# Berlin vs Geneva

> On balanced weights, Geneva comes out ahead: 67 against 53 out of 100, mostly on research output and long, healthy lives. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/berlin-de-vs-geneva-ch/

Scores out of 100: Berlin 53, Geneva 67. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=berlin-de,geneva-ch

## Line by line

| Line | Berlin | Geneva |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) | money here is partial: it leaves out health insurance premium bought outside pay (add yours, a month) (World Development Indicators) |
| Cost of living | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) | money here is partial: it leaves out health insurance premium bought outside pay (add yours, a month) (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 31 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 55 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 7 h 39 min | 8 h 37 min |
| Sunshine | 1,730 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) | 1,887 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) |
| Dry days | 125 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 139 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 11.3 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | no data |
| Safety | 0.9 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 0.6 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 80.8 years (World Development Indicators) | 84.4 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €55 a month (World Development Indicators) | €193 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 43 weeks (mother 38, father 5) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 9 weeks (mother 8, father 1) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.00 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.70 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 48 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 76 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 19 km (OurAirports airports) | 5 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 42 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 50 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Rail and metro stations | 255 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 22 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | 33 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 36 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Cycle network | 2.49 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 0.99 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 100 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 88 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 18.6 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 23.3 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Quick way out by bike | 8.8 km, about 35 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 2.5 km, about 10 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 142 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 276 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 207 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 16 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 14.6 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 19.7 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 41 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 94 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 64 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 45 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 14.6 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 54.0 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 4.5 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 4.5 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 3.7 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 4.9 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 48.1 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) | 46.3 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Developers around | 21.5 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 27.2 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 1.68 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 1.98 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre, 5.5 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | centre, 4.8 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 147 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 13 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 23 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 17 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 41 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 31 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 9 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 25 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 238 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 252 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 6 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 168 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 131 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 5 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 5 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 18 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 9 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 9 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 5 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Berlin or Geneva?

Everyday prices are lower in Germany: 81.2 against 128.2 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Berlin and Geneva, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Berlin and in Geneva?

About €37,551 a year in Berlin (Germany 2026 tax rules) and CHF 45,066 in Geneva (Switzerland 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Berlin or Geneva?

Geneva is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 16.1 °C against 14.8 °C in Berlin (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Can a citizen of Germany live and work in Geneva without a visa?

Yes. Swiss-EU free movement rules let citizens of Germany live and work in Switzerland without a visa.

## Cite

Borgo, "Berlin vs Geneva", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/berlin-de-vs-geneva-ch/, figures as of 2026-11-05.