The Smart City Index by the digital association Bitkom, the authoritative digital ranking of German major cities, has for the eighth time evaluated the urban development of cities with over 100,000 inhabitants. Munich, the Bavarian state capital, ranked second in 2026. This result followed three consecutive years in which Munich held the top position. The city improved its index score to 92.0 out of a possible 100 points, placing it just 0.8 points behind first-placed Stuttgart. This assessment underscores Munich's consistently high performance in the context of the digital transformation of urban spaces.
To compile the index, over 80 German cities were comprehensively compared across five specific categories. These included Administration, IT and Communication, Energy and Environment, Mobility, and Society and Education. Munich particularly demonstrated its strengths in the “Mobility” category, where the city achieved an outstanding performance with an impressive 99.8 points. Munich also positioned itself among the leading cities in the “IT and Communication”, “Administration”, and “Society & Education” categories.
Urban Strategy and Evaluation
Professor Dr. (University of Florence) Elisabeth Merk, City Planning Councillor, explained the city's approach. She stated that Smart City Munich aims to improve living conditions for all residents through digital solutions, while also enabling transparency and participation. The current index result is interpreted as a confirmation of the chosen path, but also indicates further development potential. The Integrated Smart City Action Programme (ISCH) and the variety of existing projects were cited as the basis for sustainable urban development.
Dr. Laura Dornheim, Head of IT, acknowledged achieving second place as confirmation of Munich's peak performance. She emphasised the importance of cross-city standardisation of digital interaction with public administration. The development of other cities in the Smart City sector and the fact that they are overtaking Munich was assessed by her as a positive development for the entire federal territory. She expressed her gratitude to the employees of Munich's administration who work daily on the city's future viability, thus contributing to this success.
Categories and Rankings
- —Overall ranking: 2nd place with 92.0 out of 100 points.
- —Mobility category: 99.8 points.
- —IT and Communication, Administration, Society & Education categories: Munich among the top-ranked cities.
With its annually published results, the Bitkom Smart City Index provides important guidance for the digital development of German metropolises. It shows which cities are leading in various areas of digitalisation and where further action is needed. The detailed results are publicly accessible via an interactive online map, allowing transparent insight into the evaluation. For FREITAG® Immobilien, these developments are relevant because a high Smart City quality directly contributes to the attractiveness of a location for companies and private investors, thus positively influencing the real estate market.
