While we often think of Zug, Zurich and Geneva as the richest places in Switzerland on account of the glitzy cars and high salaries, a new study by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) has found that when it comes to pure concentration of millionaires, one of the founding cantons of Switzerland stands out the most.

Last decade sees super-rich migrate to low-tax areas

According to the latest data from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), reported by the NZZ, the last few years have seen a migration of the super-rich from major Swiss cities into central Switzerland. The newspaper explained that this is mainly a result of policy, with Lausanne increasing the tax burden on millionaires by 10 percent between 1995 and 2018.

The result of different tax policies between cantons and cities means millionaires can save thousands if they choose to relocate to a different part of the country. For example, the NZZ found that a family with four members and a total income of 1 million francs a year has to pay 360.000 francs in taxes per year if they live in Hasliberg, Canton Bern, compared to just 226.000 francs in Lungern, Canton Obwalden - around 37 percent less.

Schwyz home to highest concentration of millionaires

Therefore, it is perhaps not surprising that the country’s most wealthy residents are choosing central Switzerland, with Wollarau, Canton Schwyz being ranked as having the highest concentration of millionaires in the country. In the former home of retired tennis star Roger Federer, 4,1 percent of local taxpayers had an income of over 1 million francs a year in 2019 - the NZZ explained that as Swiss tax returns often take years to resolve, returns from 2019 is the latest accurate data set the FSO has to hand.

Another Schwyz community, Feusisberg, came in second with 3,3 percent, with Vandoeuvres in Geneva rounding out the podium places with 3,2 percent. The study noted that beyond central Switzerland, the majority of affluent communities can be found along the Gold Coast in Canton Zurich, areas of Canton Schwyz within easy reach of Zurich, and the banks of Lake Geneva.

Swiss towns with the biggest millionaire population

In all, here are the Swiss towns with the highest concentration of millionaires as of 2019 (as a percentage of the total taxpayers):

• 1. Wollerau, Schwyz (4,1)
• 2. Feusisberg, Schwyz (3,3)
• 3. Vandoeuvres, Geneva (3,2)
• 4. Cologny, Geneva (2,7)
• 5. Walchwil, Zug (2,2)
• 6. Freienbach, Schwyz (2,1)
• =7. Pierrafortscha, Fribourg (2)
• =7. Rossenges, Vaud (2)
• =9. Buchillon, Vaud (1,9)
• =9. Küsnacht, Zurich

For more information, and to see how tax rates vary between each Swiss council (Gemeinde), check out the official data.