City profile: Cracow

Map of Cracow

See company ranking in Cracow

Largest companies registered in Cracow by revenue and net profit

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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

2,374

entities / 10k · 2025

Population density

2,498.4

ppl / km² · 2025

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.

Strengths and weaknesses of Cracow

Strengths and weaknesses of Cracow based on the city's position across every published Polish-city ranking.

Top 3 rankings of Cracow

Best ranking positions of Cracow across Poland.

Strengths

Stable demographic profile in Cracow - steady population and age-structure indicators.
Most demographically stable cities
Rank among cities above 500 thousand inhabitants: #1
Rank in Poland: #1
High tourist appeal in Cracow - landmarks, attractions and visitor numbers among the country's top.
Most tourist-attractive cities
Rank among cities above 500 thousand inhabitants: #1
Rank in Poland: #3
Rich cultural scene in Cracow - theatres, museums and events on a national scale.
Best cities for culture
Rank among cities above 500 thousand inhabitants:

Weaknesses

Polluted air in Cracow - PM10, PM2.5 or NO₂ above the national norm.
Cleanest air
Rank among cities above 500 thousand inhabitants: #5
Rank in Poland: #58
Low investment potential in Cracow - limited capex activity by businesses and local government.
City investment potential
Rank among cities above 500 thousand inhabitants: #5
Rank in Poland: #49
Few green areas in Cracow - one of the most built-up cities in the country.
Greenest cities
Rank among cities above 500 thousand inhabitants:

Air quality today

Good air qualitySource: GIOŚ

The result is based on the weakest reading among 9 air monitoring stations in Cracow.

PM2.5 now

8.95 µg/m³

PM10 now

15.46 µg/m³

Last updated

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 · 2025

63.3

Post- per working-age

ppl / 100 working-age · 2025

36.7

Old-age dependency ratio

% · 2025

30.1%

Population change per 1k residents

ppl / 1k · 2025

9.2

Vital events in Cracow

Births, deaths, marriages and natural increase in Cracow based on GUS data.

Total deaths

7,374

people · 2025

Marriages

4,477

marriages · 2025

Births / 1k8.61 per 1k people

Deaths / 1k9.1 per 1k people

Natural increase / 1k-0.49 per 1k people

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

New businessesDeregistered

Net change+8,538

REGON entities per 10k residents

2,374

entities / 10k · 2025

REGON entities per 1k working-age

387.8

entities / 1k working-age · 2025

Sole props / working-age

24.7%

% · 2025

Foreign-capital companies in Cracow

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

16,393

people · 2025

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

m² / person · 2024

Municipal green areas per capita

m² / person · 2024

Parks & squares per capita

m² / person · 2024

Green-areas share of total area

12.12%

% · 2024

Air quality

· Monitoring stations: 9

Particulate 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)

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

Last updated: 05/21/2026, 09:25 PMSource: GIOŚ

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

Cracow in rankings

How does Cracow rank?

Every city score is built from open data: GUS, GIOŚ, and public registries. A 0–100 score compares a city against the rest of Poland and against peers of similar population size.

Best cities to live in Poland

53.5/ 100

Rank in Poland: #29
Rank among large cities: #2

settlement year	Taxpayers (1.5%)	Total 1.5% PIT	OPPs in the city	Avg. per OPP
2025	358.2 K	53.6 M PLN	138	388.4 K PLN
2024	340.9 K	46.4 M PLN	127	365.5 K PLN
2023	315.2 K	39.5 M PLN	115	343.4 K PLN
2022	392.8 K	30.1 M PLN	111	271.4 K PLN
2021	395.8 K	26.3 M PLN	108	243.5 K PLN
2020	394.7 K	25.9 M PLN	105	246.6 K PLN
2019	391.0 K	25.4 M PLN	98	259.5 K PLN
2018

Indicator	Cracow	Wrocław	Difference
Population	800,653	672,929	+127,724 +19%
Population density	2,498.4	2,297.2	+201.2 +8.8%
Avg. gross salary	10.5 K PLN	9.4 K PLN	+1.0 K PLN +10.9%
Unemployment rate	2.5%	2.3%	+0.2% +8.7%
REGON / 10k	2,374	2,395	−21 −0.9%
Apartment price / m²	13.6 K PLN / m²	11.8 K PLN / m²	+1.9 K PLN / m² +16%
Green areas / capita	49	52.7	−3.7 −7%
Housing affordability	1.3	1.25	+0.05 +4%

City profile: Cracow

Overview of Cracow

About - Cracow

Top 3 rankings of Cracow

Strengths

Weaknesses

Demographics of Cracow

Gender split in Cracow

Dependency ratios in Cracow

Vital events in Cracow

Labour market in Cracow

Salary benchmark - Cracow

Business activity in Cracow

Registrations vs deregistrations - Cracow

Real estate in Cracow

Education in Cracow

Students by gender

Transport & infrastructure in Cracow

Environment and quality of life in Cracow

Air quality

Particulate matter

Traffic-related pollution

Cracow in numbers over time

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

Cracow in rankings

Best cities to live in Poland

Cleanest air

Best cities to do business in

Best labour market

Most affordable housing relative to earnings

Greenest cities

City investment potential

Most demographically stable cities

Best cities for families

Best cities for students and education

Wealthiest cities

Safest cities

Best cities for culture

Best cities for an active lifestyle

Most tourist-attractive cities

Best weekend cities

Best cities for after-work life

Best cities for women's careers

Best cities for women

Safest academic cities

Best cities for seniors

Most peaceful cities to live in

Most bike-friendly cities

Cities with the highest parking pressure

Most innovative cities

Public-benefit organisations (OPP) and 1.5% PIT - Cracow

Largest OPP in Cracow

1.5% PIT history - Cracow

Comparison - Cracow vs another city

Percentage difference (Cracow minus peer)

All indicators - Cracow

Companies

Mandarynka Horeca Spółka z Ograniczoną Odpowiedzialnością

Keres.black Spółka z Ograniczoną Odpowiedzialnością

MIJA CARS Spółka z Ograniczoną Odpowiedzialnością

Associations

Stowarzyszenie Krakowski KLUB Karate Kyokushin Sakari

Stowarzyszenie Absolwentów i Aplikantów Krajowej Szkoły Sądownictwa i Prokuratury Votum

Stowarzyszenie Właścicieli Domów na Osiedlu Zielony STOK- Wschód w Sułkowie

Foundations

Fundacja IM. Teresy Siwamat

Nosework PRO

Fundacja Małopolskie Centrum Inicjatyw Społecznych MCIS

Cooperatives

Spółdzielnia Energetyczna Redzikowo Energa

Browse other city profiles

Comparison - Cracow vs another city

Percentage difference (Cracow minus peer)

Public-benefit organisations (OPP) and 1.5% PIT - Cracow

Largest OPP in Cracow

1.5% PIT history - Cracow