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The German Housing Dilemma: It's Not Just About Rent

Most relocation guides focus on rent levels: "Munich is expensive, Leipzig is cheap." But a city's rent price is almost meaningless on its own .

Munich at €23/m² sounds intimidating, yet the city also pays some of the highest salaries in Germany. Meanwhile, a city with "cheap" €8/m² rent might still leave you with less money at the end of the month if local salaries are low.

The real question isn't "How expensive is rent?" It's "After paying rent, how much do I actually keep?" That requires looking at rent and income together.

To answer this, we analyzed 36 German cities using two authoritative sources: rental data from GREIX (Kiel Institute, Q3 2025) and 2024 median salary data from the Federal Employment Agency . The results surprised us: some "cheap" cities are actually poor deals once income is considered, while one expensive city may be worth its premium because salaries offset higher rent.

How to read this article : All rental prices are cold rent in €/m² (excluding utilities). Salary figures are monthly gross, with net calculated for a single person in tax class 1. Want your personal numbers? Use our Salary Calculator .

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How Much of Your Salary Goes to Rent?

Financial advisors recommend spending no more than 30% of your net income on housing . We calculated this ratio for all 36 cities—this is what the column "Rent / Net (%)" in the table below shows.

How we calculate the rent burden:

• City average cold rent in €/m² (Q3 2025, GREIX)
• Standard 60m² apartment
• Net salary derived from monthly gross median (Dec 2024), single, tax class 1, no church tax
• Formula: (Rent per m² × 60) ÷ Net Monthly Salary × 100

Example (Munich): (23.17 € × 60) ÷ 3,313 € = 42.0% → 42% .

Why this matters: the burden shows how much of take-home pay goes to housing before food, transport, and savings. Crossing 30% typically reduces financial resilience.

Affordability color legend (for rent burden charts):

• 🟢 ≤25% burden: comfortable
• 🟡 25–30% burden: watchlist
• 🔴 >30% burden: financial risk

Seven major German cities now exceed this 30% threshold for a typical 60m² apartment:

⚠️ The Danger Zone : Munich (42%), Berlin (35%), Potsdam (33%), Frankfurt (33%), Hamburg (32%), Köln (32%), and Augsburg (31%) all breach the 30% affordability threshold. In Munich, you're effectively working two weeks per month just to pay rent .

Why this matters more than raw rent prices becomes clear if you compare cities with very different salary levels.

Look at these two scenarios:

Scenario A: Munich

• Gross salary: €5,362 → Net: €3,313
• 60m² rent: €1,390
• After rent: €1,923

Scenario B: Essen

• Gross salary: €4,310 → Net: €2,771
• 60m² rent: €566
• After rent: €2,205

Despite earning €542 less per month in Essen (after tax), you'd have €282 more to spend after housing—an annual savings of €3,384 , more than a full month's net salary. That's the power of the rent-to-income ratio.

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The Complete Data: 36 Cities Ranked

Here's every GREIX-indexed city with current rent, median salary, and—most importantly—how much of your net salary a standard 60m² apartment eats up.

Rent / Net (%) = share of your monthly take-home pay for a 60m² apartment. After Rent = disposable income remaining after housing costs.

Key insights :

• Munich workers spend 42% of their net income on rent vs. Chemnitz at just 16%. Despite earning €938 less net per month, Chemnitz residents have €84 more disposable income after rent.
• Stuttgart offers the best high-salary balance : With Germany's second-highest salary (€5,329 gross, €3,296 net), rent burden at 29% (below the 30% threshold), and moderate rent (€981 for 60m²), Stuttgart residents keep €2,315 after rent —€392 more than Munich and the most among major high-salary cities.
• The takeaway: low rent burden matters more than high gross salary.

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Salary Map: Explore Earnings by Demographic Group

Income varies dramatically not just by city, but by demographic group. Select a group below to see how median gross salaries vary across German regions—essential context for understanding your personal earning potential.

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The Rent Price Map: From €6 to €23 Per Square Meter

Understanding how rental prices vary geographically helps identify opportunities. Here's what you'll pay across all 36 GREIX cities:

The numbers tell a stark story :

• Most expensive : Munich (€23.17), Frankfurt (€17.57), Stuttgart (€16.35)
• Most affordable : Chemnitz (€6.14), Gelsenkirchen (€7.43), Duisburg (€8.21)
• Price gap : Munich rent is 3.8× higher than Chemnitz

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Head-to-Head: Compare Any Two Cities

Considering a relocation? Use this tool to compare cities directly:

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The Winners and Losers: 2025 Affordability Rankings

Cities are ranked by rent burden — the percentage of net salary required for a standard 60m² apartment.

Calculation : (Rent per m² × 60) ÷ Net Monthly Salary × 100

For example, Munich: (23.17 € × 60) ÷ 3,313 € = 41.9% → rounded to 42%

The Ruhr Valley Advantage : Notice how Essen, Dortmund, Duisburg, Bochum, and Gelsenkirchen dominate the affordable list? The Ruhr area offers an unusual combination: decent industrial salaries with rent prices that haven't caught up to national trends. If remote work isn't an option for you, consider the Ruhr.

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What €1,000 Monthly Budget Gets You

To make this tangible, here's what a €1,000 housing budget provides in different cities:

In Chemnitz, €1,000/month gets you a 163m² apartment—essentially house-sized living space. In Munich, the same budget barely covers a small one-bedroom.

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The Remote Work Calculation: Save €12,000 Per Year

With remote work increasingly common, here's what relocation could mean for your finances:

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Choosing the Right City: A Guide by Life Stage

Young Professionals (Starting Out)

Recommended : Leipzig, Dresden, Erfurt, Chemnitz

Lower starting salaries hurt less when rent takes only 20-25% of income. These cities offer:

• Growing startup ecosystems and tech scenes
• Vibrant cultural life and nightlife
• Rising but still-manageable rent (act soon!)

Families (Settling Down)

Recommended : Braunschweig, Dortmund, Essen, Bielefeld

When you need space, these cities deliver:

• Rent burden under 23%
• Strong schools and family infrastructure
• Affordable family-sized apartments (100m²+)
• Good public transportation

Career-Focused Professionals

Recommended : Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Bonn

Sometimes high-salary cities make sense:

• Stuttgart : Tech hub with only 29% burden despite premium rent
• Düsseldorf : Finance and consulting center with manageable costs
• Bonn : Government jobs + 27% burden = excellent long-term stability

Remote Workers

Best strategy : Any city with <25% burden

If your job is location-independent, prioritize pure affordability. A Munich salary in Chemnitz creates instant wealth-building capacity—you could max out retirement accounts, build emergency savings, and still have money left over.

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Five Key Takeaways

1. Ignore gross salary in isolation . A €60,000 job in Munich leaves you with less spending money than a €48,000 job in Dortmund after housing costs.

2. Watch the trends . Berlin was affordable five years ago; it isn't now. Leipzig is affordable today—will it be in 2030? Act while prices are still reasonable.

3. Respect the 30% rule . If a city puts you above 30% rent burden, you're sacrificing long-term financial health for location prestige.

4. Consider the Ruhr Valley . It's Germany's best-kept affordability secret—major cities with small-town rent prices.

5. Calculate your specific situation . Use our Salary Calculator with your exact numbers, then multiply rent by 60m² to see your true housing burden.

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Methodology and Sources

Rental Price Data

• Source : GREIX Rental Price Index
• Publisher : Kiel Institute for the World Economy / ECONtribute
• Period : Q3 2025
• Type : Cold rent asking prices (€/m²)
• Coverage : 36 German cities and districts

Salary Data

• Source : Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit)
• Period : December 2024 release
• Type : Monthly gross median salaries
• Demographics : Total, gender, age group, nationality
• Net Calculation : Tax class 1 (single), no church tax, standard deductions

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