Ranking by median asking rent
| Rank | City | Median asking rent, all sizes | Per square metre and month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geneva | CHF 3,050 | CHF 41.20 |
| 2 | Zurich | CHF 2,550 | CHF 39.60 |
| 3 | Winterthur | CHF 2,162 | CHF 28.90 |
| 4 | Lucerne | CHF 2,060 | CHF 30.00 |
| 5 | Lausanne | CHF 1,940 | CHF 31.30 |
| 6 | Bern | CHF 1,924 | CHF 28.10 |
| 7 | Lugano | CHF 1,830 | CHF 25.00 |
| 8 | Basel | CHF 1,755 | CHF 27.80 |
| 9 | Biel | CHF 1,515 | no figure |
| 10 | St. Gallen | CHF 1,512 | CHF 21.90 |
Source: aptari feed, 9 November 2026. Switzerland as a whole: CHF 1,860. These are not official statistics.
The order changes per square metre
Per square metre the order is Geneva, Zurich, Lausanne, Lucerne, Winterthur, Bern, Basel, Lugano, St. Gallen. Lausanne is fifth by rent and third per square metre. Winterthur is third by rent and fifth per square metre. The rent of the whole flat depends on which sizes are on offer in a city, so the price per square metre is the fairer comparison between cities.
The same flat in eight cities
| City | 2.5 rooms | 3.5 rooms | 4.5 rooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich | CHF 2,569 | CHF 3,188 | CHF 3,800 |
| Winterthur | CHF 2,028 | CHF 2,510 | CHF 2,810 |
| Lucerne | CHF 1,980 | CHF 2,378 | CHF 2,941 |
| Lausanne | CHF 1,820 | CHF 2,490 | CHF 3,000 |
| Basel | CHF 1,758 | CHF 2,120 | CHF 2,870 |
| Bern | CHF 1,725 | CHF 2,200 | CHF 2,830 |
| Lugano | CHF 1,700 | CHF 1,940 | CHF 2,900 |
| St. Gallen | CHF 1,450 | CHF 1,602 | CHF 1,940 |
Source: aptari feed, 9 November 2026, median asking rent by size. The feed has no figure by size for Geneva and Biel.
A 3.5-room flat in Zurich asks about twice as much as one in St. Gallen. Basel stands out among the five largest cities: it has the second largest supply (1,184 homes) and the lowest median rent of the five.
What this ranking is, and is not
It ranks what flats on the market ask today. It says nothing about what people in existing leases pay, which is lower, and nothing about incomes or taxes in each city.
Comparing cities on aptari
You can run the same comparison yourself: the aptari feed shows the rental adverts of Homegate, ImmoScout24, Flatfox and about 800 housing cooperative websites for every Swiss city, free and without a login. If two or three cities are possible for you, save a search for each and let the alerts tell you about new listings (Pro, Ultra and the 14-day free trial). Your Tenant Passport works in every city, and wherever the Apply with Aptari button shows, your message is written in the language of the listing, German, French or Italian, for you to paste and send.