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Cologne
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Cologne

The largest city on the Rhine, a media, insurance and trade-fair centre with a big university and a strong chemicals and automotive belt around it. Cheaper than Düsseldorf next door for buying, but rents have been catching up.

Official website Wikidata

The place

State
North Rhine-Westphalia
Population
1,025,523as of December 2025 ·
Area
405 km²
Density
2,532 people per km²
Public holidays a year
11as of January 2026 ·

Work and pay

Unemployment rate
9%as of September 2026 ·
Median gross pay
€4,733 a monthas of December 2025 ·

Local taxes and charges

Grunderwerbsteuer
6.5%
Church tax
9%
Grundsteuer B, Hebesatz
515%as of January 2024 ·
Gewerbesteuer, Hebesatz
475%as of January 2024 ·

Housing

Asking price, apartments
€5,133 per m²as of September 2026 · sourced · immoportal.com
Asking rent, apartments
€14.81 per m² a monthimmoportal.com
Hausgeld
€3.60 per m² a month
Prices, last 12 months
+0.7%
A 70 m² flat
To buy€359,310
Closing costs on top+ €42,470
To rent, cold€1,037 a month
Asking rent, BBSR (re-lettings)
€14 per m² a monthas of July 2024 ·
Rent in existing tenancies (Zensus 2022)
€9.39 per m² a monthas of May 2022 ·
Vacant flats
2.5%as of May 2022 ·
Owner-occupiers
24.7%as of May 2022 ·
Paid price, resold flats
€3,594 per m²as of July 2025 ·
Paid price, new flats
€6,490 per m²as of July 2025 ·

With your own numbers

The numbers above describe a stranger. The calculators take your own salary, tax class and household and work them through for this city.

Buy or rent hereYour net payCompare with another city

Over time

How these numbers have moved. Each series gains a point whenever new figures are published.

Unemployment rate9%

Monthly, Bundesagentur für Arbeit.

Median gross pay a month€4,733

Each 31 December, Bundesagentur für Arbeit, full-time employees by workplace.

Where these numbers come from