Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Biella: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Biella, Piemonte. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Biella

The report looks at the exact point: landslide and flood risk, seismic zone, price per square metre for the area, services and nearby stops.

For example: Via Santuario D'Oropa 1, Biella.

Biella, wool town at the foot of the Alps

Biella lies where the Alpine valleys of northern Piedmont open onto the plain, and for centuries its name has been linked with wool: the Biella textile district is known internationally for high-quality cloth. The town has a modern lower part and a historic hilltop quarter, the Piazzo, which can also be reached by funicular. Higher up, within the municipal boundaries, stands the Sanctuary of Oropa, a long-standing place of pilgrimage.

The population figures describe an older town in an even older province. The estimated average age is over 49, and 29.6% of residents are over 65, against 26.6% for Piedmont as a whole and 30.1% in the province. Households are small, averaging 1.94 people. In 2023 Biella had 42,850 residents, 2.2% fewer than the 43,818 recorded at the 2011 census; foreign nationals make up 9.7%. It is the largest of the province's 74 municipalities, with 25.4% of its population.

For a town of this size, services are plentiful. Overture's open map data count 62 healthcare sites, well above the provincial rate per resident, and 55 sports facilities, also well above average, as well as 303 cafés and restaurants. Supermarkets (31) are proportionally more widespread too.

Earthquake risk is low. Biella is in seismic zone 3, like 24 municipalities in the province, while the other 50 are in zone 4, the lowest class. Expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.042 g. With a low seismic hazard, the state of repair, the heating and wiring, and the energy performance of a building weigh heavily in any purchase.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the municipality, and the report finds the land parcel starting from the address. With mountain streams coming down the valleys and slopes around the hill, landslide and flood risk can only be checked at the exact address.

Key points

  • 29.6% of residents over 65; households average 1.94 people.
  • 42,850 residents in 2023, down 2.2% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 3, low expected ground acceleration (about 0.042 g).
  • Healthcare and sports provision well above the provincial rate per resident.

Overview

Biella is the capital of the province of Biella, in Piemonte. At the end of 2023 it had 42,850 residents, the most populous municipality in the province. 25% of the province's residents live here.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Biella is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Only 24 of 74 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.042 g, a low value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 2.2%. The estimated average age is 49 years, in line with the province. 30% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 27%). Foreign residents make up 9.7% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Biella declared an average taxable income of 27,113 euros, above the provincial average (25,111 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Biella is in climate zone E, with 2,589 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 October to 15 April, for up to 14 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 420 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Biella has 46 schools and 16 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 31 grocery shops and supermarkets, 62 healthcare facilities, 55 sports facilities and 9 parks and green areas.

There are 1.4 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.7).

Public transport

We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 20.7% of the land in Biella, compared with 8.0% in the province and 6.7% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Biella is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Piemonte in 2023. According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 10 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Biella, and 12 more have been cleaned up or closed. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Biella: the report checks the address against the ISPRA maps.

House prices

The Revenue Agency's price ranges per square metre (OMI) apply to zones, not to whole municipalities: the report gives the range for the address's zone.

Land registry

The cadastral maps for Biella are public: from the address the report finds the sheet and parcel number.

Liveability area by area

The Vicinalia liveability index runs from 0 to 100 and looks at the place, not the people who live there: services within walking distance, transport, green space, natural hazards, air, quiet, buildings and connection. Here it is worked out at the centre of each of the 436 inhabited census areas in Biella. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 71 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.3%
  • fair 26.0%
  • good 73.8%

Vicinalia index by census area, licence CC BY-SA 4.0. Data: IdroGEO ISPRA (2026), Istat, INGV, EEA, AGCOM, Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap.

The colour is the value at the centre of the area. For an exact address, search for it above: the free check looks at that exact point. How the index is worked out

Data sources

ISTAT code 096004. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.