Analyses

Analyses of local figures in Switzerland

Articles that read the figures of the 2,115 municipalities in Switzerland: what stands out, who leads, how wide the gaps are.

Population

Where Switzerland is young and where it is oldThe age structure of a municipality shapes its schools, its housing market and its services, yet national averages hide sharp contrasts. The share of older residents runs from 8.9% in one municipality to 42.7% in another. This analysis looks at the oldest places, at cities full of young adults and at family suburbs, then at how births, deaths and arrivals fit the picture.

Housing

Second homes: big counts in cities, big shares in the mountainsSecond homes can be counted in two ways, and the two answers point to different places. By number, the largest totals are found in the biggest cities. By share of the housing stock, the highest values belong to small valley and resort communities. This analysis sets both measures side by side and adds building and vacancy rates to show what each kind of place looks like.

Energy

Why electricity prices differ so much across SwitzerlandTwo households with the same consumption can pay very different prices for each kilowatt-hour, depending on the municipality they live in. This analysis compares tariffs for a typical household, shows where the price is highest and lowest, sets the big cities side by side and splits the price into energy, grid and levies.Rooftop solar potential and how homes are heatedA municipality can be looked at through its roofs and through its boilers. The rooftop potential says what the roofs could produce, installed photovoltaic capacity says what has actually been built, and the heating mix says how the buildings below are kept warm. This analysis sets the three side by side for cities, villages and alpine valleys, and shows that potential and capacity only partly follow each other.

Climate

Where the winter sun shines in SwitzerlandSunshine is not shared evenly through the year. In summer most Swiss municipalities receive a similar share of the possible hours, but in winter the gap between the fog-bound lowlands and the bright south is wide. Alpine resorts add a twist, because their winters are brighter than their summers. This analysis follows the sun through the seasons for cities, valleys and resorts, and ends with a note on warming.

Employment

What kind of jobs Swiss municipalities offerEvery municipality offers a different mix of work. In some, nearly every job is in an office, a shop or a clinic; in others, a factory or a farm provides most of the work. This analysis compares services, industry and farming across municipalities, looks at big and small workplaces, and ends with ten years of job change, where a single company can move the figures.

Transport

Job centres and bedroom towns: how Swiss commuting worksIn most Swiss municipalities, the majority of employed residents work somewhere else. This analysis looks at who receives the commuters and who sends them out, using the commuting balance, the share of residents who work elsewhere and the share who cross a cantonal border. It also checks whether the cities that absorb the most commuters are the places where people own the fewest cars.

Environment

Air quality and land use across Swiss municipalitiesAir quality and land use describe the same landscape from two sides. Fine particles and nitrogen dioxide are high where buildings, roads and people are packed together, yet ozone follows another logic and peaks in the south and in the high Alps. This analysis sets the air readings next to the share of built-up land, sealed soil, space used per resident and the territory given to roads, parks and forests.