---
title: "Rent & Housing Costs in Switzerland — Geo-Parity"
description: "Rent in Switzerland: about $1,416/month for a 70m² flat, 21.5% of the local median wage. Measured against local wages and your own income."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/housing/switzerland/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/housing.json?country=CH"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
[Expenses](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=housing) · Switzerland

# Rent and housing costs in Switzerland

About **$1,416** a month for a 70m² flat — **21.5%** of what a median local earner takes home. Measured from real published rents.

## The figures

- **Rent, 70m² flat**: $1,416/mo
- measured · 10 cities
- **Share of local median wage**: 21.5%
- local median ≈ $6,578/mo
- **Price-to-income**: 123.6%
- of this country's own long-run average
- **Price-to-rent**: 130.1%
- above 100 favours renting
- **Mortgage rate**: —
- not published free outside the euro area
- **Housing price level**: 214.4
- EU27 = 100 (Eurostat)

Updated 2026-09-01. Price-to-income and price-to-rent compare Switzerland with its own long-run average, not with other countries. National averages — not financial advice.

## Rent by city

Real published figures for 10 cities, for a 70m² flat.

| Biel/Bienne | $1,163/mo |
| --- | --- |
| St. Gallen | $1,183/mo |
| Lugano | $1,210/mo |
| Lucerne | $1,343/mo |
| Bern | $1,401/mo |
| Winterthur | $1,416/mo |
| Basel | $1,461/mo |
| Lausanne | $1,533/mo |
| Geneva | $1,604/mo |
| Zurich | $1,693/mo |

## Countries with similar rent

- [Ireland](https://geo-parity.com/housing/ireland/) — $1,355/mo , 24% of local wage
- [Canada](https://geo-parity.com/housing/canada/) — $1,357/mo , 37.2% of local wage
- [Sweden](https://geo-parity.com/housing/sweden/) — $1,373/mo , 32.3% of local wage
- [New Zealand](https://geo-parity.com/housing/new-zealand/) — $1,424/mo , 53.4% of local wage
- [Norway](https://geo-parity.com/housing/norway/) — $1,459/mo , 23% of local wage
- [United Kingdom](https://geo-parity.com/housing/united-kingdom/) — $1,466/mo , 40.8% of local wage

See also: [all countries ranked](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=housing) · [what people earn in Switzerland](https://geo-parity.com/wage-bands/switzerland/) · [healthcare costs](https://geo-parity.com/healthcare/switzerland/)

## Frequently asked questions

How much is rent in Switzerland?

About $1,416 a month for a 70m² flat — measured from 10 cities published by Eurostat. That is 21.5% of the local median wage of roughly $6,578 a month. A national average, not a quote: what you pay depends on the city, the neighbourhood and when you look.

Can I afford to live in Switzerland on a remote salary?

That depends on the salary, which is the point. Rent of $1,416 is 21.5% of a local median wage; on a $6,000/month remote income it would be about 24%. The gap between those two figures is the arbitrage, and the housing tool computes it for any income you enter.

Is buying in Switzerland good value right now?

Price-to-income currently sits at 123.6% of Switzerland's own long-run average, so housing is 24% less affordable than its historical norm. Price-to-rent is at 130.1% of its own average — above 100 favours renting. These compare Switzerland with its own past, not with other countries.

Where does this data come from?

OECD (price-to-income and price-to-rent), the ECB (mortgage rates, euro area only) and Eurostat (measured city rents and housing price levels), refreshed at build time — last updated 2026-09-01. OECD — DSD_AN_HOUSE_PRICES, HPI_YDH_AVG (% of long-term average); OECD — DSD_AN_HOUSE_PRICES, HPI_RPI_AVG (% of long-term average); ECB Data Portal — MIR, new housing loans to households (euro area); Eurostat — prc_ppp_ind, ppp_cat A0104 (EU27=100); Eurostat Urban Audit — SA1049V, average annual rent per m² (EUR); Eurostat Urban Audit — SA1053V, apartment price per m² (EUR); Eurostat Urban Audit — SA1051V, average apartment price (EUR); HUD USER — Fair Market Rents FY2026, One-Bedroom (40th-percentile GROSS rent, incl. tenant-paid utilities, USD/month).

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Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/housing/switzerland/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/housing.json?country=CH