City profile: Cracow
See company ranking in Cracow
Largest companies registered in Cracow by revenue and net profit
Overview of Cracow
Snapshot of key indicators for Cracow in the most recent year available.
Population
800,653
people · 2021
Avg. gross salary
10.5 K PLN
2024
Unemployment rate
2.5%
% · 2025
Businesses per 10k
2,293
entities / 10k · 2024
Population density
2,475.7
ppl / km² · 2024
Apartment price / m²
13.6 K PLN / m²
2024
About - Cracow
Kraków, with about 800,000 residents and the capital of Lesser Poland Voivodeship, is the former Polish capital and the country's most important cultural, academic (Jagiellonian University, AGH) and tourist centre. Strengths are nearly unmatched: 309 accommodation establishments (100th percentile), 48 museums (98th percentile), 11 cinemas (98th percentile), 62 cultural centres (98th percentile), 251,483 library readers (98th percentile), 15,025 newly registered businesses per year (98th percentile) and 3,718 tourists per 1,000 inhabitants (denser tourism than Warsaw). Gross wages of PLN 10,455 (121% of the national average), unemployment of 2.5%, business density of 2,293 REGON entities per 10,000 and investment outlays of PLN 5.13 billion make Kraków a magnet for business and capital. 371 km of bike paths and 38.3 km of bus lanes reflect mature mobility policy. Weaknesses: very high housing prices of PLN 13,642/m² (3rd percentile) and an affordability ratio of 1.3 (6th percentile), high deregistration count (6,487, 2nd percentile), low forest cover of 5% (18th percentile) and low police effectiveness of 62.3% (15th percentile). Smog — despite anti-smog measures — remains a structural problem (not in this dataset). Kraków is a tourism-cultural-academic phenomenon with a strong economy whose main cost is housing affordability and crowded, expensive city life.
Air quality today
Air quality today
The result is based on the weakest reading among 9 air monitoring stations in Cracow.
8.95 µg/m³
15.46 µg/m³
05/21/2026, 09:25 PM
Demographics of Cracow
Gender composition and demographic load on the working-age population of Cracow based on the latest GUS data.
Gender split in Cracow
- Men373,899 · 46.7%
- Women426,754 · 53.3%
Dependency ratios in Cracow
Non-working-age dependency ratio
ppl / 100 working-age · 2024
Post- per working-age
ppl / 100 working-age · 2024
Old-age dependency ratio
% · 2024
Population change per 1k residents
ppl / 1k · 2024
Vital events in Cracow
Births, deaths, marriages and natural increase in Cracow based on GUS data.
Total deaths
7,559
people · 2024
Marriages
4,260
marriages · 2024
Labour market in Cracow
Salaries in Cracow compared with the voivodeship and national averages, alongside broader employment signals.
Salary benchmark - Cracow
Voivodeship and Poland baselines derived from BDL ratios (Cracow vs. voivodeship / Poland).
Registered unemployment in Cracow
2.5%
% · 2025
Salary growth YoY
13.35%
% · 2024
Job offers at year-end in Cracow
1,732
offers · 2025
Employed per 1k residents
475
ppl / 1k · 2021
Business activity in Cracow
REGON registrations, deregistrations and net balance in Cracow.
Registrations vs deregistrations - Cracow
New businesses
15,025
entities · 2025
Deregistered
6,487
entities · 2025
REGON entities per 10k residents
2,293
entities / 10k · 2024
REGON entities per 1k working-age
375.6
entities / 1k working-age · 2024
Sole props / working-age
23.9%
% · 2024
Foreign-capital companies in Cracow
1
entity · 2025
Real estate in Cracow
Apartment prices, affordability and construction activity in Cracow.
Apartment price / m² in Cracow
13.6 K PLN / m²
2024
Housing affordability in Cracow
1.3
months of salary / m² · 2024
Dwellings completed / 1k residents
9.8
dwellings / 1k people · 2025
Months of gross salary required per 1 m² of apartment in Cracow.
Education in Cracow
Higher-education students, graduates and preschool-age children in Cracow based on GUS BDL data.
Higher-ed students
137,784
people · 2024
Higher-ed graduates
32,069
people · 2024
Preschool-age children
16,133
people · 2024
Students by gender
- Women80,488
- Men57,296
Transport & infrastructure in Cracow
Registered vehicles, public roads and road infrastructure in Cracow based on GUS BDL data.
Passenger cars
484,396
vehicles · 2024
Cars / 1k residents: 605
Environment and quality of life in Cracow
Air quality, green areas and public-space quality in Cracow.
Green areas per capita
49
m² / person · 2024
Municipal green areas per capita
17
m² / person · 2024
Parks & squares per capita
26
m² / person · 2024
Green-areas share of total area
12.12%
% · 2024
Air quality
· Monitoring stations: 9Particulate matter
PM2.5 now
8.95 µg/m³
Fine particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs.
PM2.5 24h avg
12.41 µg/m³
PM2.5 30d avg
13.71 µg/m³
PM10 now
15.46 µg/m³
Larger airborne particles - dust, traffic and heating.
PM10 24h avg
22.3 µg/m³
PM10 30d avg
21.66 µg/m³
High PM10 days (30d)
3
Maximum number of days with PM10 above 50 µg/m³ at a single station.
Traffic-related pollution
NO₂ now
42.98 µg/m³
Pollution most often linked to road traffic.
NO₂ 24h avg
32.12 µg/m³
NO₂ 30d avg
26.14 µg/m³
Cracow in numbers over time
Multi-year trajectory of the key indicators of Cracow benchmarked against the voivodeship.
Average gross salary in Cracow
Registered unemployment rate in Cracow
REGON entities per 10k inhabitants - Cracow
Population of Cracow
Apartment price per m² in Cracow
All indicators - Cracow
Population of Cracow
people · year 2021
800,653
Number of men in Cracow
people · year 2021
373,899
Number of women in Cracow
people · year 2021
426,754
Population density
ppl / km² · year 2024
2,475.7
Population change per 1k residents
ppl / 1k · year 2024
3.7
Urban-area population density
ppl / km² · year 2014
5,338
Non-working-age dependency ratio
ppl / 100 working-age · year 2024
63.8
Post- per working-age
ppl / 100 working-age · year 2024
36.8
Post- per pre-working-age
ppl / 100 pre-working-age · year 2024
136.5
Old-age dependency ratio
% · year 2024
30%
Live births per 1k residents
per 1k people · year 2024
8.74
Deaths per 1k residents
per 1k people · year 2024
9.36
Natural increase per 1k residents
per 1k people · year 2024
-0.62
Total deaths in Cracow
people · year 2024
7,559
Marriages registered in Cracow
marriages · year 2024
4,260
Avg. gross salary in Cracow
year 2024
10.5 K PLN
Registered unemployment in Cracow
% · year 2025
2.5%
Employed per 1k residents
ppl / 1k · year 2021
475
Employed per 1k working-age
ppl / 1k working-age · year 2021
771.2
Unemployed / working-age
% · year 2024
0.7%
Unemployed women / working-age women
% · year 2024
0.7%
Unemployed men / working-age men
% · year 2024
0.7%
Job offers at year-end in Cracow
offers · year 2025
1,732
Job offers during the year in Cracow
offers · year 2025
18,089
Work accidents in Cracow
accidents · year 2024
1,625
Accidents per 1k employed
ppl / 1k employed · year 2024
3.08
Salary growth YoY
% · year 2024
13.35%
Salary vs voivodeship
% · year 2024
118.56%
Salary vs Poland
% · year 2024
121.15%
REGON entities per 10k residents
entities / 10k · year 2024
2,293
Newly registered businesses in Cracow
entities · year 2025
15,025
Deregistered businesses in Cracow
entities · year 2025
6,487
REGON entities in Cracow
entities · year 2025
15,025
REGON entities per 1k residents
entities / 1k · year 2024
229
REGON entities per 1k working-age
entities / 1k working-age · year 2024
375.6
Foreign-capital companies in Cracow
entity · year 2025
1
Sole props / working-age
% · year 2024
23.9%
Agri-food sector entities in Cracow
entities · year 2025
1,012
Business net change in Cracow
entities · year 2025
8,538
Business net-change rate
% · year 2025
131.62%
Enterprise investment outlays in Cracow
year 2024
5.1 B PLN
Higher-education students in Cracow
people · year 2024
137,784
Female higher-ed students in Cracow
people · year 2024
80,488
Male higher-ed students in Cracow
people · year 2024
57,296
Higher-education graduates in Cracow
people · year 2024
32,069
Preschool-age children in Cracow
people · year 2024
16,133
Registered passenger cars in Cracow
vehicles · year 2024
484,396
Apartment price / m² in Cracow
year 2024
13.6 K PLN / m²
Dwellings completed / 1k residents
dwellings / 1k people · year 2025
9.8
Dwellings completed / 10k residents
dwellings / 10k people · year 2025
98
Housing affordability in Cracow
months of salary / m² · year 2024
1.3
New office buildings / 1k residents
buildings / 1k people · year 2025
0
New retail-service buildings / 1k
buildings / 1k people · year 2025
0.02
Local-govt investment-spend share
% · year 2024
8.2%
Green areas per capita
m² / person · year 2024
49
Municipal green areas per capita
m² / person · year 2024
17
Parks & squares per capita
m² / person · year 2024
26
Green-areas share of total area
% · year 2024
12.12%
Parks & squares share of total area
% · year 2024
6.4%
Forestation share (forest area / total area)
% · year 2024
5%
Forest area, total
ha · year 2024
1,632.68
Forest area per capita
ar / person · year 2024
0.2
Afforestation, total area
ha · year 2024
2.31
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