Budget

Vantaa’s population will continue to grow, even though the growth is slower than over the previous years. In 2025, the city’s population increased by approximately 1,700 residents (0.7%), and in 2026 growth is expected to remain at around 1,000 residents.  Over the next decade, population growth is projected to average 1.1% annually.

Residential building still remains unusually slow. The number of housing units completed in 2026 is expected to remain below 700 units, compared with more than 3,000 units annually during the early years of the decade.  Furthermore, falling prices of existing homes are limiting demand for new residential development.

Even though Finland’s economy has returned to growth, the employment situation remains difficult.  Vantaa’s unemployment rate stood at 14.4% in August, and long-term unemployment has reached a record high.  Unemployment is increasing the city’s costs and slowing growth in tax revenues, and there are not yet any clear signs of improvement. 

The 2027 budget is the first budget prepared under the city’s new The Future Lives in Vantaa strategy.  Implementation of the strategy is supported by six strategic transformation programs approved by the city council.

The city’s economic program plays a central role in strengthening Vantaa’s financial sustainability.  The objectives of the economic program are to balance the city’s finances, improve productivity, and strengthen the revenue base.

The 2026 budget included approximately €18 million in fiscal adjustment measures and next year, the city will undertake fiscal balancing measures totaling €39 million.  Of this amount, €29 million will come from permanent measures, including departmental fiscal adjustment efforts, dividend and profit distributions from companies within the city group, and personnel cost savings resulting from cooperation negotiations conducted in fall 2026.

The city strategy aims to bring Vantaa’s finances into balance by 2029.  Achieving this goal will require both the implementation of measures outlined in the economic program and positive developments in employment and tax revenues.

Moreover, Vantaa will implement in 2027 an organizational reform that aims to bolster the city’s operational capability in a changed operating environment and support the achievement of the city strategy’s objectives. 

The city will continue to build the future and strengthen its vitality.  Meanwhile, construction of the Vantaa Light Rail, the largest investment in the city’s history, is proceeding at full speed.  The light rail line is scheduled for completion in 2029, and €255 million will be allocated to the project in 2027.  

Several daycare-center and school projects will also be completed or under construction during the year.  The Elmo Swimming Hall will be completed, and among projects carried out by the city group companies, the Aviapolis Upper Secondary School will also be completed.

Key investments in 2027

• Vantaa light rail
• Elmo swimming hall
• Aviapolis upper secondary school
• Tikkurila Competence Campus
• Myyrmäen Oivallustentalo (“Myyrmäki Discovery House”)
• Three new daycare centers will be completed, while several are under construction
• A new school is under construction, along with school expansion and renovation projects 

Year 2027 key figures  

• population: 258,668 (forecast for Dec. 31, 2027)
• fiscal year deficit: -€58.6 million  
• yield per percentage point of income tax: €67 million  
• internal financing of investments: 17%  
• tax revenues: €2,408/resident  
• operating costs: €4,880/resident  
• loan portfolio: €6,700/resident

Proposed tax percentages (%)

• income tax percentage: 6.4  
• public real-estate tax percentage: 1.28  
• soil base percentage: 1.30
• permanent residential building: 0.41  
• other residential building: 1.25
• power plant: 3.10  
• unbuilt building plot: 6.00 

Measures promoting the strategy in the 2027 budget

Learning and further studies

• We will strengthen literacy and language skills. We will prepare a literacy development plan and target support for language skills.
• We will support further education for young people. We will promote the transition from secondary level to higher education and to Varia’s pathway studies.

Community membership and support for families

• We will strengthen the sense of belonging to a community. We will reinforce children’s and young people’s sense of belonging within their daycare center or school community.  In early childhood education, we will introduce practices that support children’s regular attendance.  
• We strengthen cooperation with families. We will update the co-operation model between home and school and utilize the results of the mapping of parenting support.

Safety and equality

• We will address bullying and discrimination.
• We will prevent regional segregation. We will define concrete measures in each service area plan to reduce inequality. 

Measures promoting the strategy in the 2027 budget

• HALO - hobbies and positive regional development. Havukoski Halo will be developed into an inspiring youth action center that will increase the opportunities for hobbies and strengthen the vitality of the area.
• Elmo - investment in mobility and the Korso-Koivukylä area. Elmo swimming hall will open in 2027, creating new opportunities for residents to be physically active.
• Events and experiences - a stronger city experience. We will bolster the strategic role of events through the events office. Summer stage, movie picnics and other communal cultural events will bring culture to different parts of Vantaa, close to the residents.
• Public art – enhancing everyday comfort with accessible and distinctive culture.  We will advance public art projects connected to the Light Rail, the House of Insights, the Tikkurila Competence Campus, and the Library Park.  Artwork design will progress, and some works will move into implementation.  
• Better readiness for learning. We will strengthen the library’s role in improving schoolchildren’s literacy and language skills and develop adult basic education to better meet students’ needs. 
• Engaging in hobbies – meaningful activities for every child and young person.  We will further develop recreational opportunities with the goal of providing every child and young person with access to a meaningful, high-quality guided hobby.
• Community cohesion and positive intergroup relations – participation and encounters.  We will strengthen cooperation with organizations, improve service accessibility for speakers of other languages, and develop leisure-time use of facilities.   

Measures promoting the strategy in the 2027 budget

• We are building a light-rail city. Construction of the light rail and the broader development of a light-rail city will continue as a key priority.  
• We are speeding up versatile residential building. Housing construction will be promoted through a comprehensive package of measures, including enabling the leasing of corporate-form housing plots, organizing competitive land-price tenders, and introducing greater flexibility in land-use agreements.  
• We are creating preconditions for business establishment in Vantaa. We will increase the supply of business plots, promote land-use planning for employment areas, and develop service processes and customer experiences for businesses.  
• We will upgrade station areas. The comfort and safety of station areas will be improved. After Myyrmäki, the focus will shift to the surroundings of the Koivukylä station. We will strengthen safety in cooperation with various actors.
• We will direct planning and investments. Planning and investments will be directed in accordance with the VAKIO model, ensuring synchronized implementation and a comprehensive area-based approach in collaboration with the wider city organization.
• We are responsible for the environmental program, the coordination and monitoring of its implementation, but also for most of the measures, with emphasis on emissions reductions, nature-friendliness and low-carbon construction, among other things.

Measures promoting the strategy in the 2027 budget

• We will build and implement a model for positive intergroup relations on city-level.
• We will introduce an up-to-date situational picture of disruptions and emergencies.
• We will increase the number of companies and communities that employ in Vantaa.
• We will improve the effectiveness of employment services and strengthen cooperation with employers.
• We will increase the number of residents who achieve the required language proficiency level and participate in civic orientation.
• We will implement a measure that affects each of the areas targeted by positive regional development.
• We will manage procurement through a category management model that includes sustainability objectives and procurement requirements for the most significant categories. 
• We will balance the city’s finances. 
• We will strengthen the city’s shared systems-based leadership approach, as well as its leadership and organizational culture.