Cost of Living in Switzerland

It's no use trying to hide the fact: Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in the world.
Three of the country’s most prominent cities - Zurich (3rd), Bern (10th) and Geneva (11th) - featured prominently in Mercer’s most expensive cities in the world list in 2018.

Already back in 2005, a Swiss household pays, for example, 26% more than a French household and 63% more than a Spanish household, to fill the same shopping basket.

The Swiss are a race of tenants and at present there is a shortage of apartments on the market, above all in the towns, especially in the Geneva and Zurich area. Housing costs are therefore comparatively high. In addition, you will find that the compulsory health insurance premiums can be very high.

These high prices for consumer goods, housing and health insurance are partly due to the relatively high level of salaries in Switzerland. According to a comparative study conducted by UBS on an international level, the Swiss hubs of economic development, namely Zurich, Basle and Geneva, are among the front runners of cities with the highest gross pay, for all types of professions.

According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, the main items of expenditure in a typical Swiss household budget are social security contributions and taxes (29.0%), accommodation and energy (12-33%), transport (8.2%) and food (7.2%).

In 2017, 10% of people living in Switzerland had an equivalised disposable income that was less than CHF 26,328 per year. At the other end of the scale, 10% of people living in Switzerland had an equivalised disposable income that was greater than CHF 92,078 per year. The median shows that half of people living in Switzerland had an equivalised disposable income that was less than CHF 50,030 per year.

Swiss living costs can be especially though on students. For more info check out Study in Switzerland site here: https://studyinginswitzerland.com/cost-of-living-in-switzerland/