Large Swiss cities like Zurich and Geneva are becoming increasingly expensive to live in, with scarce affordable housing options. That’s why many families move to the suburban areas – with some small municipalities offering more bang for their money.
According to the consulting firm Wüest Partner, Zurich has experienced a loss of approximately 21,500 residents to other Swiss municipalities between 2021 and 2025 – a record high.
Consequently, rents in towns directly bordering Zurich have risen sharply, which means they are not necessarily best options for families seeking to cut costs of living in large cities.
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Which communities are best?
Wüest Partner’s ranking reveals which suburban municipalities in the Zurich area are the most attractive for families.
To find out, it compared 116 towns, each with a population of at least 10,000.
The calculation is based on a four-person family: the parents with a combined gross annual income of 180,000 francs, renting a 130-square-metre apartment. Their combined costs for rent and taxes were weighed against factors such as local employment opportunities, accessibility, and infrastructure.
These are the study’s findings:
Zurich and Aarau communities are top picks.
Wettingen (AG) tops the ranking of the best alternatives to a big city, followed by Urdorf (ZH), Dietikon (ZH), Spreitenbach, (AG), as well as Zurich municipalities of Wallisellen, Kloten, Uster, Schlieren, and Opfikon are at the top.
But that’s not all
This particular ranking is heavily focused on the Swiss-German part, and especially the Zurich area.
This doesn’t mean, however, that towns in other regions are not worthy of the title.
In the summer of 2026, the Residential Attractiveness Indicator 2026 study by UBS bank analysed all Swiss municipalities across 10 regions to identify the best places to live in terms of infrastructure, leisure opportunities, as well as cost of living for families with two children.
This is what it found.
“The cantonal capitals Solothurn, Fribourg, Sion, Basel, Lucerne, Aarau, Chur and St. Gallen, as well as the medium-sized towns of Vevey (Vaud) and Lugano, (Ticino) are the most attractive residential municipalities in their respective regions for a family with two children and an average income,” it reported.
The winners in that study were:
Northwest
Solothurn, Biel/Bienne, and Solothurn
Basel region
Basel, Riehen, and Bettingen
Zurich area
Aarau, Baden, and Schaffhausen
Lake Constance region
St. Gallen, Wil, and Teufen
Lake Geneva area
Vevey, Lausanne, and Morges
Valais
Sion, Martigny, and Conthey
Bern-Fribourg
Fribourg, Murten, and Bern
Central Switzerland
Lucerne, Schwyz, and Zug
Ticino
Lugano, Locarno, and Tenero-Contra
Eastern Switzerland
Chur, Quarten, and Vaz/Obervaz
