there and 9,467 (27%) commute in. Of the 31,810 residents who are employed, 80% work inside Ålesund and 6,249 (20%) work elsewhere.

Where people who work in Ålesund live

Sula2,340 (6.7%)
Giske1,862 (5.3%)
Haram1,299 (3.7%)
Sykkylven418 (1.2%)
Molde281 (0.8%)
Ulstein268 (0.8%)
Vestnes266 (0.8%)
Oslo213 (0.6%)
Hareid202 (0.6%)
Ørsta200 (0.6%)

Where Ålesund residents work (besides Ålesund)

Sula918 (2.9%)
Haram772 (2.4%)
Oslo622 (2.0%)
Giske572 (1.8%)
Bergen360 (1.1%)
Trondheim315 (1.0%)
Molde288 (0.9%)

Employed persons aged 15–74 by workplace and residence municipality. A high share of in-commuters means jobs here are open to people living in neighbouring municipalities, which widens where you can live.

Companies

No company headquartered in Ålesund is among Norway's 100 largest employers; employers with open jobs are listed on the Jobs tab.

Pay & cost

Does this salary work here? (estimate)

Type the gross monthly salary you were offered. We apply the 2026 tax rules and subtract an average rent from SSB.

Method: national insurance 7.6%, standard deduction 46% (max NOK 95,700), personal allowance NOK 114,540, ordinary income tax 22% (assumed unchanged; verify), bracket tax 1.7/4.0/13.7/16.8/17.8%. Ignores pension, union fees, deductions, municipal differences and holiday-pay timing. Rent = SSB 2025 survey average, not a current asking price. Food, energy, transport and insurance must still come out of what is left. Not advice.

NATIONAL Official rules Source: Regjeringen – tax rates 2026 · Skatteetaten – personal allowance · Data: income year 2026

Sort:
Item (wage earners, 2026) ⇅Value ⇅
National insurance contribution on wages7.6%
Personal allowance (personfradrag)NOK 114,540
Standard deduction on wages46% (max NOK 95,700)
Bracket tax step 1 from NOK 226,1001.7%
Step 2 from NOK 318,3004.0%
Step 3 from NOK 725,05013.7%
Step 4 from NOK 980,10016.8%
Step 5 from NOK 1,467,20017.8%

Ordinary income tax (22%) is applied on income after deductions; lower rates apply in parts of northern Norway. Confirm current rates on Skatteetaten before relying on them.

SSB publishes rent only for some areas (Oslo+Bærum, Akershus except Bærum, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger and the whole country). For Ålesund we preselect Whole country; see the rent table.

Foreigners

CITY (Ålesund ads) Indicator: keyword counts Source: NAV – Arbeidsplassen.no public feed (live) · Data: 06/11/2026

Sort:
Indicator ⇅Ads ⇅Share ⇅
Ads whose description is mostly in English116.7%
Ads asking for Norwegian language skills (phrase match)3722.4%
Ads mentioning visa, work permit, relocation or sponsorship00.0%
Ads mentioning authorisation or licence3118.8%
Ads mentioning remote or hybrid work53.0%

These are simple text searches in the ad descriptions (Norwegian and English keywords). They are a rough guide, not a legal reading of each ad: always read the ad itself.

Rules and routes: Permits and first steps · Recognition and authorisation · Law.

Nearby cities

CITY → nearest of the 50 largest Modelled + official + live Source: Kartverket place names (straight-line distance), SSB 06913, NAV feed · Data: 2026

Sort:
City ⇅Straight-line km ⇅Population ⇅Live ads ⇅
Molde59 km33,29166
Alver219 km30,28530
Askøy234 km30,60050
Bergen235 km294,860572
Trondheim239 km218,460423
Øygarden241 km40,64153
Bjørnafjorden256 km26,75346
Lillehammer272 km29,66971

Compare

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Momentum

LIVE (NAV feed, daily snapshot kept by AtiveSite) Own time series Source: AtiveSite daily counts of NAV ads · Data: tracking since 06/11/2026

Every day we store how many NAV ads are live for Ålesund. NAV itself publishes no history, so this series will become unique data. The trend line appears from the second day of tracking; today: 165 live ads.

FAQ

How many people live in Ålesund?

59,663 residents in the municipality on 1 January 2026 (SSB), rank 17 among Norwegian municipalities.

How many jobs are there in Ålesund?

35,031 jobs by workplace in Q4 2025 (SSB), and 165 live job ads on 06/11/2026 (NAV).

Do people commute to work in Ålesund?

27% of the people who work in Ålesund live in other municipalities (SSB, Q4 2025).

What are the main industries in Ålesund?

Health and social work (23% of jobs), Retail and wholesale trade (15% of jobs), Manufacturing (11% of jobs).

Sources

Data gaps we know about (not guessed)

Jobs in other countries

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