On behalf of WirtschaftsWoche and ImmoScout24, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln Consult (IW Consult) examined Germany's 71 major cities with more than 100,000 residents. The city comparison is based on more than 100 indicators, divided into a status-quo ranking assessing the current situation, a dynamic ranking on five-year development, and a separate AI index evaluating the regional integration of artificial intelligence.
Munich defends its position as Germany's strongest major city location. In the status-quo ranking, the Bavarian state capital takes first place in the sub-categories of labour market, real estate market and quality of life, and achieves second place in the economy category. Frankfurt am Main, Stuttgart, Ingolstadt and Erlangen follow in the subsequent places. At the same time, the result reflects specific location strains: in Munich, rental and purchase prices for residential property are higher than in any of the other 70 cities, and significant delays occur in road traffic.
Frankfurt am Main leads five-year momentum
In the dynamic ranking, Frankfurt am Main recorded the best result in its ranking history, advancing to first place. Key factors here were first place in the economy category and third place in the labour market. Düsseldorf, Berlin, Munich and Offenbach am Main follow behind Frankfurt. The most notable gains compared to the previous year were achieved by Trier, climbing 26 places, Fürth, gaining 19 places, and Karlsruhe, jumping 18 positions.
In the long run, Bochum and Kiel demonstrated the strongest catch-up momentum. Over a ten-year comparison, both cities improved by eleven places, with Bochum gaining ground in particular in employment and on the real estate market. Dr Gesa Crockford, Managing Director of ImmoScout24, emphasised that location quality arises from the interplay of multiple factors. Munich impresses with a coherent overall package, Frankfurt with exceptional momentum, and Bochum as evidence of long-term, measurable structural change.
AI index: Munich in front, Erlangen and Karlsruhe strong
Munich also leads the newly compiled AI index. Decisive factors are top figures for the density of AI startups, the share of job advertisements related to AI, as well as digitalisation patent applications and digital pioneer companies. Erlangen and Karlsruhe follow in second and third place. With around 116,000 residents, Erlangen takes first place by a wide margin in digitalisation patents, supported by the link between artificial intelligence and medical research.
Karlsruhe secures second place for startup density and third place for subject-related job openings, driven by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Digital Hub Applied Artificial Intelligence. Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Frankfurt am Main, Darmstadt, Berlin, Düsseldorf and Bonn follow behind the front-runners. The survey demonstrates that for regional technology ecosystems, city size is not primarily decisive, but rather institutional networking between academia and business.
