New data from GfK and NIQ has revealed which regions of Switzerland offer their residents the highest purchasing power in 2025. Though people in the alpine nation remain richer than those in the rest of the DACH region, income disparity between cantons is stark.
To create the study, both research institutes compared the purchasing power of residents in all regions of Switzerland, Austria and Germany. In this case, purchasing power refers to the income (salary, social security benefits and / or pensions among others) residents earn once taxes and benefit contributions are deducted. It’s important to note that this purchasing power metric does not take into account rent, insurance and other day-to-day costs.
In the study, NIQ predicted that purchasing power in Switzerland will rise by 2,3 percent in 2025, compared to 2 percent in both Germany and Austria. In Switzerland’s case, this increase has been attributed to rising incomes in the mountains, mainly thanks to the growing strength of the country's ski resorts.
With an average per capita purchasing power of 53.011 euros a year (50.539 francs), workers in Switzerland are still first place in the DACH region. Austria came second with 29.852 euros per year, and Germany third with 29.566 euros. However, the study noted that while eight Swiss cantons offer residents purchasing power above the national average, a whopping 18 cantons offer less.
For 2025, Zug is the canton which offers the highest purchasing power in Switzerland at 89.607 euros per person per year or around 85.426 francs - this is 69 percent higher than the national average. Schwyz (78.904 euros per person a year) and Nidwalden (65.999 euros) completed the top three.
While Zug is often given high praise for its good quality of life, rewarding jobs and extremely low taxes, the high demand and low supply of housing make it one of the least affordable places to live. A Federal Statistical Office report from December 2024 found that a quarter of Zug’s local population have left the canton since 2014, with most blaming high rental costs.
In terms of towns, cities and districts, the Höfe region of Schwyz took first place with a purchasing power 2,9 times higher than the national average (138.996 euros per person per year). Meilen, Canton Zurich (87,763 euros per year) and Küssnacht, Canton Schwyz (82.398 euros) rounded out the podium.
Elsewhere, Geneva has improved its position in the ranking, swapping with Canton Basel-Land to rank seventh - Geneva is the only fully French-speaking canton in the top 10. This year also saw Graubünden make its first appearance in the higher echelons, ranking ninth.
Like previous years, the canton with the lowest purchasing power is Jura. The region, which typically has the most affordable housing in Switzerland, offers a mean disposable income of 44.855 euros a year per resident, 15 percent lower than the national average - but still over 10.000 euros a year above the German and Austrian averages.
In all, here are the 10 Swiss cantons which offer residents the highest purchasing power in 2025 (in euros per person per year):
For more information, check out the official study.
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