From BZ/dpa
Place 376 out of 400! The purchasing power of Berliners is low compared to the rest of the country, among other things due to high rental costs.
If you adjust the per capita income for the regional cost of living, Berlin ends up in one of the very last places compared to all other cities and districts, as calculations by the German Economic Institute (IW) show.
The capital is in a similar situation to, for example, Augsburg, Freiburg, Potsdam, Frankfurt am Main and Mainz: In all of these cities, relatively low average nominal, i.e. not price-adjusted, incomes meet high costs of living. In the IW ranking, these cities end up at the bottom end.
According to the evaluation, the average nominal income of Berliners is 22,658 euros per year – in a nationwide comparison this means 294th place. At the same time, Berlin is ranked 38th out of 400 in terms of price levels – as a result, this results in relatively low purchasing power Price-adjusted income of 21,469 euros.
Purchasing power in Starnberg is almost 11,000 euros more than Berlin’s value
The scientists have determined the highest purchasing power nationwide in the Starnberg district (Bavaria) – it is almost 11,000 euros higher than the value in Berlin. There are also three other Bavarian districts in the top ten. At the bottom of the ranking are the cities of Duisburg (19,604 euros), Offenbach am Main (19,082 euros) and Gelsenkirchen (18,886 euros). The scientists saw the highest price level in the city of Munich, followed by the Munich district.
The calculations are based on a regional price index developed by the IW and the Federal Institute for Building, Urban and Spatial Research (BBSR) as of 2022 and income data from the Federal Statistical Office as of 2021.