Augsburg: The Unlikely Happiness Capital of Bavaria's Megacities
People in Augsburg, Bavarian city-states, are the happiest among residents. Research findings support this. - Cities in Bavaria with the Most Content Individuals: Augsburg Tops the List of Joyful Residents
Here's a surprise! The smallest of the big Bavarian cities takes the lead: Augsburg. In a study by the South German Class Lottery (SKL), this Swabian city ranks 4th among Germany's 40 largest cities with over 200,000 inhabitants, beating Munich and Nuremberg. Despite average indicators like income, healthcare, and green spaces, Augsburg's residents consistently report high subjective life satisfaction.
Munich slides to 27th position, dropping three places compared to the previous year. Nuremberg experiences a similar slump, falling from 33rd to 36th place. Kassel takes the nationwide top spot, followed by Krefeld and Düsseldorf. Rostock grabs the bottom spot.
What's the secret behind Augsburg's contentment?
The city is considered an "overperformer" in the ranking. Researchers call cities with high subjective happiness levels but average or only above-average objective indicators like income, healthcare, and green spaces as "overperformers."
Several factors contribute to Augsburg's high quality of life:
- A low crime rate keeps residents feeling safe.
- A low school dropout rate ensures a well-educated population.
- The easy access to amenities such as supermarkets, doctors, and post offices by foot or bike makes daily life more convenient.
However, a higher proportion of one-person households (57.5% compared to 50% nationwide) poses a future challenge for the city, as living alone may lead to loneliness and social isolation, which can negatively affect life satisfaction.
City Size and Life Satisfaction
The general trend is that the larger a city, the lower the life satisfaction of its inhabitants. Only two of the ten largest German cities, Düsseldorf and Hamburg, make it to the top ten in the happiness survey, while smaller cities like Augsburg, Aachen, and Münster are also included. Frankfurt am Main and Berlin rank 35th and 37th, respectively.
Bernd Raffelhuschen of the University of Freiburg explains that a critical factor for high life satisfaction in a large city is the even distribution of satisfaction. In cities like Frankfurt am Main and Rostock, the gap between very satisfied and strongly dissatisfied people is particularly wide.
Smaller cities score points for factors like a student-influenced environment, a young population, ample green spaces, and good medical care. However, objectively measurable areas like infrastructure, education, and culture are usually only above-average in these cities.
Munich: The Rent Trap
Munich is an example of how the uneven distribution of life satisfaction affects a city's ranking: even though Munich is the wealthiest and safest city in Germany, its housing situation is intensely pressured, with many residents expressing dissatisfaction with their living conditions. Moreover, Munich has a high car density, with large areas dedicated to automobiles and road traffic. Nuremberg faces a worsening economic situation.
Positive Overall Trend
The Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy surveyed a total of 23,468 residents aged 16 to 78 between January 2022 and April 2025 for their evaluation. A positive trend compared to the previous year is evident, which the SKL attributes to the fact that the 2024 survey still includes data from the Corona year 2021.
The city ranking focused on comparing subjective life satisfaction with objectively measured quality of life. Statistics on housing situation, demographics, prosperity, and environmental quality were considered for quality of life.
- Augsburg
- Ranking
- Munich
- Bavaria
- Nuremberg
- SKL
- Germany
- Düsseldorf
- Rostock
- Urban residents
- Frankfurt am Main
- Kassel
- Krefeld
- Bicycle
- The employment policy of cities like Augsburg, a key factor in their high quality of life, may include community policies that promote job opportunities and work-life balance to maintain a well-educated population and reduce the proportion of one-person households.
- In the health-and-wellness sector, a comprehensive employment policy focusing on mental-health support and well-being programs can be instrumental in improving the lifestyle and happiness of urban residents, as demonstrated by the 'overperforming' city of Augsburg.
- The home-and-garden industry could benefit from the employment policy of cities, which prioritizes the convenience of daily life by ensuring easy access to amenities like supermarkets and doctors, thus promoting a sense of contentment and subjective life satisfaction as observed in Augsburg.
