City dossier for Bergen: live jobs, official statistics, commuting, large employers, a pay-versus-cost calculator and how it compares.
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By AtiveSite · Published 06/11/2026 · Updated 06/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Bergen is Norway's #2 municipality by population: 294,860 residents (SSB, 1 Jan 2026). Population change 2021–2026: +3.2%. It lies in Vestland county, 461 km (467 min) by road from Oslo centre and offers 183,655 jobs by workplace (Q4 2025); the largest employing industries are Health and social work (21% of jobs), Retail and wholesale trade (11% of jobs), Real estate, professional and technical services (8% of jobs). Bergen is a regional job centre that draws commuters from the surrounding area. Compared with Norway as a whole, jobs are concentrated in mining and quarrying (incl. oil and gas extraction) and finance and insurance. Today 572 job ads are live here (3.1 per 1,000 jobs).
See all 572 jobs in Bergen →Vestland county guideAll 50 cities
572 active ads. Full-time 71% · permanent (Fast) 62% · substitute (Vikariat) 15% · private sector 59% · public sector 35%. Open the job search →
| Field ⇅ | Open ads ⇅ | Share ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Health & social care (Helse og sosial) | 159 | 27.8% |
| Sales & service (Salg og service) | 75 | 13.1% |
| Education (Utdanning) | 73 | 12.8% |
| Skilled trades (Håndverkere) | 68 | 11.9% |
| Office & finance (Kontor og økonomi) | 57 | 10.0% |
| Construction (Bygg og anlegg) | 30 | 5.2% |
| Transport & warehouse (Transport og lager) | 27 | 4.7% |
| Industry & production (Industri og produksjon) | 26 | 4.5% |
| Tourism & food (Reiseliv og mat) | 22 | 3.8% |
| IT (IT) | 10 | 1.7% |
| Culture & creative (Kultur og kreative yrker) | 9 | 1.6% |
| Security & emergency (Sikkerhet og beredskap) | 8 | 1.4% |
| Nature & environment (Natur og miljø) | 5 | 0.9% |
| Sub-category (NAV, Norwegian) ⇅ | Field ⇅ | Open ads ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Salg, butikk- og varehandel | Sales & service | 58 |
| Sykepleier | Health & social care | 32 |
| Hjemmehjelper og personlig assistent | Health & social care | 31 |
| Universitet og høyskole | Education | 30 |
| Lege | Health & social care | 23 |
| Kontor, forvaltning og saksbehandling | Office & finance | 22 |
| Barnehage- og skolefritidsassistenter | Education | 20 |
| Andre ingeniører | Construction | 18 |
| Helsefagarbeider | Health & social care | 16 |
| Barnehagelærer | Education | 15 |
| Logistikk, lagerarbeid og innkjøp | Transport & warehouse | 15 |
| Elektriker/elektro | Skilled trades | 15 |
| Maskinteknikk og mekanikk | Industry & production | 12 |
| Miljøarbeidere | Health & social care | 11 |
| Tog-, sporvogn- og vegtrafikk | Transport & warehouse | 10 |
| Kokk | Tourism & food | 10 |
| Psykolog | Health & social care | 9 |
| Mekaniker | Skilled trades | 9 |
| Tømrer og snekker | Skilled trades | 9 |
| Øvrige håndverksyrker | Skilled trades | 8 |
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.
Bergen had 183,655 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.
| Industry (SSB divisions) ⇅ | Employed ⇅ | Share here ⇅ | Share Norway ⇅ | Specialisation index ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 923 | 0.5% | 2.3% | 0.22 |
| Mining and quarrying | 10,459 | 5.7% | 2.3% | 2.43 |
| Manufacture | 7,762 | 4.2% | 7.7% | 0.55 |
| Electricity, water supply, sewerage, waste management | 2,008 | 1.1% | 1.3% | 0.84 |
| Construction | 12,444 | 6.8% | 8.1% | 0.84 |
| Wholesale and retail trade: repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 20,742 | 11.3% | 12.4% | 0.91 |
| Transportation and storage | 8,684 | 4.7% | 4.8% | 0.99 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 7,998 | 4.4% | 3.7% | 1.17 |
| Information and communication | 7,002 | 3.8% | 4.0% | 0.94 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 6,057 | 3.3% | 1.8% | 1.78 |
| Real estate, professional, scientific and technical activities | 14,557 | 7.9% | 6.8% | 1.16 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 9,035 | 4.9% | 4.4% | 1.11 |
| Human health and social work activities | 39,309 | 21.4% | 20.8% | 1.03 |
| Other service activities | 8,591 | 4.7% | 4.3% | 1.09 |
Of the 183,653 people who work in Bergen, 138,359 (75%) also live there and 45,294 (25%) commute in. Of the 158,902 residents who are employed, 87% work inside Bergen and 20,543 (13%) work elsewhere.
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 among Norway's 100 largest employers headquartered in Bergen:
| Company ⇅ | Employees ⇅ | Industry ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Tide Buss AS | 3,859 | Urban and suburban passenger land transport |
| Pedagogisk Vikarsentral AS | 3,628 | Temporary employment agency activities |
| Mowi ASA | 2,913 | Operation of marine fish farms |
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.
| Item (wage earners, 2026) ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| National insurance contribution on wages | 7.6% |
| Personal allowance (personfradrag) | NOK 114,540 |
| Standard deduction on wages | 46% (max NOK 95,700) |
| Bracket tax step 1 from NOK 226,100 | 1.7% |
| Step 2 from NOK 318,300 | 4.0% |
| Step 3 from NOK 725,050 | 13.7% |
| Step 4 from NOK 980,100 | 16.8% |
| Step 5 from NOK 1,467,200 | 17.8% |
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 Bergen we preselect Bergen; see the rent table.
| Indicator ⇅ | Ads ⇅ | Share ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Ads whose description is mostly in English | 20 | 3.5% |
| Ads asking for Norwegian language skills (phrase match) | 168 | 29.4% |
| Ads mentioning visa, work permit, relocation or sponsorship | 19 | 3.3% |
| Ads mentioning authorisation or licence | 117 | 20.5% |
| Ads mentioning remote or hybrid work | 19 | 3.3% |
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.
Compare this city with another
Every day we store how many NAV ads are live for Bergen. NAV itself publishes no history, so this series will become unique data. The trend line appears from the second day of tracking; today: 573 live ads.
294,860 residents in the municipality on 1 January 2026 (SSB), rank 2 among Norwegian municipalities.
183,655 jobs by workplace in Q4 2025 (SSB), and 572 live job ads on 06/11/2026 (NAV).
25% of the people who work in Bergen live in other municipalities (SSB, Q4 2025).
Health and social work (21% of jobs), Retail and wholesale trade (11% of jobs), Real estate, professional and technical services (8% of jobs).