Municipality profile
Taxes & Cost of Living in Basel
Basel · Canton of BS
Here is how expensive life in Basel is compared to all ~2,100 municipalities in Switzerland — income tax, health insurance premium and electricity in one honest annual figure, calculated with the same engine as our address-precise location reports.
Total-cost rank 1,430 of 2,124 in Switzerland for a couple without children — about CHF 27,562 per year for tax, health insurance and electricity.
Tax rate Basel
50 % (the City of Basel levies NO separate municipal tax; the cantonal share remains full = 50 % of the total tax, §2 para. 3 StG. Intra-BS comparison value = maximum quota.)
Municipal tax rate 2026 as published by the canton. Tax rates are not comparable across cantons — the label states what the figure refers to. The amount in francs is in the table below.
Total annual cost by profile
Tax + health insurance + electricity per year for four standard households, with the rank among all Swiss municipalities and within the canton.
| Household | Total cost/year | Rank CH | Rank canton |
|---|---|---|---|
Single · CHF 80,000 Tax CHF 10,128 · health insurance 8,448 · electricity 1,496 | CHF 20,072 | 1,286 / 2,124 | 3 / 3 |
Couple, no children · CHF 100,000 Tax CHF 9,170 · health insurance 16,896 · electricity 1,496 | CHF 27,562 | 1,430 / 2,124 | 3 / 3 |
Family, 1 income · CHF 100,000 Tax CHF 4,410 · health insurance 20,328 · electricity 1,496 | CHF 26,234 | 1,493 / 2,124 | 3 / 3 |
Retired couple · CHF 80,000 Tax CHF 7,760 · health insurance 16,896 · electricity 1,496 | CHF 26,152 | 1,545 / 2,124 | 3 / 3 |
Tax split: municipality versus canton
How income tax is split across the levels of government — the municipal share is the lever that moving home shifts.
- Federal
- CHF 1,701
- Canton
- CHF 6,479
- Municipality
- CHF 6,479
- Church
- CHF 0
- Poll tax
- CHF 0
FTA reference profile: single earner with CHF 100,000 gross income, in CHF per year.
Tax-burden trend 2018 → 2026
15.6 % → 14.7 % of income
Down 0.89 percentage points
Reference profile of the FTA index: single, CHF 100,000 gross income. Shows where this municipality’s tax burden has moved — across Switzerland 1,605 municipalities became more expensive and 419 cheaper. Your own burden depends on income and household; the location report computes it.
Health insurance premium
CHF 704 per month
Cantonal median (no separate premium region)
Adults, standard model with deductible 300, median across all insurers (2026).
Electricity price
33.25 cent./kWh — CHF 1,496 per year
Standard household H4 (4,500 kWh), median of local grid operators, ElCom 2026.
Vacancy rate
0.95% vacant dwellings
FSO vacant-dwelling count, reference date 1 June 2025.
Second homes
10.8 % second-home share
Below the 20 % threshold at which the Second Homes Act blocks new second homes.
Source: ARE, housing inventory, second-home share.
Population & demographics
180,097 residents
+6.0% over ten years (2015 → 2025)
13% children · 19% aged 65+
Source: FSO (2025).
Climate and environment in the municipality
How many hot, cold, wet and foggy days per year — and how high the radon probability is. Measured at the municipal centroid.
Hot days (30 °C+)
17
Frost days (below 0 °C)
51
Rain days (1 mm+)
163
Snow days
18
Fog days (Oct–Feb)
48
Storm days (70 km/h+)
2
Heating degree days
1,917
Summer sun (kWh/m² per day)
5.3
Radon probability (%)
0
Source: Open-Meteo (ERA5 reanalysis), annual mean 2023-2025. Measured at the municipal centroid on a roughly 9 km grid — meaningful for the municipality, too coarse for a single address. The location report computes the exact value. Radon: FOPH radon map, modelled exceedance probability at the municipal centroid.
What applies in canton BS
These three figures apply canton-wide, not just to this municipality — the data only exists at cantonal level.
Property transfer tax on purchase
3.00 % of the purchase price
Owner-occupied residential property (new or replacement purchase): rate halved to 1,5 %; owner occupancy for at least 6 years, otherwise the second half is levied retroactively with interest.
Replacing a fossil heating system
Renewable replacement effectively mandatory
Since 1.10.2017, heating replacements must switch to renewable energy (first canton with this obligation); gas grid decommissioning planned by 2037.
As of 07/2026 · checked against the cantonal primary source
Property tax
Minimum tax only
Real estate tax of 2‰ ONLY for legal entities (StG §114). Natural persons: no property tax.
As of 01.01.2025
Wealth tax structure
Progressive
The amount depends on your municipality’s tax multiplier — the location report computes it. This only shows how the canton structures the tariff.
As of 01.01.2024
Offences (canton)
147.6 per 1,000 inhabitants
FSO police crime statistics 2025, offences under the Criminal Code by canton.
Cost map of the Canton of BS
Each municipality is coloured by its total annual cost; Basel is highlighted.
Click any municipality to open it. Blue outline: cheaper than here.
To the interactive cost-of-living map →Cheaper neighbouring municipalities
Nearest municipalities with lower total cost for a couple without children (CHF 100,000):
Nearby municipalities
The municipalities closest to Basel — with the same cost data.
Where Basel stands nationally
The same figures, compared with every municipality.
Frequently asked questions about Basel
- How high are the taxes in Basel?
- A single earner with CHF 100,000 gross income pays an income tax of about CHF 14,659 per year in Basel (federal, cantonal, municipal and church combined, FTA 2026).
- What does living in Basel cost?
- For a couple without children, tax, health insurance and electricity add up to about CHF 27,562 per year in Basel — rank 1,430 of 2,124 among all Swiss municipalities.
- Are there cheaper municipalities near Basel?
- Yes: around Basel some municipalities have a lower total cost for the same profile — the neighbour comparison on this page shows them with the annual saving.
The exact truth for your address in Basel
Municipality values are an approximation. The Deep Report calculates address-precise — with deductions, wealth, deductible choice, commute time and over 60 location factors.
Deep Report for CHF 79 — one-off, no subscription.