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Living in Luzern

In Luzern, rent averages €17.56 per m² a month (2021) and unemployment is 1.7% (2022).

The resident counts list 62,526 Swiss permanent residents and 716 non-permanent residents at the end of 2024. The population of Luzern, in Switzerland, was 86,234 at the end of 2024.

Last checked 2026-10-1025 sources

Population86,234people31 Dec 2024Official source · Switzerland official denominator source
Median gross salary (region)7,445EUR/month31 Dec 2024Official source · www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch
Average net rent17.56EUR/m²/month31 Dec 2021Official source · Durchschnittliche Nettomietpreise in CHF/m² nach Wohnungsgrösse und Bauperiode, Stadt St.Gallen und Vergleichsstädte, Zeitraum 2021-23
Unemployment rate1.7%country median 2.3% — 26% belowOfficial source · Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS/FSO), source data SECO
Recorded crime12,894incidents per 100,000country median 11,440 — 13% aboveOfficial source · Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik 2025 — Kanton Luzern
PM2.5, annual mean9.8µg/m³country median 8.8 — 11% aboveOfficial source · cdn.who.int

Lower unemployment than 74% of Swiss cities that publish it and dirtier air than 74% of Swiss cities that publish it.

Which Switzerland-wide rules apply when you move to Luzern?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Housing and cost

How much does it cost to rent in Luzern?

Average net cold rent is about 17.56 EUR/m² per month (2021-2023), excluding heating and operating charges.

Published average over existing tenancies; a specific flat can sit either side of it. Asking-rent series, where present, are separate rows in the table.

  • Average net rent (nettokalt): 17.56 EUR/m²/month · Durchschnittliche Nettomietpreise in CHF/m² nach Wohnungsgrösse und Bauperiode, Stadt St.Gallen und Vergleichsstädte, Zeitraum 2021-233
What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month
Luzern recurring monthly costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€71
Mobile plan, 10 GB€56
MetricValuePeriodSource
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited70.68 EUR/month30 Sept 2026Swisscom blue Internet S13Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB56.03 EUR/month30 Sept 2026Salt Swiss 10GB9Official · national market
Average net rent (nettokalt)17.56 EUR/m²/month31 Dec 2021Durchschnittliche Nettomietpreise in CHF/m² nach Wohnungsgrösse und Bauperiode, Stadt St.Gallen und Vergleichsstädte, Zeitraum 2021-233Official

Is Luzern a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile
Remote worker54%strong on work, weak on safety · range 46–62%
Skilled employee64%strong on work, weak on education · range 55–73%
Student27%strong on legal route, weak on education · range 17–37%
Family40%strong on family, weak on education · range 31–49%
Retirement38%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 28–48%

Worked out from these numbers

What does a 60 m² flat cost?

About 1,054 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of about 17.56 EUR/m² per month, before heating and operating charges.

Heating, water and operating charges come on top, and a specific flat can sit either side of an average.

Source period: 2021-2023

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Luzern?

The unemployment rate is 1.7 % (2022). Source: Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS/FSO), source data SECO1

Unemployment across cities in SwitzerlandUnemployment in Luzern is 1.7%. Of 176 cities with data, 52 have unemployment of 2 to under 3%.

Unemployment rate (%)

MetricValuePeriodSource
Median gross salary (regional)7,445 EUR/month31 Dec 2024www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch16Official
Unemployment rate1.7 %country median 2.3%31 Dec 2022Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS/FSO), source data SECO1Official

What does a salary buy in Luzern?

Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.

regional median gross pay: €7,445 (pxweb.bfs.admin.ch, 2024-12-31).
Left over each month€5,032of €6,212 take-home
  • Rent
  • Internet
  • Mobile
  • Left over
Line-by-line breakdown and sources
Each month€
Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions; euro amounts at the ECB average for 2026-08.€6,212
Rent, 60 m²€17.56/m² · official · Durchschnittliche Nettomietpreise in CHF/m² nach Wohnungsgrösse und Bauperiode, Stadt St.Gallen und Vergleichsstädte, Zeitraum 2021-23 · 2021-12-31− €1,054
Internet€71 · official · Swisscom blue Internet S · 2026-09-30− €71
Mobile plan€56 · official · Salt Swiss 10GB · 2026-09-30− €56
Other everyday billsnot published for this city: public transport pass, utilities—
Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish€5,032
Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Luzern Salary needed to live in Luzern

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Luzern. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

arbeit.swiss — Public employment service

State Secretariat for Economic Affairs / public employment service

Job SearchCareer Counselling

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Luzern. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Safety

How safe is Luzern?

Police recorded about 12,894 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik 2025 — Kanton Luzern8

Recorded crime across major citiesLuzern highlighted among comparable cities
Recorded crime across major cities with Luzern highlighted

recorded incidents per 100k residents

Solothurn25,779
Bern20,196
Interlaken18,896
Olten15,369
Kloten13,097
St. Gallen9,783
Winterthur7,988
Muri bei Bern5,389
Wetzikon (ZH)4,048
Küsnacht (ZH)3,718
MetricValuePeriodSource
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents12,894 incidents per 100,000country median 11,44031 Dec 2025Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik 2025 — Kanton Luzern8Official

Mobility and administration

MetricValuePeriodSource
Nearest airportEML3 Aug 2026OurAirports6Official
Distance to nearest airport5 km3 Aug 2026OurAirports6Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Luzern. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.

Country-level information

Cantonal integration programmes — Newcomer Adaptation

SEM and cantons

For migrants, refugees.

German, French, ItalianIn Person

fide language promotion system — State Language Course

State Secretariat for Migration (SEM)

For adult migrants.

German, French, ItalianIn Person, Online
National programme information is not treated as proof of a course location in Luzern.

Find courses near Luzern

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Luzern?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 9.8 µg/m³ (2021) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: cdn.who.int2

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

Temperature through the yearAverage daytime high and night-time low, °C
Rainfall through the yearAverage monthly precipitation, mm
Sunshine through the yearAverage monthly sunshine, hours
Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

PM2.5 across cities in SwitzerlandAnnual PM2.5 in Luzern is 9.8 µg/m³. Of 43 cities with data, 12 have annual PM2.5 of 8 to under 9 µg/m³.

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

MetricValuePeriodSource
PM2.5 — annual mean9.8 µg/m³country median 8.831 Dec 2021cdn.who.int2Official
Average daytime high by monthJan 4 · Feb 5.8 · Mar 10.9 · Apr 15.3 · May 19.4 · Jun 22.9 · Jul 24.9 · Aug 24.3 · Sep 19.6 · Oct 14.3 · Nov 8.2 · Dec 4.5 °C31 Dec 1991World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI15Official
Average night-time low by monthJan -1.6 · Feb -1.7 · Mar 1.5 · Apr 4.8 · May 9.1 · Jun 12.8 · Jul 14.6 · Aug 14.4 · Sep 10.8 · Oct 6.9 · Nov 2.2 · Dec -0.8 °C31 Dec 1991World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI15Official
Average temperature by monthJan 1.1 · Feb 1.9 · Mar 6 · Apr 9.9 · May 14.1 · Jun 17.6 · Jul 19.5 · Aug 18.9 · Sep 14.8 · Oct 10.3 · Nov 5.1 · Dec 1.9 °C31 Dec 1991World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI15Official
Average precipitation by monthJan 55.8 · Feb 61.3 · Mar 75.4 · Apr 96.5 · May 148.7 · Jun 164.5 · Jul 165.5 · Aug 170 · Sep 109.2 · Oct 88.2 · Nov 77.9 · Dec 78.4 mm31 Dec 1991World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI15Official
Average sunshine by monthJan 50.8 · Feb 79.9 · Mar 133.3 · Apr 161.5 · May 172.7 · Jun 186.9 · Jul 208.9 · Aug 198.4 · Sep 145.8 · Oct 99.4 · Nov 53.4 · Dec 39 hours31 Dec 1991World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI15Official

Similar climate. In Switzerland: Zürich ±0.4 °C. Elsewhere: Berlin (Germany) ±0.6 °C, Cottbus (Germany) ±0.7 °C, Hoyerswerda (Germany) ±0.8 °C, Werl (Germany) ±0.9 °C, Traunreut (Germany) ±0.9 °C. Twenty closest, compared month by month

Monthly highs and lows against the 1991–2020 station normals of the nearest station; ± is the average monthly difference.

Population and city profile

The city covered 29.1 km² in 2021.

How many people live in Luzern?

The published population was 86,234 people in 2024. Source: Switzerland official denominator source14

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Cars per 1,000 residents378.7 cars/1000 residents31 Dec 2024Swiss Federal Statistical Office/OFS/BFS12Official
City area29.08 km²2021Exact BFS Arealstatistik municipality area: sum of exhaustive NOAS top-level categories 1-4, PERIOD=A5 (2020-2025), FJ=2021, municipality REGION state 2025-01-01; hectares converted to km².4Official
Foreign non-permanent residents716 people31 Dec 2024Permanent and non permanent resident population by municipality, resident type and citizenship, 20247Official
Foreign residents23,708 people31 Dec 2024Ständige Wohnbevölkerung, Staatsangehörigkeit = Ausland, Gemeinde grain, 31.12.2024.10Official
Non-permanent residents716 people31 Dec 2024Permanent and non permanent resident population by municipality, resident type and citizenship, 20247Official
Population density2,965 people/km²31 Dec 2024Reproducible density from BFS STATPOP permanent population at 31.12.2024 divided by the exact official BFS municipality area denominator (2020-2025; FJ=2021; area observed_at=2021).4Official
Population86,234 people31 Dec 2024Switzerland official denominator source14Official
Swiss non-permanent residents0 people31 Dec 2024Permanent and non permanent resident population by municipality, resident type and citizenship, 20247Official
Swiss permanent residents62,526 people31 Dec 2024Permanent and non permanent resident population by municipality, resident type and citizenship, 20247Official

International community in Luzern

Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.

Country of birth

Non-permanent resident population, total sex, all ages · 2025-12-31

Published groupPeopleShare
Place of birth - total721100.0%
Abroad70397.5%
In Switzerland182.5%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source11

Country of birth

Permanent resident population, total sex, all ages · 2025-12-31

Published groupPeopleShare
Place of birth - total86,699100.0%
In Switzerland56,92965.7%
Abroad29,77034.3%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source11

Citizenship

Non-permanent resident population, total sex, all ages · 2025-12-31

Published groupPeopleShare
Citizenship - total721100.0%
Germany14720.4%
Spain628.6%
Ukraine537.4%
Romania446.1%
Italy425.8%
Portugal283.9%
Poland212.9%
Austria192.6%
Serbia172.4%
Show 60 more groups
Published groupPeopleShare
Hungary162.2%
Netherlands141.9%
United States131.8%
India111.5%
Belgium101.4%
France101.4%
United Kingdom101.4%
Sweden101.4%
Bulgaria81.1%
Finland81.1%
Greece81.1%
Norway81.1%
Croatia81.1%
Afghanistan81.1%
Slovakia71.0%
Czechia71.0%
Brazil71.0%
No indication60.8%
Russia60.8%
Colombia60.8%
China60.8%
Türkiye50.7%
Slovenia50.7%
Kosovo50.7%
Eritrea50.7%
Albania40.6%
Denmark40.6%
Ireland40.6%
Luxembourg40.6%
North Macedonia40.6%
Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)40.6%
Japan40.6%
Liechtenstein30.4%
Lithuania30.4%
Benin30.4%
Tunisia30.4%
Mexico30.4%
Indonesia30.4%
South Korea30.4%
Syria30.4%
Vietnam30.4%
Australia30.4%
Latvia20.3%
Egypt20.3%
Dominican Republic20.3%
Paraguay20.3%
Sri Lanka20.3%
Stateless10.1%
Cyprus10.1%
Moldova10.1%
Algeria10.1%
Morocco10.1%
Mauritius10.1%
Canada10.1%
Cambodia10.1%
Philippines10.1%
Thailand10.1%
Bangladesh10.1%
Armenia10.1%
Azerbaijan10.1%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source11

Alternatives for people set on Luzern

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Kriens as a Luzern alternative in the same region

3 km away, better on 2 of 5 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1. Rent cannot be compared like for like.

  • Recorded crime, per 100k: 4,612 Kriens vs 12,894 Luzern−64%
  • Rent: €17.85/m² (2024) Kriens vs €17.56/m² (2021) Luzernno percentage
  • Residents: 30,008 Kriens vs 86,234 Luzern−65%
  • Nearest airport: 7.0 km Kriens vs 5.0 km Luzern+40%
  • Unemployment: 1.6% Kriens vs 1.7% Luzern−6%
  • Median gross pay, region: €7,445 Kriens vs €7,445 Luzernsame level

Biel/Bienne as a Luzern alternative in the same country

81 km away, better on 2 of 5 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1. Recorded crime, per 100k cannot be compared like for like.

  • Nearest airport: 31.0 km Biel/Bienne vs 5.0 km Luzern+520%
  • Rent: €14.52/m² Biel/Bienne vs €17.56/m² Luzern−17%
  • Recorded crime, per 100k: 15,776 Biel/Bienne vs 12,894 Luzernno percentage
  • Annual PM2.5: 7.7 µg/m³ Biel/Bienne vs 9.8 µg/m³ Luzern−21%
  • Residents: 56,896 Biel/Bienne vs 86,234 Luzern−34%
  • Median gross pay, region: €7,310 Biel/Bienne vs €7,445 Luzernsame level

Cities near Luzern

Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Alternative cities in Switzerland

Other cities in Switzerland to compare with Luzern, nearest in population first.

All Switzerland cities

How does Luzern compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Luzern's.

Luzern in rankings

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Luzern under the national coverage rules.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide
Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 4 to 15, and public school is free. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: Einführungsklassen / integrative DaZ-Sprachförderung (per canton). How to enrol a child (edk.ch).

A country-wide rule for Switzerland; Luzern's school authority applies it locally.

Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2025–2026.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Luzern?

The published population was 86,234 people in 2024. Source: Switzerland official denominator source.

How much does it cost to rent in Luzern?

Average net cold rent is about 17.56 EUR/m² per month (2021-2023), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 1,229 EUR a month before utilities. Source: Durchschnittliche Nettomietpreise in CHF/m² nach Wohnungsgrösse und Bauperiode, Stadt St.Gallen und Vergleichsstädte, Zeitraum 2021-23.

Is the air quality good in Luzern?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 9.8 µg/m³ (2021) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: cdn.who.int.

How safe is Luzern?

Police recorded about 12,894 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik 2025 — Kanton Luzern.

What is the unemployment rate in Luzern?

The unemployment rate is 1.7 % (2022). Source: Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS/FSO), source data SECO.

What is the typical salary around Luzern?

The median gross salary is 7,445 EUR/month. Source: www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch.

Is Luzern a good place to live?

Luzern may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Which cities are near Luzern?

Kriens, Emmen, Horw, Ebikon, Adligenswil are near Luzern. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.

How many people born in Place of birth - total live in Luzern?

The official country of birth distribution records 721 people (100.0%) in the source-defined population for 2025-12-31. This is a country of birth measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Luzern, Switzerland: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety [ImmigrationDB compilation; version ce4ae310182662619849bf9443326f75]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/ch/1061-luzern/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_luzern-switzerland-population-rent-salary-jobs-safety_2c13be43d3d5,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Luzern, Switzerland: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {ce4ae310182662619849bf9443326f75},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/ch/1061-luzern/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
Markdown citation
[Luzern, Switzerland: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/ch/1061-luzern/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version ce4ae310182662619849bf9443326f75; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown
  1. Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS/FSO), source data SECO dam-api.bfs.admin.ch · checked 2026-08-04
  2. cdn.who.int cdn.who.int · checked 2026-08-26
  3. Durchschnittliche Nettomietpreise in CHF/m² nach Wohnungsgrösse und Bauperiode, Stadt St.Gallen und Vergleichsstädte, Zeitraum 2021-23 stadt.sg.ch · checked 2026-10-09
  4. Exact BFS Arealstatistik municipality area: sum of exhaustive NOAS top-level categories 1-4, PERIOD=A5 (2020-2025), FJ=2021, municipality REGION state 2025-01-01; hectares converted to km². disseminate.stats.swiss · checked 2026-07-15
  5. oecd.org place coordinates oecd.org · checked 2026-08-28
  6. OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
  7. Permanent and non permanent resident population by municipality, resident type and citizenship, 2024 pxweb.bfs.admin.ch · checked 2026-07-18
  8. Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik 2025 — Kanton Luzern Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik 2025 · polizei.lu.ch · checked 2026-09-24
  9. Salt Swiss 10GB salt.ch · checked 2026-09-15
  10. Ständige Wohnbevölkerung, Staatsangehörigkeit = Ausland, Gemeinde grain, 31.12.2024. pxweb.bfs.admin.ch · checked 2024-12-31
Show 15 more sources
  1. Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) pxweb.bfs.admin.ch · checked 2026-08-30
  2. Swiss Federal Statistical Office/OFS/BFS pxweb.bfs.admin.ch · checked 2026-08-08
  3. Swisscom blue Internet S swisscom.ch · checked 2026-09-15
  4. Switzerland official denominator source pxweb.bfs.admin.ch · checked 2026-07-14
  5. World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI ncei.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-02
  6. www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch pxweb.bfs.admin.ch · checked 2026-08-27
  7. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  8. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  9. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  10. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  11. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  12. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  13. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  14. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  15. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06

Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.