Here's how much it costs to rent in Switzerland's biggest cities
A new study reveals the most expensive (and cheapest) rents in Switzerland. Here are all the details.
When it comes to renting apartments and houses, Switzerland is not exactly a bargain hunter's paradise.
But new figures shed light on just how expensive the country can be, while also revealing the size of the gulf between rents in the country’s most expensive and cheapest cities.
The figures from comparison website Comparis include the monthly rental prices for two-room (44–55 square metre), 3.5-room (75–85 square metre) and 4.5-room (100–110 square metre) properties in Switzerland’s ten biggest cities.
Read also: Eight things you need to know before renting in Switzerland
Not surprising Geneva and Zurich come top for all three size categories, with Geneva clearly ahead of Zurich as the priciest city for renters.
A 4.5-room, or family-sized apartment, is an average 3,820 Swiss francs (€3,356) a month in Geneva against an average 3,073 francs in Zurich.
For 3.5-bedroom apartments, the Geneva average is 2,680 francs a month while in Zurich that figure is 2,489 francs. And for two-room apartments, Geneva’s average is 1,734 francs compared to 1,690 francs in Zurich.
“The expensive rents in [these cities] is partly down to the limited supply,” Comparis finance expert Frédéric Papp explained.
“In addition, there is a willingness to pay high rents among people looking for a place to live. Zurich and Geneva offer plenty of high-paying jobs – for example, in the finance sector," he explains.
At the other end of the scale are cities including Lugano, which is in the southern canton of Ticino, the bilingual city of Biel in canton Bern, and the eastern Swiss city of St Gallen.
At an average 2,004 francs a month, a 4.5-bedroom apartment in St Gallen is almost half as cheap as its equivalent in Geneva (3,820 francs).
The picturesque eastern Swiss city also has the cheapest average rents for 3.5-room apartments (1,675 francs a month) and the second cheapest two-room apartments (1,160 francs a month). Only Biel is cheaper for this smallest category (1,125 francs).
“The relatively cheap rents of St Gallen and Biel are partly down to the lower attractiveness of the location in comparison with Zurich,” Papp explained.
St Gallen and Biel also have higher rental vacancy rates than the Swiss average of 1.62 percent.
Read also: Why you may be eligible for a rent reduction in Switzerland
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When it comes to renting apartments and houses, Switzerland is not exactly a bargain hunter's paradise.
But new figures shed light on just how expensive the country can be, while also revealing the size of the gulf between rents in the country’s most expensive and cheapest cities.
The figures from comparison website Comparis include the monthly rental prices for two-room (44–55 square metre), 3.5-room (75–85 square metre) and 4.5-room (100–110 square metre) properties in Switzerland’s ten biggest cities.
Read also: Eight things you need to know before renting in Switzerland
Not surprising Geneva and Zurich come top for all three size categories, with Geneva clearly ahead of Zurich as the priciest city for renters.
A 4.5-room, or family-sized apartment, is an average 3,820 Swiss francs (€3,356) a month in Geneva against an average 3,073 francs in Zurich.
For 3.5-bedroom apartments, the Geneva average is 2,680 francs a month while in Zurich that figure is 2,489 francs. And for two-room apartments, Geneva’s average is 1,734 francs compared to 1,690 francs in Zurich.
“The expensive rents in [these cities] is partly down to the limited supply,” Comparis finance expert Frédéric Papp explained.
“In addition, there is a willingness to pay high rents among people looking for a place to live. Zurich and Geneva offer plenty of high-paying jobs – for example, in the finance sector," he explains.
At the other end of the scale are cities including Lugano, which is in the southern canton of Ticino, the bilingual city of Biel in canton Bern, and the eastern Swiss city of St Gallen.
At an average 2,004 francs a month, a 4.5-bedroom apartment in St Gallen is almost half as cheap as its equivalent in Geneva (3,820 francs).
The picturesque eastern Swiss city also has the cheapest average rents for 3.5-room apartments (1,675 francs a month) and the second cheapest two-room apartments (1,160 francs a month). Only Biel is cheaper for this smallest category (1,125 francs).
St Gallen and Biel also have higher rental vacancy rates than the Swiss average of 1.62 percent.
Read also: Why you may be eligible for a rent reduction in Switzerland
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