Salary by Canton in Switzerland 2026: What the Official Data Says
This guide uses only official figures: the Federal Statistical Office's wage structure survey (LSE 2024) for gross pay and the Federal Tax Administration's tax tables for take-home pay. Where the official data stops, we say so.
· 8 min read
In this guide
1. Median salary by region
The Federal Statistical Office's wage structure survey is the official source for Swiss wages. It reports seven large regions, not single cantons. Figures are gross, for a full-time job, and include a twelfth of the 13th month and bonuses. Half of employees earn less than the median, a quarter earn less than the P25 and a quarter earn more than the P75.
| Region | Cantons | Median a year | Median a month | P25 to P75 a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich | ZH | CHF 90,000 | CHF 7,502 | CHF 68,600 to CHF 122,900 |
| Northwestern Switzerland | BS, BL, AG | CHF 85,900 | CHF 7,156 | CHF 67,600 to CHF 114,900 |
| Central Switzerland | LU, UR, SZ, OW, NW, ZG | CHF 85,100 | CHF 7,092 | CHF 67,800 to CHF 112,400 |
| Lake Geneva region | GE, VD, VS | CHF 84,000 | CHF 6,998 | CHF 66,000 to CHF 112,200 |
| Espace Mittelland | BE, FR, SO, NE, JU | CHF 83,600 | CHF 6,964 | CHF 67,000 to CHF 107,800 |
| Eastern Switzerland | GL, SH, AR, AI, SG, GR, TG | CHF 79,500 | CHF 6,623 | CHF 64,000 to CHF 101,500 |
| Ticino | TI | CHF 68,500 | CHF 5,708 | CHF 53,700 to CHF 90,800 |
| Switzerland | all | CHF 84,300 | CHF 7,024 | CHF 66,300 to CHF 111,900 |
Source: BFS, LSE 2024, table px-x-0304010000_205, all ages, both sexes. Annual = monthly × 12, rounded to CHF 100.
The spread between regions is smaller than many salary guides suggest: the Zurich median is CHF 21,500 a year above Ticino, and the five regions in between sit within CHF 7,000 of each other. The bigger differences are between jobs and between cantons' tax rates, both covered below.
2. Find your canton (all 26)
Each canton is shown with the official median of its region. The survey doesn't publish a separate figure for, say, Zug or Basel-Stadt, so any 26-canton salary ranking you find elsewhere is an estimate.
| Canton | Region (BFS) | Regional median a year |
|---|---|---|
| Zurich (ZH) | Zurich | CHF 90,000 |
| Aargau (AG) | Northwestern Switzerland | CHF 85,900 |
| Basel-Landschaft (BL) | Northwestern Switzerland | CHF 85,900 |
| Basel-Stadt (BS) | Northwestern Switzerland | CHF 85,900 |
| Lucerne (LU) | Central Switzerland | CHF 85,100 |
| Nidwalden (NW) | Central Switzerland | CHF 85,100 |
| Obwalden (OW) | Central Switzerland | CHF 85,100 |
| Schwyz (SZ) | Central Switzerland | CHF 85,100 |
| Uri (UR) | Central Switzerland | CHF 85,100 |
| Zug (ZG) | Central Switzerland | CHF 85,100 |
| Geneva (GE) | Lake Geneva region | CHF 84,000 |
| Valais (VS) | Lake Geneva region | CHF 84,000 |
| Vaud (VD) | Lake Geneva region | CHF 84,000 |
| Bern (BE) | Espace Mittelland | CHF 83,600 |
| Fribourg (FR) | Espace Mittelland | CHF 83,600 |
| Jura (JU) | Espace Mittelland | CHF 83,600 |
| Neuchâtel (NE) | Espace Mittelland | CHF 83,600 |
| Solothurn (SO) | Espace Mittelland | CHF 83,600 |
| Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR) | Eastern Switzerland | CHF 79,500 |
| Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI) | Eastern Switzerland | CHF 79,500 |
| Glarus (GL) | Eastern Switzerland | CHF 79,500 |
| Graubünden (GR) | Eastern Switzerland | CHF 79,500 |
| Schaffhausen (SH) | Eastern Switzerland | CHF 79,500 |
| St. Gallen (SG) | Eastern Switzerland | CHF 79,500 |
| Thurgau (TG) | Eastern Switzerland | CHF 79,500 |
| Ticino (TI) | Ticino | CHF 68,500 |
Source: BFS, LSE 2024. Canton-to-region mapping as used by BFS.
3. Specialist salaries by region
Specialists earn well above the all-employee median. The survey groups occupations by the international ISCO classification. The business group covers finance, accounting, HR and marketing specialists.
| Region | IT specialists | Business and finance specialists | Engineers and scientists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich | CHF 128,800 | CHF 123,900 | CHF 110,300 |
| Northwestern Switzerland | CHF 115,900 | CHF 111,100 | CHF 110,400 |
| Central Switzerland | CHF 114,200 | CHF 110,700 | CHF 104,900 |
| Lake Geneva region | CHF 117,600 | CHF 115,600 | CHF 102,000 |
| Espace Mittelland | CHF 117,000 | CHF 104,900 | CHF 102,900 |
| Eastern Switzerland | CHF 105,400 | CHF 105,500 | CHF 100,600 |
| Ticino | CHF 84,300 | CHF 90,400 | CHF 81,200 |
| Switzerland | CHF 119,400 | CHF 114,100 | CHF 104,800 |
Median gross a year. Source: BFS, LSE 2024, ISCO-08 groups 25, 24 and 21. Senior roles and large companies pay above these medians; for a figure by role and experience, use the Swiss salary calculator.
4. Take-home pay by canton
Tax differs far more between cantons than gross pay does. The table shows net pay after AHV/IV/EO, unemployment and accident insurance, the employee's pension contribution and federal, cantonal and communal income tax, for a single person aged 32 without children or church tax, living in the canton capital.
| Canton (capital) | Net on CHF 80,000 | Net on CHF 100,000 | Net on CHF 150,000 | Net on CHF 200,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zug | CHF 69,273 | CHF 85,162 | CHF 122,465 | CHF 157,843 |
| Schwyz | CHF 67,201 | CHF 82,334 | CHF 118,885 | CHF 154,660 |
| Lucerne | CHF 64,300 | CHF 78,881 | CHF 113,965 | CHF 147,788 |
| Zurich | CHF 64,580 | CHF 78,520 | CHF 111,275 | CHF 141,715 |
| Ticino | CHF 63,006 | CHF 75,933 | CHF 106,663 | CHF 135,994 |
| Basel-Stadt | CHF 62,368 | CHF 75,691 | CHF 107,805 | CHF 139,072 |
| Geneva | CHF 62,022 | CHF 74,835 | CHF 105,117 | CHF 133,865 |
| Bern | CHF 60,816 | CHF 73,991 | CHF 104,687 | CHF 133,511 |
| Vaud | CHF 60,642 | CHF 73,617 | CHF 103,313 | CHF 130,747 |
Calculated with the same model as our salary calculator, which uses the income tax of the Federal Tax Administration's calculator (tax year 2026). Your commune, marital status and pension plan change the result.
5. Average salary in Zug, Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lausanne and Bern
Average salary in Zug
Zug is in the Central Switzerland region, where the official median is CHF 7,092 a month, CHF 85,100 a year. Half of employees earn between CHF 67,800 and CHF 112,400. IT specialists in the region earn a median of CHF 114,200 and business and finance specialists CHF 110,700. On the regional median, a single person in Zug takes home about CHF 73,403 a year.
Average salary in Zurich
Zurich is in the Zurich region, where the official median is CHF 7,502 a month, CHF 90,000 a year. Half of employees earn between CHF 68,600 and CHF 122,900. IT specialists in the region earn a median of CHF 128,800 and business and finance specialists CHF 123,900. On the regional median, a single person in Zurich takes home about CHF 71,767 a year.
Average salary in Geneva
Geneva is in the Lake Geneva region region, where the official median is CHF 6,998 a month, CHF 84,000 a year. Half of employees earn between CHF 66,000 and CHF 112,200. IT specialists in the region earn a median of CHF 117,600 and business and finance specialists CHF 115,600. On the regional median, a single person in Geneva takes home about CHF 64,657 a year.
Average salary in Basel
Basel is in the Northwestern Switzerland region, where the official median is CHF 7,156 a month, CHF 85,900 a year. Half of employees earn between CHF 67,600 and CHF 114,900. IT specialists in the region earn a median of CHF 115,900 and business and finance specialists CHF 111,100. On the regional median, a single person in Basel takes home about CHF 66,372 a year.
Average salary in Lausanne
Lausanne is in the Lake Geneva region region, where the official median is CHF 6,998 a month, CHF 84,000 a year. Half of employees earn between CHF 66,000 and CHF 112,200. IT specialists in the region earn a median of CHF 117,600 and business and finance specialists CHF 115,600. On the regional median, a single person in Lausanne takes home about CHF 63,325 a year.
Average salary in Bern
Bern is in the Espace Mittelland region, where the official median is CHF 6,964 a month, CHF 83,600 a year. Half of employees earn between CHF 67,000 and CHF 107,800. IT specialists in the region earn a median of CHF 117,000 and business and finance specialists CHF 104,900. On the regional median, a single person in Bern takes home about CHF 63,232 a year.
Check your own offer
Enter your role, experience and canton to see the market range and what you take home.
Open the salary calculator →6. Where to benchmark your salary
- BFS Salarium: the Federal Statistical Office's own calculator estimates the wage range for a profile (occupation, region, age, education) from the same survey. Salarium.
- SECO national wage calculator: median and range by occupation and region. nlr.seco.admin.ch.
- Federal Tax Administration: the official gross-to-net and tax calculator for every commune. swisstaxcalculator.estv.admin.ch.
- Recruiter salary guides and job ads: useful for a specific role and company size, but not representative; compare them with the official medians above.
For negotiation tactics, see our guide to salary negotiation in Switzerland, and for the national picture, the average salary in Switzerland.
FAQ
Which Swiss canton has the highest salaries?
Zurich. The Federal Statistical Office's 2024 wage survey puts the median in the Zurich region at CHF 7,502 a month, about CHF 90,000 a year, the highest of the seven Swiss regions. The survey does not publish separate figures for single cantons such as Zug.
What is the average salary in Zug?
Zug belongs to the Central Switzerland region, where the official median is CHF 7,092 a month, about CHF 85,100 a year (BFS, 2024). Specialists earn more: the median for business and finance specialists in the region is CHF 110,700 a year. Zug's low tax means more of it stays in your pocket.
How much does the canton change my take-home pay?
On CHF 150,000 gross, take-home pay in the canton capitals we compared differs by about CHF 19,152 a year, from CHF 122,465 in Zug to CHF 103,313 in Lausanne (single, no children, ESTV tax tables 2026).
Is the salary in Geneva higher than in Zurich?
No. The median in the Lake Geneva region is CHF 84,000 a year, against CHF 90,000 in the Zurich region (BFS, 2024). On the same gross salary, Geneva also leaves you with less net pay than Zurich.
Why don't you show a salary for every canton?
Because the official survey doesn't publish one. The BFS wage structure survey reports seven large regions. Any table that ranks all 26 cantons by salary is an estimate, so we show each canton with the figure of its region and say so.
Should I negotiate a higher salary in a high-tax canton?
It's a fair argument. Run the offer through a gross-to-net calculation for the commune you will live in. If a role in Lausanne or Bern leaves you several thousand francs less than the same gross in Zug or Zurich, you can use that difference when you negotiate.
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