Summary

The Canton of St. Gallen is an attractive region to live in. Over the last 3 years, the population has changed to 535’114 inhabitants, which is equivalent to a change of 4.01%.

Demographics

On average, residents earn CHF 69’070 annually. 14.02% of residents have a university degree, 17.42% have completed higher vocational education and 47% have an SEK II qualification. In addition, 21.57% of residents are currently in school. The residential area is highly regarded thanks to its high social standards and educated population. 0.93% of the population is presently unemployed.

Taxes

The region has an overall rate of taxation of 11.21%. The actual percentage of tax paid varies from person to person and is based on aspects such as actual income, marital status, the overall level of deductions and so on. In the Canton of St. Gallen, for example, a married couple on a pension (over 65) pays an average of 14.36% tax, a married couple with two children 7.15% and a childless couple 10.56%. The tax rate for an unmarried person without children is 16.04%.

New construction

The number of newly constructed apartments in the Canton of St. Gallen has changed continuously for 5 years. A total of 15’005 new apartments were created. Of these newly built apartments, 495 are 1-room apartments, which are ideal for people living alone. Additional 2-room apartments have also been built; 2918 apartments of this type were added in total. The 4707 3-room apartments and 4411 4-room apartments are also of particular interest to families. 1620 apartments with 5 rooms and 854 apartments with at least 6 rooms have been added to the local housing stock.

Housing stock

Due to new construction, the housing stock in the Canton of St. Gallen has changed, and there are now a total of 273’328 apartments. The overall number of 1-room apartments is 12’346. In terms of medium-sized to large apartments, the housing supply comprises 33’236 apartments with 2 rooms, 59’938 3-room apartments and 79’883 with 4 rooms. The supply of very spacious properties with 5 rooms comprises 49’299 apartments, and there are 38’626 apartments with 6 rooms or more.

Empty apartments

In the Canton of St. Gallen, there is a 1.39% vacancy rate for apartments. Consequently, 2.66% of the 1-room apartments, 1.76% of all 2-room apartments, 1.59% of apartments with 3 rooms, 1.42% of the 4-room apartments and 1.05% of apartments with 5 rooms are currently uninhabited. The vacancy rate is 0.9% for apartments with more than 5 rooms and 0.71% for apartments with more than 6 rooms.

Housing market (rental only)

The average rent for rental properties is CHF 1412 per month. 25% of the rents on offer are less than or equivalent to a monthly rent of CHF 1170 (25th percentile). Additionally, 75% of all monthly rents are cheaper than or equal to CHF 1730.