Where to live in Germany
We track 12 cities in Germany, including Berlin, Munich and Nuremberg. Average temperatures run from 10°C to 12°C. We estimate a couple needs €3,464 to €3,844 a month to live centrally. Germany sits in our high tax tier. For citizens from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, long-term residency is comparatively open.
12 questions, about 4 minutes, no account needed. Taking the quiz is free, and so is seeing your #1 city. Full results for both of you are a one-time US$12 (€12 in Europe).
- Tax tier
- High
- High personal income tax
- Languages
- German
- Good English
- Safety
- 65/100
- country-level
- Healthcare
- 79/100
- country-level
- Internet
- ~90 Mbps
- median fixed broadband
The 12 cities we track
| City | Size | Setting | Avg temp | Rain a year | Est. cost a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aachen | mid-sized | near the coast | 11°C | 876 mm | €3,464 |
| Berlin | large | near the coast | 11°C | 584 mm | €3,844 |
| Dresden | mid-sized | inland | 11°C | 645 mm | €3,576 |
| Düsseldorf | mid-sized | inland | 12°C | 803 mm | €3,590 |
| Frankfurt am Main | mid-sized | inland | 12°C | 660 mm | €3,597 |
| Hamburg | large | coastal | 11°C | 776 mm | €3,762 |
| Hannover | mid-sized | near the coast | 11°C | 668 mm | €3,562 |
| Köln | large | inland | 12°C | 784 mm | €3,665 |
| Leipzig | mid-sized | inland | 11°C | 529 mm | €3,559 |
| Munich | large | inland | 10°C | 940 mm | €3,722 |
| Nuremberg | mid-sized | inland | 10°C | 679 mm | €3,563 |
| Stuttgart | mid-sized | inland | 11°C | 686 mm | €3,588 |
Source: City size from GeoNames, temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages), rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals), coast distance from Natural Earth. Cost is our model estimate for a couple living centrally.
Taxes
Germany sits in our high tax tier: high personal income tax. The tier applies to every city here, and couples who cap tax below it will not see these cities in their results.
Source: OurNextCity tax tiers, assigned by hand from each country's top marginal personal income tax rate and overall tax reputation, with no fixed rate cut-offs. Coarse by design; not tax advice.
Residency and visas
Comparatively open, for people from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. Germany's realistic long-term routes are skilled employment (EU Blue Card or skilled-worker visa with an employer) and the points-based Opportunity Card to job-search then settle; there is no golden-visa or passive-income retirement route, and EUR was converted at about 1.16 USD/EUR.
Citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland have freedom-of-movement or simplified residency rights here.
The cheapest self-funded routes we track for Germany:
- Income: about $1,270 a month (Germany Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte) sufficient-means / blocked account (Sperrkonto), EUR 1,091/mo (EUR 13,092/yr) as of 2026; as of June 2026)
For short visits, 93 of 198 passports can enter visa-free and 105 need a visa in advance.
Source: OurNextCity residency dataset, hand-reviewed approximations researched against published immigration rules, figures as of June 2026. Not legal advice: check the official source before you apply. Short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset (ilyankou, MIT).