Municipality

Drangedal

Municipality no. 4016 · Telemark · 4,056 inhabitants · KOSTRA group 4

Municipality index · based on 2025

38 of 100

Rank 34 of 39 in KOSTRA group 4. Between 137 and 301 of 357 in Norway (302 with the default weights).

The rank is shown as a range when it moves a lot with other weights, normalisations and handling of missing data. The range covers 90 per cent of 1,000 draws. Methodology

Development index 61 of 100: how the key figures have changed over about the last three years, compared with the group. Profile: Lower level · improving.

No figures for public contracts; the weights are spread over the other parts.

Sub-indices for the municipality against the group median
Part	Score (0–100)	Group median	Development (0–100)	Score as a bar
Work and business	48	52	77
Economy	26	46	37
Population and growth	32	47	57
Work, education and housing	40	54	62
Health and living conditions	Third quarter of the group			Shown as a quarter, not as a score or rank
Local economy (our company data)	60	56	81
Public contracts	–	–	–	Comes when Doffin is connected (weight 0)

The score is the percentile rank in the group: 50 means middle of the pack among municipalities like it. The index does not measure the quality of services.

Summary analysis

Drangedal has a municipality index of 38 of 100 against its KOSTRA group.

Strongest: Local economy (our company data): 60 of 100 (group 56).

Weakest: Economy: 26 of 100 (group 46). Population and growth: 32 of 100 (group 47).

Worth a closer look

Net operating result, share of operating revenue (municipal group): −0.1% against 1.4% in the group (2025).
Projected population growth to 2030 (main alternative): −2.1% against −0.4% in the group (2026).

Written by fixed rules from the figures. Describes the figures, does not explain causes. Not investment or financial advice. How the summary is made

Key figures from Statistics Norway

Work and business

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Employed, share of age 20–66 (high scores high)	73.0% 2025	77.3%	76.7%	table 11618 figures from an earlier municipality number
Job coverage (jobs per employed resident) (shown, not in the index)	68.3% 2025	81.5%	90.0%	table 11618 figures from an earlier municipality number
Registered unemployed, share of labour force (low scores high)	1.3% 2025	1.2%	1.3%	table 13563 figures from an earlier municipality number
New enterprises per 1,000 inhabitants (high scores high)	9.3 2023	9.3	9.2	table 13701 figures from an earlier municipality number
Limited company bankruptcies per 1,000 inhabitants (low scores high)	0.0 2025	0.3	0.5	table 07165 figures from an earlier municipality number

Economy

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Household income after tax, median (high scores high)	NOK 613,200 2024	NOK 643,000	NOK 657,600	table 06944 figures from an earlier municipality number
Net operating result, share of operating revenue (municipal group) (high scores high)	−0.1% 2025	1.4%	1.3%	table 12143 figures from an earlier municipality number
Unrestricted reserves, share of operating revenue (high scores high)	8.1% 2025	10.0%	10.4%	table 12143 figures from an earlier municipality number
Net debt, share of operating revenue (low scores high)	106.8% 2025	79.4%	84.9%	table 12143 figures from an earlier municipality number
Net operating expenditure per inhabitant (shown, not in the index)	NOK 99,991 2025	NOK 98,808	NOK 96,691	table 12137 figures from an earlier municipality number
Gross operating revenue per inhabitant (shown, not in the index)	NOK 150,677 2025	NOK 140,090	NOK 141,010	table 12137 figures from an earlier municipality number

Population and growth

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Population on 1 January (shown, not in the index)	4,056 2026	3,347	5,447	table 11342 figures from an earlier municipality number
Population growth, last year (high scores high)	−0.3% 2026	0.1%	0.3%	table 06913 figures from an earlier municipality number
Net migration per 1,000 inhabitants (shown, not in the index)	3.4 2025	3.8	4.1	table 06913 figures from an earlier municipality number some years withheld by SSB
Share aged 80 and over (shown, not in the index)	5.9% 2026	6.8%	6.3%	table 07459 figures from an earlier municipality number
Projected population growth to 2030 (main alternative) (high scores high)	−2.1% 2026	−0.4%	1.1%	table 14746
Projected population growth to 2050 (main alternative) (shown, not in the index)	−6.5% 2026	0.2%	3.6%	table 14746

Work, education and housing

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Net in-commuting, share of employed residents (shown, not in the index)	−30.9% 2025	−18.1%	−10.2%	table 11616 figures from an earlier municipality number
Children aged 1–5 in kindergarten (high scores high)	93.8% 2025	93.1%	94.1%	table 13502 figures from an earlier municipality number
Share with university or college education (16 and over) (high scores high)	22.3% 2025	25.3%	27.5%	table 09429
Share living in overcrowded homes (low scores high)	6.3% 2025	6.2%	6.9%	table 14902
Detached houses, share of all dwellings (shown, not in the index)	81.7% 2026	81.0%	75.1%	table 06265 figures from an earlier municipality number
Net expenditure on culture per inhabitant (shown, not in the index)	NOK 2,497 2025	NOK 2,949	NOK 3,310	table 13135 figures from an earlier municipality number

Health and living conditions

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Life expectancy at birth (15-year period) (high scores high)	81.1 years 2025	82.5 years	82.4 years	FHI table 508
Share in households with persistent low income (EU60) (low scores high)	7.8% 2024	7.7%	8.1%	FHI table 403
Completed upper secondary education (standardised) (high scores high)	76.6% 2025	77.0%	80.5%	FHI table 623
Young people satisfied with their health (Ungdata, latest survey) (high scores high)	72.3% 2025	64.5%	64.7%	FHI table 349
Disability benefit recipients aged 20–66 (standardised) (low scores high)	12.5% 2024	11.5%	11.2%	FHI table 787

Local economy (our company data)

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Source
Limited companies we follow per 1,000 inhabitants (high scores high)	17.3 2026	16.6	16.7	Our data
Median operating margin, companies we follow (shown, not in the index)	2.9% 2025	3.0%	3.2%	Our data
New bankruptcies and liquidations per 1,000 limited companies (low scores high)	0.0 2025	10.6	13.5	Our data

Public contracts

Key figure	Value	Group median	National median	Trend	Source
Share of the municipality's contracts (Doffin) won by local companies (shown, not in the index)	– 2025	–	11.9%		Our data

Each key figure is for the year shown beside it. Municipalities that merged or were renumbered get the figures from the old number where Statistics Norway has not recalculated them.

Industries in the municipality · 2025

The largest industries by persons employed with their workplace in the municipality (1,297 in all in 2025), with the change since 2020.

Industry (SN2007)	Employed	Share	Change since 2020	Change in Norway	Location quotient	Trend
Sosiale omsorgstjenester uten botilbud 88	150	11.6%	30.4%	1.7%	1.83	Rising
Pleie- og omsorgstjenester i institusjon 87	147	11.3%	−7.0%	6.4%	2.07	Stable
Detaljhandel, unntatt med motorvogner 47	119	9.2%	−2.5%	4.0%	1.33	Stable
Spesialisert bygge- og anleggsvirksomhet 43	118	9.1%	−2.5%	4.0%	1.92	Stable
Helsetjenester 86	100	7.7%	−1.0%	13.3%	0.85	Stable
Oppføring av bygninger 41	91	7.0%	93.6%	−3.4%	2.92	Rising
Undervisning 85	85	6.6%	−8.6%	4.1%	0.81	Stable
Jordbruk og tjenester tilknyttet jordbruk, jakt og viltstell 01	71	5.5%	4.4%	−2.5%	4.32	Stable
Offentlig administrasjon og forsvar, og trygdeordninger underlagt offentlig forvaltning 84	63	4.9%	−11.3%	8.7%	0.75	Falling
Landtransport og rørtransport 49	61	4.7%	−18.7%	7.8%	2.05	Falling
Skogbruk og tjenester tilknyttet skogbruk 02	58	4.5%	48.7%	1.6%	20.17	Rising
Tjenester tilknyttet eiendomsdrift 81	28	2.2%	−22.2%	6.0%	1.14	Falling

A location quotient above 1 means the industry is larger here than in the rest of Norway (2 = twice the share). “Rising” and “Falling” need both at least a 10% change over five years and a change at least 5 percentage points better or worse than in Norway. Industries with fewer than 20 employed are shown as a three-year moving average and are not classified. Source: Statistics Norway, table 13470 (employed by workplace, 4th quarter).

See business development in the municipality

Housing and labour market · 2025

Drangedal is a home municipality: many residents work in other municipalities. The municipality has 1,299 jobs and 1,878 employed residents, and 54% of the residents work in the municipality.

Jobs (employed by workplace): 1,299
Employed residents: 1,878
Jobs per employed resident: 0.69
Commute in: 281
Commute out: 860

Where the residents work (outside the municipality)

Municipality	Employed	Share of employed residents
Kragerø	168	8.9%
Skien	138	7.3%
Porsgrunn	110	5.9%
Oslo	80	4.3%
Nissedal	52	2.8%

Where those who work here live (outside the municipality)

Municipality	Employed	Share of jobs
Kragerø	102	7.9%
Skien	44	3.4%
Porsgrunn	21	1.6%
Kviteseid	16	1.2%

Employed persons aged 15–74 in the 4th quarter, by home and work municipality (SSB 03321). Job municipality: at least 10% more jobs than employed residents. Home municipality: at least 10% fewer. Flows under 10 people are counted but not shown. Work on the continental shelf is shown as its own workplace.

Stress test: the oil downturn and the pandemic

How did employment and unemployment in the municipality develop in two downturns, compared with the country?

The oil downturn (2014–2016)

The number of jobs changed by −0.8% from 2014 to 2016, about like the country (−1.3%).

Measure	Drangedal	Country	Difference
Change in jobs 2014–2016	−0.8%	−1.3%	+0.5 pp
Change in jobs 2014–2018 (recovery)	−2.5%	+2.0%	−4.5 pp
Change in registered unemployment 2014–2016	+0.3 pp	+0.3 pp	−0.1 pp
Registered unemployment 2014	2.1%	2.1%	–
Share of jobs in oil and gas 2014 (extraction and services)	0.0%	–	–

The change in jobs is in the second-weakest quarter of municipalities in the period.

The pandemic (2019–2020)

The number of jobs changed by +1.0% from 2019 to 2020, against −0.9% in the country: a stronger development than the country.

Measure	Drangedal	Country	Difference
Change in jobs 2019–2020	+1.0%	−0.9%	+1.9 pp
Change in jobs 2019–2022 (recovery)	−0.1%	+4.2%	−4.3 pp
Change in registered unemployment 2019–2020	+0.7 pp	+1.1 pp	−0.4 pp
Registered unemployment 2019	1.6%	1.8%	–

The change in jobs is in the quarter of municipalities with the strongest development in the period.

Jobs are employed persons aged 15–74 by workplace in the 4th quarter (SSB 07984). Unemployment is registered unemployed as a share of the labour force (SSB 13563). The country is the sum of the municipalities, on today's municipality map. Within one percentage point counts as “about like the country”. Oil and gas is industry 05–09 (extraction and services), without the supply industry. pp = percentage points.

Cost and quality of services · 2025

Cost per user and one quality measure for three services, compared with the median of the municipality group (KOSTRA).

Service	Cost	Group median	Quality measure	Group median	Position against the group
Kindergarten cost per child in municipal kindergartens, share of qualified kindergarten teachers	NOK 324,831 +5% against the median	NOK 308,700	42%	43%	Higher cost, lower quality measure (38 municipalities in the group)
Primary school net expenditure per inhabitant aged 6–15, lower secondary school points	NOK 199,983 +7% against the median	NOK 187,412	39.7	41.9	Higher cost, lower quality measure (39 municipalities in the group)
Nursing homes expenditure per resident day, share of care staff with health education	NOK 5,574 −11% against the median	NOK 6,286	80%	77%	Lower cost, higher quality measure (39 municipalities in the group)

KOSTRA (SSB 12379, 13502, 12255 and 12209). One measure is not the whole quality of a service, and school points also reflect the pupils' background. Cost depends on settlement patterns and distances. The figures are a starting point for questions, not a grade.

Companies registered in the municipality

Limited companies we follow: 70
With accounts 2025: 49
Turnover 2025 (NOK): 398 MNOK
Median operating margin 2025: 3.0%

Only limited companies in the sectors we follow, by business address. The head office can be elsewhere than the activity. Companies reporting in another currency than NOK are left out of turnover.

Largest companies in the municipality

DRANGEDAL KRAFT AS 101 MNOK (2025)
FLOM AS 59 MNOK (2025)
DE NETT AS 40 MNOK (2025)
JV ENTREPRENØR AS 25 MNOK (2025)
REFSDAL TREINDUSTRI AS 16 MNOK (2025)
KV BYGG AS 16 MNOK (2025)
KROKEN MASKIN AS 15 MNOK (2025)
STRAND BYGG OG ANLEGG AS 13 MNOK (2025)
WINGEREID MASKIN AS 11 MNOK (2025)
TØRDAL DAGLIGVARE AS 10 MNOK (2025)
NESLANDSVATN BYGGSENTER AS 10 MNOK (2025)
DRANGEDAL AUTOSENTER AS 9 MNOK (2025)
MIDT-I-MELLOM AS 8 MNOK (2025)
VØLLESTAD ELEKTROINSTALLASJON AS 6 MNOK (2025)
KVITEBERG BYGG AS 6 MNOK (2025)

70 limited companies in the sectors we follow have their business address here.

Latest awards from buyers in the municipality

Bygging av HDO-boliger og helse-/servicebygg - Åpen anbudskonkurranse Drangedal Kommune · 13 February 2026

From Doffin. The buyer's address decides the municipality; state agencies are often where their head office is.

Contains data under the Norwegian licence for public data (NLOD 2.0) made available by Doffin/the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management (DFØ). NLOD 2.0

Earlier municipalities

Drangedal (3815) · renumbered 2024

Indications based on open data. Not advice. Methodology

Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 03321, table 06265, table 06913, table 06944, table 07165, table 07459, table 07984, table 09429, table 11342, table 11616, table 11618, table 12137, table 12143, table 12209, table 12255, table 12379, table 13135, table 13470, table 13502, table 13563, table 13701, table 14746, table 14902, municipality map and KOSTRA groups from Klass. CC BY 4.0.

Source for health and living conditions: Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), Folkehelsestatistikk, FHI table 349, FHI table 403, FHI table 508, FHI table 623, FHI table 787. NLOD 2.0.