Västra Götaland County

Essunga

Västra Götaland County · 5,560 inhabitants · 3 localities

Short answer: Essunga is in Västra Götaland County. The municipality has 5,560 residents (Statistics Sweden 2024), making it Sweden's 265th largest. The population has fallen by 2.4% over the past five years. The main town is Nossebro along with 2 other towns and villages.

the register

Facts

countyVästra Götaland County
main townNossebro
municipal tax33.0 %
municipality code1445
the localities

Localities in Essunga Municipality

Urban areas, small localities and villages with their own page, by population.

At a glance

Key figures

Residents
5,560
Condominium
10,814 kr/m²
Average age
45.5 yrs
Growth 2021–2024
-2.4 %
Median income / yr
378 kSEK
Population, ranking
265 /290
About

Essunga

Essunga is in Västra Götaland County. The municipality has 5,560 residents (Statistics Sweden 2024), making it Sweden's 265th largest. The population has fallen by 2.4% over the past five years. The main town is Nossebro along with 2 other towns and villages.

Living here

What is it like to live in Essunga?

The median income is SEK 377,700 per year (2024). The average age is 45.5 years. The municipal tax rate is 33.05%. Unemployment was 3.7% in 2024.

Supply & price

What it costs to live here

Short answer: A house costs 1,596,000 SEK on average. That is the price actually paid in registered sales in 2024, not asking prices.

1,596,000 SEKis what a house costs on average here (2024)

The house price in Essunga is 1,596 thousand SEK. A flat costs 10,814 SEK per square metre. Over 3 years the price has changed by +19 %.

Price is rarely what decides whether a move is possible. Supply is: how many homes are on the market while you are looking. The calculation below the chart converts the average house price into a monthly cost on two median incomes, so the number can be compared with the rent you pay today.

1,33720211,47820221,44420231,5962024
Villapris, tkr
How we count

The house price is Kolada N07915: average price for registered house sales, that is prices paid and not asking prices. The flat price is N07908, SEK per square metre. New construction is N07916, completed homes per thousand residents. The price change is measured between the two years closest to five years apart in the series, with both years spelled out.

Preschool & school

Where the children spend their days

Short answer: 72.9 % of ninth-graders qualified for upper secondary school in 2024. The median municipality is at 82.5 %.

72.9 %of pupils qualified for upper secondary school (2024)

Eligibility for upper secondary school is 72.9 % (2024). 27.6 % of residents aged 25–64 have post-secondary education.

The eligibility figure above is the municipality's aggregate, not the individual school's. It says something about the system and little about one child: the spread between schools within a municipality is routinely larger than the difference between two municipal averages. That is why the schools are listed one by one at the end of this chapter, with the figures the National Agency for Education actually publishes per unit — and with empty cells where it does not.

87.8202182.6202273.6202372.92024
Qualified for upper secondary
Qualified for upper secondary
72.9 % of year 9 pupils
below the median municipality
the median municipality 82.5 %
Post-secondary educated
27.6 % of 25–64-year-olds
the median municipality 34.9 %
How we count

Upper-secondary eligibility is Kolada N15428: the share of year 9 pupils eligible for a vocational programme, all pupils of the home municipality regardless of provider. Post-secondary education is N01982. The institutions come from data/education_data.json. The school rows come from the National Agency for Education's open API (planned-educations) and carry the latest year with a value per school; preschools are OpenStreetMap points without quality data and are therefore not in the list.

Care & safety

If you fall ill, and whether you feel safe

Short answer: 90 % feel safe out in their own neighbourhood.

90 %feel safe in their neighbourhood

90 % say they feel safe in their neighbourhood (SALAR 2023). Reported violent crimes number 702 per 100,000 residents.

Safety and crime do not measure the same thing and do not always move together. The first is a survey question about how it feels, the second is reported offences, which also rise when more people choose to report. Read them side by side, not as checks on each other.

5672017201920211,00220237022025
Reported violent crimes
Feel safe
90 % in their neighbourhood
SALAR citizen survey 2023
Reported violent crimes
702 per 100,000 residents
Brå 2025
Would recommend the municipality
66 /100
SALAR citizen survey 2023
How we count

The health centres and emergency departments are points from OpenStreetMap (ODbL), the same source as the map's "Health & care" layers. The count is the points located inside the municipality; the distances are as the crow flies from the main town and are searched across the whole country, so the nearest emergency department may well sit in another municipality. We deliberately show no "nearest hospital" row: OSM's hospital tag covers everything from university hospitals to osteopathy clinics, and such a row would have pointed at the wrong building. Waiting times per health centre do not exist as open, joinable data, and Kolada's measures of primary-care access are reported per REGION, not per municipality — which is why no such figure appears here. The safety figure is Kolada N00610 from Statistics Sweden's citizen survey on behalf of SALAR — a survey, so perceived safety. Violent crime is N07403, reported offences per 100,000 inhabitants according to Brå. The citizen index is N00670 or N00667, the municipality as a place to live. The bar chart shows five offence types per 100,000 inhabitants, reported by place of offence, and the national median beside it is computed across all 290 municipalities in the same year.

Labour market

Who is hiring

Short answer: Unemployment is 3.7 %. If two of you are moving, both need to find something — that is where a move most often falls apart.

3.7 %unemployment among 16–64-year-olds (2024)

Unemployment among 16–64-year-olds is 3.7 % (2024). Median income is 378 thousand SEK per year. 47.6 % of those in work commute out of the municipality. There are 194 workplaces per 1,000 residents, and 82 % of them have no employees.

An unemployment figure says how many are looking, not how broad the offering is. Out-commuting says more: if many commute out, the labour market is larger than the municipality, but you may also have to count on travel time every day. The vacancies card is fetched live from the Swedish Public Employment Service and shows the situation right now.

4.920204.420214.020223.920233.72024
Unemployment
Unemployment
3.7 % of the labour force aged 16–64
Kolada N02280, 2024
Median income
378 thousand SEK per year
Kolada N00906, 2024
Municipal tax
33.05 % municipality + region
the median municipality 33.53 %
Commute out
47.6 % of those in work
Kolada N02279, 2023
Workplaces
194 per 1,000 residents
own processing of Statistics Sweden data 2025
No employees
82 % of workplaces
Statistics Sweden business register 2025
How we count

Unemployment is Kolada N02280: openly unemployed and jobseekers in programmes, aged 16–64, as a share of the register-based labour force. Median income is N00906, aggregate earned income. Out-commuting is N02279. Workplaces come from Statistics Sweden's business register (2025); the per 1,000 residents figure is our own processing using Statistics Sweden's population for the same year.

Distance & commuting

How you get here and away

Short answer: 804 departures on an ordinary weekday. Weekends are thinner, and weekend service is what decides whether you can manage without a car.

804departures on an ordinary weekday

45 stops and stations on 7 lines. No rail service within the municipality.

Frequency is what makes a difference day to day, not whether a line exists on the map. A line with three departures a day cannot be planned around. The journey planner computes door to door by train, bus and car, so you can test the trip you would actually make.

How we count

Stops, lines and departures are counted from Samtrafiken's GTFS feed for a normal week. A stop is counted once even if several lines call there. Travel times in the journey planner are computed by our own MOTIS instance on the same GTFS data plus OpenStreetMap's road network. The airport at the bottom is the one with the most domestic routes among those at most 50 km farther than the nearest, measured as the crow flies from the main town. It is not necessarily the fastest to reach, and the route list is scheduled domestic traffic, without charter or international routes.

Commuting

Commuting and public transport over time

Short answer: 40.7 % of those working in Essunga commute in, and 47.7 % of working residents commute out (2024).

Commuting in and out · 2024

40.7 % / 47.7 %

49 %37 %20202024

Commuting inCommuting outKolada N02276 / N02279

Share of the employed who cross the municipal border to get to work.

Departures on a normal weekday, week 7 · 2026

771

+0.3 % since 2020

77170720202026

Week 7, the same week every yearKoDa · Trafiklab

Departures from stops in the municipality on a normal weekday, measured in the same week every year from Trafiklab's historical timetables. Departures are not the same as trips: a trip calling at fewer stops produces fewer departures. The series is based on Västtrafik.

Close to public transport · 2024

48.4 %

+8.7 percentage points since 2014

50.4 %36.1 %20142024

Share of residentsKolada N07418

Share of residents with a stop within 500 metres, counting stops with at least one departure an hour on weekdays 06 to 20. It measures access, not how much traffic runs, so it has its own chart.

How we count

Commuting is Kolada N02276 and N02279, share of the employed. Departures are counted from KoDa's archive of GTFS timetables in the same ISO week each year, for operators present throughout; departures are stop calls, not trips. Access is Kolada N07418, in percentage points.

Oil shock

How hard does a higher oil price hit households in Essunga?

Short answer: If pump prices rise 20 %, a household in Essunga pays roughly SEK 3,210 more a year for petrol and diesel, against SEK 2,620 in the median municipality (2025, model).

Extra cost if fuel gets 20 % dearer · 2025

3,210 SEK per household a year

Median municipality: 2,620 SEK per household a year

3,6202,58020152025

EssungaNational medianModel on Trafikanalys and SCB data

A model, not statistics: cars per household × the county's mileage × 0.065 litres per km × SEK 17 per litre × 20 %. Linear, so 40 % gives twice as much.

The oil shock on the map

Petrol, diesel and hybrid cars · 2025

1.22 per household

Median municipality: 1.03 per household

1.321.0320152025

EssungaNational medianTrafikanalys

Passenger cars in traffic at year end that run on petrol or diesel, divided by the number of households. Leased and company cars count where the company is registered.

Mileage per car in the county · 2025

1,186 Swedish miles a year

Median municipality: 1,150 Swedish miles a year

1,2401,08320152025

EssungaNational medianTrafikanalys

Only available per county and for all passenger cars, so municipalities in the same county share the figure. A Swedish mile is 10 km.

Heating oil in homes · 2024

83 kWh per household a year

Median municipality: 19 kWh per household a year

2401920152024

EssungaNational medianSCB EN0203

Fossil liquid fuel in houses and blocks of flats. Statistics Sweden withholds some municipalities.

How we count

Extra cost is a model, not statistics: the municipality's petrol, diesel and hybrid cars in traffic (Trafikanalys) divided by the number of households (Statistics Sweden), times the county's average mileage per passenger car (Trafikanalys, not available per municipality), 0.065 litres per km, SEK 17 per litre and a price rise of 20 %. The model does not account for people driving less when prices rise, for company cars or for leased cars being registered where the company is. Heating oil is Statistics Sweden's final use of fossil liquid fuel in homes. The sub measures are shown separately; we do not combine them into an index. Our own processing, not official Trafikanalys statistics.

Through the year

The light, the snow and the wind

Short answer: It snows on 14 days a year here. But it is the December darkness people underestimate, not the cold.

14days with snowfall a year

14 days with snowfall a year. 5.6 hours of sunshine per day on average across the year.

How we count

Daylight is derived from the municipality's latitude using the standard sunrise/sunset formula, ignoring clouds and horizon. Snowfall days and sunshine hours come from SMHI: a snowfall day is a day with at least 1 mm of precipitation and a below-freezing daily mean at the nearest station, median over the 1991-2020 normal period, which is not the same as how many days snow lies on the ground. Sunshine hours are SMHI's STRÅNG radiation model 2020-2024. The wind curves come from SMHI station observations 1991-2020, one file per municipality; when it is missing the cards are hidden rather than showing zeroes.

Population

How many live here, and which way it is heading

Short answer: 5,560 residents, −2.4 % over five years. The pace decides whether schools, care and services expand or shrink.

5,560residents in 2024

5,560 residents in 2024. The population has changed by −2.4 % over five years.

The direction matters more than the level. A growing municipality builds out schools, care and shops; a shrinking one closes them, and it shows first in the smaller town. The only projection on this entire page is Statistics Sweden's population forecast — we never draw a trend line through gaps in the data.

5,69820215,71720225,65620235,5602024
Residents
Residents
5,560 on 31 December 2024
Growth 5 yrs
−2.4 % change in population
shrinking
Average pension
252,114 kr total pension per year
women 221,685 kr, men 282,209 kr
Source: Swedish Pensions Agency 2025
State pension
192,469 kr average per year
Source: Swedish Pensions Agency 2025
How we count

Population is Kolada N01951, Statistics Sweden's register-based population on 31 December. The five-year change is measured between the two years in the series closest to five years apart, with both years spelled out. The projection is Statistics Sweden's regional population forecast and exists only for population.

Time analysis

How Essunga has developed

Short answer: Essunga had 5,784 residents in 1970 and 5,559 in 2025. Statistics Sweden projects 5,530 by 2035.

Population · 2025

5,559

−3.9 % since 1970

6,1325,493197020352025

Observed 1970 to 2025Statistics Sweden projection to 2035: 5,530Kolada N01951

Compared with Sweden: Essunga has changed −3.9 % since 1970, Sweden as a whole +31.2 %.

That would mean 5,530 residents in 2035. Your own what if, not a forecast.

Milestones

  1. 1970First year in the series: 5,784 residents
  2. 1978Largest rise in one year: +179
  3. 1995Largest fall in one year: −96
  4. 2025Latest figure: 5,559 residents
  5. 2035Statistics Sweden projection: 5,530 residents

Kolada N01951 · SCB

House price · 2025

1,368 kSEK

+530.4 % since 1983

2002,26119832025

Observed 1983 to 2025National medianKolada N07915

Median income · 2024

377,700 kr

+120.3 % since 1998

171k388k19982024

Observed 1998 to 2024National medianKolada N00906

Unemployment · 2025

4.3 %

−32.9 % since 2010

3.7 %6.5 %20102025

Observed 2010 to 2025Kolada N03920

Unemployment benefit · 2025

3.7 %

−76.9 % since 1999

16.0 %2.5 %19992025

Observed 1999 to 2025Kolada N02890

How we count

Observed population from Statistics Sweden via Kolada. The projection is Statistics Sweden's own official population projection; we do not calculate it ourselves. Average price for registered house purchases. Housing prices are deliberately NOT projected: they revert strongly to the mean over five years, so a linear trend often gets the sign wrong in exactly the interval you want to predict. Total earned income, MEDIAN for residents aged 20–64 (Kolada N00906). No projection; we show outcomes only. Unemployment over time is Kolada N03920: unemployed registered with the Public Employment Service as a share of the whole population aged 18 to 65, not of the labour force, and therefore lower than the figure under Jobs (N02280, only available from 2020). No projection, because the business cycle drives it and it is not linear. Unemployment benefit is Kolada N02890: share of residents aged 20 to 64 who received unemployment insurance at some point during the year, from IAF. It is the longest series, from 1999, but only counts those entitled to benefit. The national median is the median of all municipalities in the same year, from the same Kolada series. The what if slider only scales Statistics Sweden's own path.

Politics and finances

Who governs Essunga, and how are its finances?

Short answer: Governance in Essunga in 2025: cross-bloc coalition. The balanced budget result was 0.3 % in 2025. In 2026 the municipality received 23,496 SEK per resident in equalisation.

Balanced budget result · 2025

0.3 %

National median 1.5 %

−0.9 %6.1 %20082025

EssungaNational medianKolada N03139

The year's result excluding capital gains, as a share of tax, state grants and equalisation. The law requires it to be positive, and about 2 % is usually seen as sound management.

Equity ratio 2025
39.9 % national median 40.0 %
Tax revenue 2025
51,314 SEK/resident national median 54,834 SEK/resident
Cost level vs. structure 2025
1.1 % national median 3.5 %
Municipal finances year by year on the map

Equalisation · 2026

23,496 SEK per resident

receives · 131 million SEK

23,496 kr8,028 kr20052026

EssungaSCB OE0115

What the municipality receives (plus) or pays (minus) in the municipal equalisation system. LSS equalisation is a separate system and not included. Income equalisation is the largest part, and the latest year is Statistics Sweden's estimate for the current year.

Equalisation part by part on the map
How we count

Governance is SKR's classification via Kolada (N05829). SKR counts MP as a left party only from 2022, so a municipality can change category between 2018 and 2022 without its governance changing. The election result is the municipal council election from SCB ME0104, not the general election. Finances refer to the municipality as an organisation, from Statistics Sweden's accounts via Kolada; the national median is the median of all municipalities in the same year.

The municipality's money

How Essunga spends its money

Short answer: Of every 100 kronor, 46 go to schools and 41 to care (2025). That is 3 % more per resident than in similar municipalities. Debt is 41,974 kr per resident.

Out of 100 tax kronor · 2025

46 kr to schools

and 41 kr to care

  1. Compulsory school25 kr
  2. Preschool and after school13 kr
  3. Upper secondary school7 kr
  4. Adult education1 kr
  5. Elderly care20 kr
  6. Disability support15 kr
  7. Social services5 kr
  8. Streets, parks and rescue6 kr
  9. Culture and leisure4 kr
  10. Labour market and refugees1 kr
  11. Politics and audit2 kr
  12. Other, incl. primary care and mobility service0 kr

SCB OE0107

Kronor of every 100 the services cost net, i.e. what is paid with tax, state grants and equalisation. Click the ring for the row.

Every municipality's costs on the map

Versus similar municipalities · 2025

76,507 kr

per resident, similar municipalities 74,322 kr

Compulsory school
18,801 kr +20 %similar 15,673 kr
Preschool and after school
9,991 kr +17 %similar 8,554 kr
Upper secondary school
5,352 kr −4 %similar 5,600 kr
Adult education
728 kr −21 %similar 922 kr
Elderly care
15,626 kr −10 %similar 17,297 kr
Disability support
11,528 kr +44 %similar 8,022 kr
Social services
4,089 kr −39 %similar 6,678 kr
Streets, parks and rescue
4,412 kr −19 %similar 5,479 kr
Culture and leisure
2,887 kr +2 %similar 2,818 kr
Labour market and refugees
1,096 kr +29 %similar 848 kr

Similar municipalities are RKA’s seven most alike: Heby, Vingåker, Ödeshög, Emmaboda, Gullspång, Svenljunga, Orsa.

Cost level versus structure · 2025

+1 %

more than its structure justifies

Compulsory school
+16 %
Preschool
+7 %
Upper secondary
−13 %
Elderly care
−8 %
LSS
+7 %
Social services
−11 %

RKA via Kolada

How much more (+) or less (−) the municipality spends than ages, distances and socio-economics justify under cost equalisation. Plus is not wrong: it can be a choice to invest.

What a place costs per year · 2025

162,774 kr

per compulsory school pupil

Per compulsory school pupil
162,774 kr +12 %Sweden 145,505 kr
Per preschool child
215,841 kr +10 %Sweden 195,903 kr
Per upper secondary student
213,091 kr +54 %Sweden 137,983 kr
Per care home resident
1,383,053 kr +23 %Sweden 1,125,650 kr
Per home care recipient
226,054 kr −41 %Sweden 384,970 kr

Kolada (RKA)

Net cost per resident · 2025

76,507 kr

+59.5 % since 2015

47,972 kr77,614 kr20152025

EssungaSwedenSCB OE0107

Current prices: part of the increase is wages and prices, not more services.

Investment per resident · 2025

15,838 kr

Sweden 9,335 kr

3.5k2015201720192021202315.8k2025
Capital expenditure per resident

SCB OE0107

Yearly average 2023 to 2025 by area below. Investment through municipal companies is excluded.

Schools and preschools
7,056 kr
Water, energy, housing and ports
1,559 kr
Shared premises and IT
1,081 kr
Streets, parks and rescue
689 kr
Culture and leisure
127 kr
Health and care
61 kr

Where the money comes from · 2025

57 kr of 100 is tax

90,205 kr in per resident

  1. Municipal tax57 kr
  2. State grants and equalisation32 kr
  3. Earmarked state grants5 kr
  4. Fees and charges4 kr
  5. Rents and leases2 kr

SCB OE0107

State grants in the central government budget

Long term debt per resident · 2025

41,974 kr

Sweden 62,738 kr

62,738 kr754 kr20152025

EssungaSwedenSCB OE0107

The municipality as an organisation. A jump is usually an internal bank: the municipality borrows and lends on to its companies.

Pension liability on the balance sheet
1,340 krSweden 8,913 kr
Interest cost per year
1,151 krSweden 1,707 kr
How we count

Net cost is what services cost after fees, rents and earmarked state grants, i.e. what is paid with tax, general state grants and equalisation. It comes from Statistics Sweden's municipal accounts (OE0107), in current prices, divided by the population on 31 December. Business operations such as water and municipal companies are excluded, so a municipality that runs schools or premises through a company looks cheaper in investments. Similar municipalities are RKA's seven most structurally similar ones (Kolada). Cost level is RKA's net cost deviation: how much more or less the municipality spends than its structure justifies according to cost equalisation. Long term debt also includes loans passed on to municipal companies.

Natural hazards

Natural hazards in Essunga

Short answer: No floods are mapped in Essunga in the county boards' register. The Swedish Forest Agency has mapped no forest fire in Essunga since 2018.

Past floods

None mapped

County administrative boards 1901 to 2011, CC0

One point per mapped flood and place in the county boards' national register. A single large flood can give many areas, and older events are less well documented, so a municipality with no hits may still have flooded.

Show the floods on the map

Forest fires since 2018

None mapped

No fires of 0.5 ha or more

Swedish Forest Agency, CC0

Burnt areas of at least 0.5 hectares, mapped by the Swedish Forest Agency from satellite images and rescue service alarms. Fires with an unknown year are included.

Show the fires on the map

Satellite fire detections since 2021

8 detections

of which 1 strong (over 10 MW), latest 2026-07-31

SMHI, CC BY 4.0

A detection is a heat anomaly seen by a satellite, usually a fire but not a confirmed one. Cloud hides most of it, so the figure is a lower bound.

Show the detections on the map

Fire bans

Live on the map

County administrative board decisions

County administrative boards, CC BY 4.0

The county administrative board decides on fire bans in dry periods, and the situation changes several times a week. That is why it is shown live on the map instead of in a page that is rebuilt now and then.

Show the fire bans on the map
How we count

The figures are our own counts from the sources' map data: points and burnt areas belong to the municipality they lie in, zones and coastlines are clipped to the municipal border. Landslide risk and coastal erosion are only mapped in some areas, so a municipality with no figure there is unmapped, not risk free. SGU's landslide mapping, flood mapping, ground movement and groundwater aquifers exist as map layers but are not counted per municipality here. The sources are coarse and show where the risk should be investigated, not that it exists.

Questions

Common questions about Essunga

What is it like to live in Essunga?

Essunga has 5,560 residents and is in Västra Götaland County. The average age is 45.5 years. The median income is SEK 377,700 per year. 90% of residents say they feel safe in the municipality. The mean annual temperature is 7.3 °C.

How many people live in Essunga?

5,560 people lived in Essunga Municipality in 2024 according to Statistics Sweden, making it Sweden's 265th largest municipality. The population has fallen by 2.4% in five years.

What does it cost to live in Essunga?

A condominium costs on average SEK 10,814 per m² (2024). A detached house costs on average SEK 1.6 million. The municipal tax rate is 33.05%.

What is the job market like in Essunga?

Unemployment in Essunga was 3.7% in 2024. The median income is SEK 377,700 per year. 27.6% of residents have post-secondary education.

What is it like to be a student in Essunga?

27.6% of residents have post-secondary education. Condominium prices are SEK 10,814 per m².

What is Essunga like for families with children?

72.9% of pupils in Essunga qualify for upper secondary school (2024). The municipality spends SEK 108,437 per child per year on preschool. 90% feel safe in the municipality.

What is the weather and climate like in Essunga?

The mean annual temperature in Essunga is 7.3 °C. In a typical year the warmest day reaches 30 °C and the coldest night -20 °C. 839 mm of precipitation falls each year, spread over 135 rainy days and 14 of them below freezing. The sun shines an average of 5.6 hours a day.

Is Essunga a safe place to live?

90% of residents in Essunga say they feel safe (2023). Reported violent crimes stand at 702 per 100,000 residents.

Which towns are in Essunga Municipality?

The largest towns in Essunga Municipality are Nossebro, Främmestad, Jonslund.

The county

Other municipalities in Västra Götaland County