Ranking 2024 These are the best municipalities in Switzerland - and these are the worst
Meggen LU was voted the best municipality in Switzerland - thanks to low taxes, proximity to the center and a perfect location on the lake. The municipality ranking at a glance.
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- Meggen LU was voted the best municipality in Switzerland in the "Handelszeitung" municipal ranking, based on 51 factors such as taxes, property prices and safety.
- Hergiswil NW and Oberkirch LU took second and third place, while Zug and Cham ZG, last year's winners, fell to fourth and fifth place.
- Larger cities fared worse, with Zurich in 54th place, Basel in 486th place and Bern in 491st place, partly due to problems with housing and employment.
- In last place is not Mümliswil-Ramiswil SO as expected, but the western Swiss municipality of Val-de-Travers NE.
Meggen LU was voted the best municipality in Switzerland. This is according to the "Handelszeitung" community ranking . Around 1000 municipalities with over 2000 inhabitants were examined by the consultancy firm Iazi.
The municipalities were compared with a total of 51 factors. These include the level of taxes, property prices, safety, location, the range of schools, childcare facilities and shopping opportunities. The data is based primarily on public statistics and real estate price models from Iazi AG.
Hergiswil NW took second place, followed by Oberkirch LU in third place. Zug and Cham ZG, last year's winners, came fourth and fifth.
The major cities performed worse overall than in the previous year. Zurich is in 54th place (previous year 45th), Basel is in 486th place (previous year 93rd) and Bern is in 491st place (previous year 199th). The reasons for the lower scores can be attributed to the areas of housing and work.
Val-de-Travers NE occupies last place in the ranking, after Mümliswil-Ramiswil SO was at the bottom for many years. The Neuchâtel municipality with 10,550 inhabitants is the place with the highest taxes in Switzerland. The municipality is also poorly connected and has a low job density.
"The main levers for a top location in a municipality are low taxes, proximity to the center and a lake," says study author Donato Scognamiglio, co-founder and board member of real estate specialist Iazi. This is the triangle of happiness, so to speak. "What the Jura has not achieved, the cantons of Central Switzerland have: a successful tax policy."
The mayor of Meggen LU, Carmen Holdener, is delighted with first place: "Living in Meggen is seen as a privilege by most people". But it is not just the rich and privileged who live here. The population is well mixed, there is a diverse village life with living traditions and a colorful club culture. "In Meggen, you walk through the village and are greeted on the street."
Lowest taxes
Zollikon ZH is the first municipality in Zurich to take 6th place in the Handelszeitung ranking. Despite high real estate prices, the population is growing steadily to currently 13,500 people, which also increases the tax base to CHF 6,500 per capita. Thanks to its wealthy residents, the municipality has net assets of 102 million francs as at the end of 2023.
"In recent years, we have always achieved a higher surplus than planned," says municipal president Sascha Ullmann. "Our healthy finances are a degree of freedom that helps us to guarantee a good infrastructure and good services."