Unhappiest Cities in Germany Revealed: Leipzig and Dresden Rank Low on Glücksatlas 2023

München. According to a study, the happiest people in Germany live in Hamburg – the unhappiest in Leipzig. This emerges from a survey that was presented on Wednesday.

As part of the SKL major city ranking, the reasons for the differences in satisfaction were examined. “Particularly important for citizens’ satisfaction with their city are the level of income, personal health, the feeling of togetherness of the citizens and the work of the public administration,” says Bernd Raffelhüschen from the University of Freiburg, who carried out the SKL major city ranking. A total of 3,001 people from 12 major cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Dresden, Hanover, Bremen, Essen) were surveyed.

According to the study, in addition to Hamburg, people in Frankfurt am Main and Munich are very satisfied. The three cities stand out due to above-average personal happiness values ​​and very good satisfaction with urban characteristics such as the business location. Berlin comes in 4th place. “People here show a high level of satisfaction with their life, income and working life, but are dissatisfied with what the city has to offer, especially with the administration,” the statement said.

In addition to the rather weaker economic data, the lower half of the ranking combines general dissatisfaction with traffic, safety and public administration. In Cologne (7th place), Essen (8th place) and Bremen (10th place) the unemployment and underemployment figures are also rather high.

The last two places, Leipzig (12th place) and Dresden (11th place), have a slightly older population and comparatively weak economic figures. Dresden is the opposite of Berlin. The people of Dresden tend to be dissatisfied with their personal lives, but enthusiastic about their city. However, they are not far removed from the level of life satisfaction in West German cities such as Bremen or Stuttgart.

Income and business location are important for happiness

According to the study, satisfaction with income and the city’s rating as a business location have the greatest influence on how satisfied citizens are in a city. The leader Hamburg is an attractive port metropolis with high added value and strong purchasing power. The gross domestic product per capita is 64,000 euros. In comparison, in Leipzig, which brings up the rear, it is only 38,000 euros. These differences are also reflected in satisfaction with income, which is high in Hamburg and low in Leipzig.

Sense of belonging is another important factor in city happiness. It is felt all the more strongly when citizens can move about their city safely and relaxed, when the neighborhood works and when people like to volunteer in clubs, in the community or at city festivals. Cities (e.g. Leipzig, Berlin, Bremen, Essen) whose citizens are dissatisfied with the sense of community tend to be dissatisfied with the administration and the security situation in their city. (SZ/fa)

The Süddeutsche Klassenlotterie (SKL) has been a partner of the Glücksatlas since 2022. The 2023 city ranking is published as a special study as part of the SKL Glücksatlas.