The majority of cities and municipalities in the southwest have debts – totaling billions. Smaller municipalities tend to be debt-free. But there is also a larger city there.
The number of debt-free communities in Baden-Württemberg has increased. At the end of last year, 101 of the 1,101 municipalities had no debts to credit institutions or companies – around one in ten, as the State Statistical Office in Fellbach near Stuttgart announced. A year earlier, 93 communities and their own businesses were debt-free.
According to statistics, the largest municipality without debt is the city of Bietigheim-Bissingen (Ludwigsburg district). However, the debt-free places are predominantly smaller communities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, and in most cases even fewer than 5,000.
While the number of indebted municipalities reportedly fell, total debt increased: at the end of the year, the debt of municipalities and their own businesses in Baden-Württemberg was 16.6 billion euros – a year earlier it was 15.8 billion euros. On average, there is currently just under 1,500 euros in debt per citizen.
According to the statistics office, the urban districts are more indebted than municipalities belonging to the district. In the municipalities belonging to the district, the debt tends to be higher as the population increases.
