Vicinus

Genève vs Luzern

Luzern leaves you CHF 6’559 more per year than Genève (CHF 547 a month).Per year, for the household and income above; median insurer; average rent for 2 rooms (single), 3 rooms (couple) or 4 rooms (family). Excludes commute costs. The better value in each row is highlighted.Hints, not a verdict; they don't change money left or the order. Rent > ⅓ income: 12 × the average net rent for your flat size is more than a third of your gross household income. Many landlords and agencies expect rent to stay within about a third of income; they usually count rent with service charges, which this figure leaves out, so the real share is higher. Vacancy < 0.5%: fewer than 1 in 200 dwellings stood empty and on offer on 1 June 2026 (BFS). The federal housing office sees the market in balance at about 1.5% and tight below 1%; below 0.5% flats are very hard to find. In small communes a few flats change the rate a lot.Source: Federal Tax Administration (FTA/ESTV), tax burden statistics 2026; reference date tax year 2026.Source: Federal Tax Administration (FTA/ESTV), tax multipliers 2026; reference date tax year 2026.Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), health insurance premiums 2027; reference date 2027 premiums (published Sept 2026).Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO/BFS), Structural Survey 2023; reference date 2023 (Structural Survey).Source: Alliance SwissPass, tariffs T650, T654, T603; reference date T650 prices valid from 2023-12-10 (edition 2026-06-01); GA CHF 3995 (T654 edition 2026-06-01).All sources →

Left per yearCHF 60’707CHF 5’059 a monthCHF 67’266CHF 5’605 a month
Income taxCHF 15’48415.5%
commune multiplier 45.5%
canton 147.5%
CHF 11’53511.5%
commune multiplier 145%
canton 145%
Health insuranceCHF 8’641CHF 6’595
Rent (2 rooms)CHF 15’168estimate
vacancy < 0.5%
CHF 14’604estimate
Income tax at other incomes
CHF 50’000CHF 3’811CHF 3’535
CHF 150’000CHF 30’044CHF 21’299
CHF 250’000CHF 65’275CHF 46’353
People and place
Residents211’15286’699
Language regionFrenchGerman
Foreign nationals50.6%28.2%
Aged 65+16.0%19.4%
Area18.3 km²37.4 km²
12

Living hereAverages over where people live in each commune; noise, runoff and fibre as a share of residents. For sunshine, noise, fibre, electricity and travel times the better value is highlighted (for a price range, its middle); runoff, the vacancy rate and the counts are neutral. Counts from OpenStreetMap may be incomplete.All sources →

Sunshine / year1’980 h1’590 h
Winter sun, Nov–Feb (fog indicator)300 h250 h
Road noise > 55 dB(A)32%23%
Rail noise > 55 dB(A)0.4%1%
Surface runoff > 10 cm9%–
Fibre to the building≈ 90%≈ 93%
Electricity excl. VAT, 5-room flat24.4 Rp./kWh25.6 Rp./kWh
Vacancy rate0.37%0.85%
Getting around
Zürich Airport (ZRH)3 h 271 h 23
Geneva Airport (GVA)21 min3 h 49
Basel-Mulhouse (BSL), via bus 503 h 331 h 48
International school0 min27 min
In the commune
Supermarkets7348
Pharmacies8313
Doctors' practices44191
Schools7645
Childcare, kindergartens2725
Train stations44
Sources (21)
  1. Source: Federal Tax Administration (FTA/ESTV), tax burden statistics 2026. Tax burden in the communes, tax year 2026; reference date tax year 2026; downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  2. Source: Federal Tax Administration (FTA/ESTV), tax multipliers 2026. Tax multipliers (income tax), tax year 2026; reference date tax year 2026; downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  3. Source: Federal Tax Administration (FTA/ESTV), source-tax tariffs 2026 of the cantons. Source-tax tariffs 2026 (wages), all cantons; reference date tariffs valid from 1 January 2026; downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  4. Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), health insurance premiums 2027. Health insurance premiums 2027 (mandatory basic insurance); reference date 2027 premiums (published Sept 2026); downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  5. Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO/BFS), Structural Survey 2023. Average rent by number of rooms (Structural Survey 2023); reference date 2023 (Structural Survey); downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  6. Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO/BFS), STATPOP 2025. Permanent resident population (STATPOP) 2025; reference date 2025-12-31; downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  7. © swisstopo. swissBOUNDARIES3D (swissboundaries3d_2026-01); reference date 2026-01-01; downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  8. Timetable: opentransportdata.swiss; walking network © OpenStreetMap contributors. Public transport commute to job hubs (computed); reference date timetable fahrplan-2026-gtfs2020, 2026-11-10, 2026-11-17, 2026-11-24 07:00–08:30; downloaded 2026-11-02. Licence.
  9. Source: Alliance SwissPass, tariffs T650, T654, T603. Tariffs T650 (route passes) and T654 (GA), editions 2026; reference date T650 prices valid from 2023-12-10 (edition 2026-06-01); GA CHF 3995 (T654 edition 2026-06-01); downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  10. Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO/BFS), language regions. Language regions (Structural Survey 2016–2020); reference date 2016–2020; downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  11. Source: MeteoSwiss. Sunshine duration, climate normals 1991–2020 (spatial analysis); reference date 1991–2020; downloaded 2026-11-03. Licence.
  12. Source: Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN/BAFU), sonBASE. Road and rail noise by day, sonBASE (model 2021); reference date 2021; downloaded 2026-11-03. Licence.
  13. Source: FOEN/BAFU, cantonal building insurers (VKG), Swiss Insurance Association (SVV), surface runoff hazard map. Surface runoff hazard map (2018); reference date 2018-05-22; downloaded 2026-11-03. Licence.
  14. Source: Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM/BAKOM), broadband atlas. Broadband atlas: fibre connections FTTB/FTTH (2026); reference date 2026-04-30; downloaded 2026-11-03. Licence.
  15. Source: Federal Electricity Commission (ElCom), electricity tariffs 2027. Electricity tariffs 2027, consumption profile H4; reference date 2027-01-01; downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  16. Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO/BFS), dwelling vacancy survey 2026. Dwelling vacancy survey 2026; reference date 2026-06-01; downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  17. Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO/BFS), STATPOP 2025. Population and households statistics (STATPOP) 2025, hectare data; reference date 2025-12-31; downloaded 2026-11-03. Licence.
  18. Timetable: opentransportdata.swiss; walking network © OpenStreetMap contributors. Public transport to the airports (computed); reference date timetable fahrplan-2026-gtfs2020, 2026-11-10, 2026-11-17, 2026-11-24 07:00–08:30; downloaded 2026-11-02. Licence.
  19. Schools' own websites; timetable: opentransportdata.swiss. International schools (hand-curated list) and public transport to the nearest; reference date 2026-11-04; downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  20. © OpenStreetMap contributors. OpenStreetMap, Switzerland extract (2026-11-03); reference date 2026-11-03; downloaded 2026-11-04. Licence.
  21. Timetable: opentransportdata.swiss. Swiss public transport timetable (fahrplan-2026-gtfs2020), stations served by trains; reference date 2026-11-10; downloaded 2026-11-02. Licence.