City dossier for Harstad: 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.
Harstad is Norway's #50 municipality by population: 25,204 residents (SSB, 1 Jan 2026). It lies in Troms county, 1650 km (1440 min) by road from Oslo centre and offers 12,690 jobs by workplace (Q4 2025); the largest employing industries are Health and social work (24% of jobs), Retail and wholesale trade (14% of jobs), Construction (9% of jobs). Harstad is a balanced local labour market. Compared with Norway as a whole, jobs are concentrated in mining and quarrying (incl. oil and gas extraction) and transport and storage. Today 78 job ads are live here (6.1 per 1,000 jobs).
78 active ads. Full-time 64% · permanent (Fast) 67% · substitute (Vikariat) 15% · private sector 63% · public sector 36%. Open the job search →
| Field ⇅ | Open ads ⇅ | Share ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Health & social care (Helse og sosial) | 23 | 29.5% |
| Sales & service (Salg og service) | 19 | 24.4% |
| Transport & warehouse (Transport og lager) | 8 | 10.3% |
| Office & finance (Kontor og økonomi) | 7 | 9.0% |
| Education (Utdanning) | 7 | 9.0% |
| Tourism & food (Reiseliv og mat) | 6 | 7.7% |
| Industry & production (Industri og produksjon) | 3 | 3.8% |
| Skilled trades (Håndverkere) | 2 | 2.6% |
| Construction (Bygg og anlegg) | 2 | 2.6% |
| Nature & environment (Natur og miljø) | 1 | 1.3% |
| Sub-category (NAV, Norwegian) ⇅ | Field ⇅ | Open ads ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Salg, butikk- og varehandel | Sales & service | 17 |
| Sykepleier | Health & social care | 8 |
| Sjøfart | Transport & warehouse | 5 |
| Barnehage- og skolefritidsassistenter | Education | 4 |
| Lege | Health & social care | 3 |
| Hjemmehjelper og personlig assistent | Health & social care | 3 |
| Helsefagarbeider | Health & social care | 2 |
| Tog-, sporvogn- og vegtrafikk | Transport & warehouse | 2 |
| Baker og konditor | Tourism & food | 2 |
| Restaurant | Tourism & food | 2 |
| Maskinteknikk og mekanikk | Industry & production | 2 |
| Bioingeniør | Health & social care | 2 |
| Personal, arbeidsmiljø og rekruttering | Office & finance | 2 |
| Kontor, forvaltning og saksbehandling | Office & finance | 2 |
| Grunnskole | Education | 2 |
| Psykolog | Health & social care | 1 |
| Ledelse, administrasjon og rådgivning | Office & finance | 1 |
| Logistikk, lagerarbeid og innkjøp | Transport & warehouse | 1 |
| Juridisk arbeid | Office & finance | 1 |
| Olje, gass og bergverk | Industry & production | 1 |
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.
Harstad had 12,690 employed persons by place of work in Q4 2025 (+0.3% 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 | 154 | 1.2% | 2.3% | 0.53 |
| Mining and quarrying | 417 | 3.3% | 2.3% | 1.40 |
| Manufacture | 608 | 4.8% | 7.7% | 0.62 |
| Electricity, water supply, sewerage, waste management | 186 | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.12 |
| Construction | 1,106 | 8.7% | 8.1% | 1.07 |
| Wholesale and retail trade: repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 1,746 | 13.8% | 12.4% | 1.11 |
| Transportation and storage | 789 | 6.2% | 4.8% | 1.30 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 492 | 3.9% | 3.7% | 1.04 |
| Information and communication | 159 | 1.3% | 4.0% | 0.31 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 77 | 0.6% | 1.8% | 0.33 |
| Real estate, professional, scientific and technical activities | 609 | 4.8% | 6.8% | 0.70 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 454 | 3.6% | 4.4% | 0.81 |
| Human health and social work activities | 3,054 | 24.1% | 20.8% | 1.16 |
| Other service activities | 433 | 3.4% | 4.3% | 0.79 |
Of the 12,689 people who work in Harstad, 10,625 (84%) also live there and 2,064 (16%) commute in. Of the 12,744 residents who are employed, 83% work inside Harstad and 2,119 (17%) 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.
No company headquartered in Harstad is among Norway's 100 largest employers; employers with open jobs are listed on the Jobs tab.
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 Harstad we preselect Whole country; see the rent table.
| Indicator ⇅ | Ads ⇅ | Share ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Ads whose description is mostly in English | 0 | 0.0% |
| Ads asking for Norwegian language skills (phrase match) | 32 | 41.0% |
| Ads mentioning visa, work permit, relocation or sponsorship | 0 | 0.0% |
| Ads mentioning authorisation or licence | 16 | 20.5% |
| Ads mentioning remote or hybrid work | 2 | 2.6% |
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 Harstad. NAV itself publishes no history, so this series will become unique data. The trend line appears from the second day of tracking; today: 78 live ads.
25,204 residents in the municipality on 1 January 2026 (SSB), rank 50 among Norwegian municipalities.
12,690 jobs by workplace in Q4 2025 (SSB), and 78 live job ads on 06/11/2026 (NAV).
16% of the people who work in Harstad live in other municipalities (SSB, Q4 2025).
Health and social work (24% of jobs), Retail and wholesale trade (14% of jobs), Construction (9% of jobs).