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Rent prices and living space: Where in Switzerland has the best deal?

Under what conditions do foreign residents live in Switzerland? How many people in are owners rather than tenants (and vice-versa?) And where in Switzerland are rents highest and lowest?

Published: 19 March 2024 10:55 CET

Rent prices and living space: Where in Switzerland has the best deal?

New figures reveal interesting information about housing in Switzerland. Photo: Pixabay

These and other housing-related questions are answered in a new survey published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Monday.

These are some of its main findings.

Living space is determined by nationality

In each canton, Swiss nationals have more living space at their disposal than their foreign counterparty, the study found.

The national average for a Swiss household of two or more persons is 44.6 sq/m, while for foreign households it is 30.8 sq/m.

Looking at some cantons, in Zurich, that ratio is 43.5 sq/m for Swiss and 30.8 sq/m for foreign residents.

In Geneva, it is 36.2 vs 28.4; in Basel-City 38.8 vs 29; and in Vaud 42.7 vs 30.4.

The highest disparity, however, was found in Thurgau: 50.5 vs 34.3.

READ ALSO: How foreigners in Switzerland have worse living conditions than the Swiss

Owners vs. tenants

It comes as no surprise to anyone who is familiar with Switzerland’s housing market that far more people rent their dwellings than own them.

Just over 1.4 million accommodations (both homes and apartments) are owned by the people who live in them, while 2.4 million are occupied by renters.

The reasons for this trend, which contrasts with the rest of Europe, include the high cost of land and properties, as well as the fact that Switzerland’s tax system favours tenancy over ownership.

READ ALSO: Why do so many in Switzerland rent rather than buy a home?

Highest and lowest rents

The study confirmed that Zug has highest rents in Switzerland — the average cost is 1,850 francs. This fact is party due to the scarcity of available housing plaguing the tiny canton.

READ ALSO: Why does Zug have Switzerland’s ‘most acute’ housing shortage?

Zurich, which has been suffering from housing woes of its own, is in the second place (1,654 francs), followed by Schwyz (1,616).

Rents in five other cantons are also above the Swiss average of 1,412, francs.

They are Geneva (1,504); Nidwalden (1,495); Basel Country (1,468); Vaud (1,416); and Aargau (1,415).

The most affordable rents, on the other hand, are to be found in Jura — a mere 986 francs.

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REVEALED: How Switzerland's native-English speakers are growing in number

Foreigners who move to Switzerland like to settle in the cities.

This is what emerges from a new study published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Tuesday.

Surprisingly, the municipality with the highest number of foreign residents is not Zurich or Geneva, but Kreuzlingen in canton Thurgau, where 56.3 percent of the population are foreigners.

Next is Rorschach in St. Gallen, where just over half (50.6 percent) of residents are foreign.

In terms of regions, however, more towns in the French-speaking part of the country have a high proportion of non-Swiss.

In the first place is the Lausanne suburb of Renens, where 49.3 percent of inhabitants are foreign.

It is followed by Geneva (49.2 percent) and its districts Meyrin (45.4 percent) and Vernier (44.8 percent). Next are Vaud municipalities of Montreux (44.2 percent) and Yverdon (37.7 percent).

The study doesn’t indicate why exactly so many immigrants move to these particular towns, but generally new arrivals tend to settle in or near places where they work.

Another interesting finding: English language is gaining ground

“If we consider non-national languages, it is striking to see that English has developed significantly,” FSO reports.

“It is today the main language of 8.1 percent of the resident population.”

This has also been shown in another FSO study in March, which indicated that English is not only the most prevalent foreign language in Switzerland, but in some regions even ‘outperforms’ national languages.

In French-speaking Geneva, for instance, 11.8 percent of the population speak English — more than 5.7 percent who speak Italian. And in the neighbouring Vaud, 9.1 percent of residents speak English, versus 4.9 percent for both German and Italian.

In Basel-City, where the main language is German, 12.5 percent speak English, 6.1 percent Italian, and 5 percent French.

And in Zurich,10.8 percent speak English, versus only 5.8 percent for Italian and 3.2 percent French.

The ‘ winner’ however, is the German-speaking Zug, where 14.1 percent of the population over the age of 15 has English as their primary language.

READ ALSO : Where in Switzerland is English most widely used?

What else does the study reveal?

It shows to what extent Switzerland’s population ‘migrated’ from rural areas to cities over the past century.

While only a third of the country’s residents lived in urban regions 100 years ago, the 170 Swiss cities and their agglomerations are now home to three-quarters of the population.

As a result of this evolution, “new cities sprang up, many political and spatial boundaries were moved, and the country became increasingly urban.”

With a population of 427,000, Zurich is still the most populated city, followed by Geneva (204,000) and Basel (174,000).

And there is more: Fewer people practice religion

The proportion of people who feel they belong to a traditional religion is generally falling, FSO found.

This downward trend concerns all religions, but it is strongest among people of the Reformed Evangelical faith.

In six towns in particular — Bussigny, Crissier, and Ecublens (VD), Kloten, and Opfikon (ZH), as well as Oftringen (AR) — the drop was of more than 70 percent.

READ ALSO: Why so many Swiss are quitting the church and taking their money with them

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