While Switzerland is known globally for wealth, high prices and well-paying jobs, a new study from market researcher GfK has revealed that this affluence is not evenly spread across the country. The report found that while purchasing power per person in Switzerland remains high overall, on average the residents of one canton have nearly double the money to spend than those in another.

Swiss purchasing power the highest in DACH region

To create the study, GfK analysed the average purchasing power of people in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Purchasing power was defined by GfK as a measure of “the nominal disposable net income of the population, including state benefits such as unemployment benefit, child benefit or pensions, and is available for consumer spending, housing, leisure or saving.”

According to the report, for 2024 the average per capita purchasing power in Switzerland stands at 52.566 euros a year, or around 51.500 francs. GfK noted that people in the alpine nation have around 3,2 percent more to spend than they did last year, but much of this new wealth was cancelled out by inflation, which stood at 2,1 percent per year at the end of 2023.

At 52.566 euros a year, average purchasing power in Switzerland is still far higher per capita than in other members of the DACH region. In Austria, average disposable income stood at 29.266 euros, while German purchasing power was calculated at 27.848 euros.

Zug residents have 96 percent more money to spend than Jurans

In 2024, Zug retained its title as offering the highest average purchasing power in Switzerland at 86.431 euros per year per person. Gfk noted that the average resident of Zug can spend 64 percent more a year than the average Swiss resident, and 96 percent more than residents of Canton Jura, the region with the lowest purchasing power at 44.034 euros.

Zug was followed by Canton Schwyz (76.564 euros per year), Nidwalden (66.405) and Zurich (60.831) at the top of the ranking. The report noted that eight Swiss cantons have disposable incomes above the national average.

When it came to specific towns, the Schwyz community of Höfe was ranked first. There, the average resident has a purchasing power of 131.932 euros per year. This is 3,4 times higher than in the Swiss region with the smallest purchasing power, that being the Bernina district of Graubünden with 38.590 euros per year.

Swiss cantons and regions with the highest purchasing power

In all, here are the 10 Swiss cantons with the highest average purchasing power per capita (in euros per year):

1. Zug (86.431)
2. Schwyz (76.564)
3. Nidwalden (66.405)
4. Zurich (60.831)
5. Obwalden (58.504)
6. Appenzell Innerrhoden (56.235)
7. Basel-Land (54.815)
8. Geneva (52.716)
9. Lucerne (51.959)
10. Basel-Stadt (51.762)

Here are the 10 Swiss towns and regions with the highest levels of purchasing power per person:

1. Höfe, Schwyz (131.932)
2. Meilen, Zurich (86.859)
3. Zug (86.431)
4. Küssnacht, Schwyz (78.251)
5. March, Schwyz (70.598)
6. Horgen, Zurich (69.208)
7. Nidwalden (66.405)
8. Lavaux-Oron, Vaud (64.022)
9. Affoltern, Zurich (63.694)
10. Einsiedeln, Schwyz (61.223)

For more information about the study, check out the official website.