By Elizabete Laivina
Riga is a great place for young people due to its low cost of living and vibrant creative scene. It boasts excellent museums and art galleries, an active night life and close-by unspoiled nature. Riga is also an avid sports city with frequent football, basketball and ice hockey matches.
Riga is one of the top ten city matches for 1.1% of Teleport users.
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Housing| Large apartment | $710.00 |
|---|---|
| Medium apartment | $580.00 |
| Rent index [score] | 0.90 |
| Small apartment | $450.00 |
Cost of Living| 5km taxi ride | $3.50 |
|---|---|
| A Cappuccino | $3.10 |
| A beer | $1.20 |
| A kilogram of Apples | $1.50 |
| Bread | $0.48 |
| Inflation [score] | 0.73 |
| Lunch | $7.50 |
| Monthly fitness club membership | $50.00 |
| Monthly public transport | $63.00 |
| Movie ticket | $7.60 |
| Price of a meal at a restaurant | $48.84 |
Startups| Average monthly increase in number of startups | 2 |
|---|---|
| Average monthly increase in number of startups [score] | 0.27 |
| Coworking spaces [score] | 0.30 |
| Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co | 4 |
| Meetups [score] | 0.24 |
| Meetups groups | 53 |
| Meetups members | 14587 |
| Number of investors | 15 |
| Number of startup events in the last 12 months | 57 |
| Number of upcoming meetup events | 7 |
| Startup climate scene [score] | 0.38 |
| Startup events | 56 |
| Startup events [score] | 0.58 |
| Startups [score] | 0.60 |
| Total number of startups | 150 |
Venture Capital| Venture capital [score] | 0.14 |
|---|
Travel Connectivity| Airport hub | 68 |
|---|---|
| Airport hub [score] | 0.35 |
| Intercity train connectivity [score] | 0.13 |
Commute| Human city page | http://cities.human.co/details/Latvia/Riga |
|---|---|
| Traffic handling [score] | 0.74 |
Business Freedom| Business freedom | 78.60 |
|---|---|
| Business freedom [score] | 0.74 |
| Freedom from corruption | 55.00 |
| Freedom from corruption [score] | 0.52 |
| Lack of labor restrictions | 59.50 |
| Lack of labor restrictions [score] | 0.44 |
| Time to open a business | 5.50 |
| Time to open a business [score] | 0.95 |
Safety| Crime rate [score] | 0.63 |
|---|---|
| Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year | 1 |
| Guns per 100 residents | 19 |
| Lack of gun related deaths [score] | 0.96 |
| Lack of guns [score] | 0.90 |
| Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score] | 0.93 |
Healthcare| Healthcare expenditure [score] | 0.53 |
|---|---|
| Healthcare quality [score] | 0.58 |
| Life expectancy (years) | 74.56 |
| Life expectancy [score] | 0.47 |
Education| Best university in ranking | University of Latvia |
|---|---|
| Best university ranking | 801 |
| Country mean scores in PISA math test | 487.27 |
| Country mean scores in PISA reading test | 488.69 |
| Country mean scores in PISA science test | 502.19 |
| PISA math ranking (high school) | 25 |
| PISA ranking | 25 |
| PISA ranking (high school) [score] | 0.72 |
| PISA reading (high school) | 21 |
| PISA science (high school) | 22 |
| Percent of happy students | 0.67 |
| Percent of low performers in PISA math test | 0.20 |
| Percent of low performers in PISA reading test | 0.17 |
| Percent of low performers in PISA science test | 0.12 |
| Percent of top performers in PISA math test | 0.08 |
| Percent of top performers in PISA reading test | 0.04 |
| Percent of top performers in PISA science test | 0.04 |
| University quality [score] | 0.10 |
Environmental Quality| Air quality [score] | 0.67 |
|---|---|
| Cleanliness [score] | 0.69 |
| Drinking water quality [score] | 0.62 |
| Urban greenery [score] | 0.81 |
Economy| Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area | 0.85 |
|---|---|
| Currency for urban area | EUR |
| GDP growth rate | 0.02 |
| GDP growth rate [score] | 0.43 |
| GDP per capita | $23706.56 |
| GDP per capita [score] | 0.39 |
Taxation| Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score] | 0.69 |
|---|---|
| Income tax level [score] | 0.50 |
| Profit tax (% of profit) | 0.36 |
| Time overhead to file company taxes | 169 |
| VAT (Sales Tax) | 0.21 |
Internet Access| Download speed (Mbps) | 48.34 |
|---|---|
| Internet access (download) [score] | 0.62 |
| Internet access (upload) [score] | 0.55 |
| Upload speed (Mbps) | 13.78 |
Leisure & Culture| Art galleries | 162 |
|---|---|
| Art galleries [score] | 0.79 |
| Cinemas | 88 |
| Cinemas [score] | 0.75 |
| Comedy clubs | 152 |
| Comedy clubs [score] | 0.79 |
| Concert venues | 110 |
| Concerts [score] | 0.85 |
| Historical sites | 76 |
| Historical sites [score] | 0.80 |
| Museums | 99 |
| Museums [score] | 0.75 |
| Performing art venues | 97 |
| Performing arts [score] | 0.91 |
| Sport venues | 136 |
| Sports [score] | 0.93 |
| Zoos | 85 |
| Zoos [score] | 0.89 |
Tolerance| LGBT Equality Index | 74.15 |
|---|---|
| LGBT Equality Index [score] | 0.75 |
| LGBT adoption rights | ✖ Single only |
| LGBT age of consent | ✔ Equal |
| LGBT blood donation regulations | ✔ Legal |
| LGBT conversion therapy regulations | ✖ Not banned |
| LGBT discrimination legality | Illegal in some contexts |
| LGBT employment discrimination legality | ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity |
| LGBT gender changing rights | ✔ Legal, surgery not required |
| LGBT homosexuality rights | ✔ Legal |
| LGBT housing discrimination legality | ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity |
| LGBT marriage rights | ✖ Not legal |
| Tolerance towards minorities [score] | 0.62 |
Outdoors| Elevation (hills or mountains) [score] | 0.16 |
|---|---|
| Median peak in meters | 242.30 |
| Seaside access | 1.00 |
| Urban area elevation (meters) | 14.00 |
| Water access [score] | 0.95 |
Costs of living in Riga are in the 74th place of all 248 Teleport cities. Average living expenses are significantly lower compared to other cities, especially in the housing market. Moving to Riga will very likely decrease your daily costs of living. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.
 Monthly fitness club membership | $50 |
|---|---|
 Movie ticket | $8 |
 Broadband internet connection | $14 |
 Monthly public transport | $63 |
 Lunch | $8 |
Software Engineer salaries in Riga are below average. For this job type, Riga ranks 200th for salaries among 265 cities. Get access to our salary comparison calculator by signing up. Compare salaries city by city with our free salary wizard and convert your own salary to a local salary in Riga.
The overall crime rate puts Riga in position 115 of 266 Teleport Cities in a ranking for the safest cities.
Legal
Legal
Surgery Not Required
Illegal In Some Contexts
Not Legal
Single Only
13.1
A video by Vivid Cafe
Riga is the financial, creative, and cultural center of Latvia. It is the capital and the largest city in Latvia, it is also the largest city in the Baltic States. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of Daugava, Riga has an official population of a little over 700,000 inhabitants. It is home to one in three Latvians. Part of many empires throughout history, each of which has left its mark on the city, today Riga is a city with many faces. It is famous for Art Nouveau and wooden architecture. Riga's historical center is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There are many administrative districts in Riga. However, almost all tourist attractions, historic buildings and hotels are contained within the borders of the relatively small and walkable Centra rajons district, which is made up of Vecrīga (the old town) and Centrs (the modern-day business district). However if you have already seen the more famous attractions in the city center, the outer districts do have their own draws too.
Riga is famous for its world heritage listed old town (Vecrīga) and city center (Centrs), in which over 800 buildings — a third of all buildings — are of the Art Nouveau (aka Jugendstil) style of architecture and thus Riga is one of the best destinations to see this architectural style. Chiefly built in the first years of the 20th century, many of Riga's Art Nouveau buildings were created by ethnic Latvian architects unlike earlier buildings in the city . The Art Nouveau style involves intricate building facades, with carvings of flowers and mythological creatures, and ornate doorways and windows.
Read moreEvery city comes with a country. How is this one doing in terms of giving back to the global community? Our friends at The Good Country Index measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size.
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