Augsburg is Bavaria's happiest city - Munich is far behind!

Augsburg is Bavaria's happiest city - Munich is far behind!

In Bavaria there are numerous discussions about where people live happiest. Current statistics from the “Happiness Atlas” of the South German Class Lottery (SKL) show that Augsburg claims the title of the happiest city in Bavaria and even all of southern Germany this year. With 7.33 points, the city is in fourth place in the city ranking of the 40 largest German cities, an impressive increase compared to the previous year, when Augsburg was still in seventh place. Munich, on the other hand, which is often celebrated as the heart of Bavaria, only reached 27th place, falling three places compared to last year. This makes good business for Augsburg, while Munich obviously suffers from the pressure of its size, as larger cities tend to have lower life satisfaction, as [Merkur] reports.

The survey, conducted between January 2022 and April 2025, covers a total of 23,468 residents aged 16 to 78. It clearly shows that less than 2% of Augsburg residents are dissatisfied - the lowest rate in Germany. In Munich, however, this value is 12.5%. Although Augsburg has average values ​​for income, health care and green spaces, its citizens are still above average satisfied with their living environment.

Augsburg's strengths

Why is that? In fact, smaller cities like Augsburg score points with a student population, high medical care and a low level of crime. For example, the city only records a very small number of home break-ins. In addition, the distances to doctors, supermarkets and post offices are short, which makes everyday life easier.

In the top position, the Augsburg team only have to admit defeat to Kassel (7.44), Krefeld (7.39) and Düsseldorf (7.36). Together with Augsburg, these cities make it into the top four in the entire German comparison. The same picture can also be seen in the overall ranking: Kassel and Augsburg are among the happiest cities in the 2025 city ranking. Another interesting point is that only two of the ten largest German cities, namely Düsseldorf and Hamburg, are represented in the top ten of the happiness survey. Munich is far behind with 6.84 points and clearly behind Augsburg.

Munich's challenges

The ranking shows that Munich is struggling with high rents, falling construction activity and long commutes, while smaller cities often offer better living conditions. Bernd Raffelhüschen from the University of Freiburg explains: “The distribution of satisfaction is crucial for happiness in life in big cities.” In fact, it turns out that although Munich objectively has a lot to offer, the subjective life satisfaction of its residents suffers.

A further look at the major cities shows that Nuremberg has fallen to 36th place, while Frankfurt am Main and Berlin take 35th and 37th place. Rostock is at the bottom of this ranking and proves that not only the size of a city, but also the quality of life is crucial for the happiness of its residents. The differences in happiness in life between the cities are very pronounced: Kassel and Rostock are 1.36 points apart.

In summary, the “Happiness Atlas” survey shows how important quality of life and subjective well-being are. Augsburg has clearly demonstrated a knack for life satisfaction and is an example of how even smaller cities can bring great joy into the lives of their residents. Perhaps the big metropolises should take this to heart.

Further details about the city rankings can be found in the reports on Mercury, Augsburger Allgemeine and SKL Happiness Atlas.