How high are the taxes in Mels?

A single earner with CHF 100,000 gross income pays an income tax of about CHF 14,427 per year in Mels (federal, cantonal, municipal and church combined, FTA 2025).

What does living in Mels cost?

For a couple without children, tax, health insurance and electricity add up to about CHF 23,610 per year in Mels. That is rank 699 of 2,110 among all Swiss municipalities.

Are there cheaper municipalities near Mels?

Yes: around Mels some municipalities have a lower total cost for the same profile. The neighbour comparison on this page shows them with the annual saving.

Taxes & Cost of Living in Mels

Mels · Canton of SG

Health insurance, taxes and electricity in Mels at a glance, and where it is cheaper nearby.

Costs

What you pay here per year

For a couple without children earning CHF 100,000

Health insurance: CHF 13,296 a year
Taxes: CHF 9,080 a year
Electricity: CHF 1,234 a year

Calculate precisely for your address

The figures above apply to the whole municipality. With your address you see what applies at exactly that spot, free and without an account.

Tax rate Mels

125 %

total tax multiplier in % of the simple tax

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.

Tax-burden trend 2018 → 2025

16.2 % → 14.4 % of income

Down 1.76 percentage points

Reference profile: single, CHF 100,000 gross income, both years calculated with the FTA tax calculator. The same franc amount is compared. Because cantons adjust their tariffs for inflation, the burden on it falls almost everywhere. The meaningful comparison is therefore the Swiss median: -1.22 percentage points (1,996 municipalities down, 35 up). Your own burden depends on income and household; the location report calculates it.

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 1,705
Canton: CHF 5,808
Municipality: CHF 6,914
Church: CHF 0
Poll tax: CHF 0

FTA reference profile: single earner with CHF 100,000 gross income, in CHF per year.

Health insurance premium

CHF 554 per month

Premium region 2

Adults, standard model with deductible 300, median across all insurers (2027).

Cheapest insurers 2027

Adults, standard model, deductible 300, per month

1. AgrisanoCHF 509.90
2. GlarnerCHF 518.50
3. ÖKKCHF 527.00

Full ranking: Premium region St. Gallen 2

Worth switching? Compare the 2027 premiums in your region and create the cancellation letter. It must reach your insurer by 30 November 2026. Switch health insurer

Premiums since 2011

+82.7 %

cantonal premium since 2011

Canton of St. Gallen: CHF 307 → CHF 561 per month (2011 → 2027)

Switzerland over the same period: +79.5 %

Mels belongs to premium region St. Gallen 2.

Premium region St. Gallen 2, 2026 → 2027: CHF 16 more per month (+3.0 %)

Cantonal value, not a value for the municipality of Mels: median of all offers in the canton for one adult (standard model with accident cover, deductible 300), calculated the same way every year. There is no series per municipality.

Trend for all cantons

Electricity price

27.42 cent./kWh · CHF 1,234 per year

Standard household H4 (4,500 kWh), median of local grid operators, ElCom 2027.

All together, a couple without children earning CHF 100,000 pays about CHF 23,610 a year in Mels for taxes, health insurance and electricity. That is rank 699 of 2,110 Swiss municipalities; rank 1 is the cheapest.

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 9,864 · health insurance 6,648 · electricity 1,234	CHF 17,746	771 / 2,110	51 / 75
Couple, no children · CHF 100,000 Tax CHF 9,080 · health insurance 13,296 · electricity 1,234	CHF 23,610	699 / 2,110	52 / 75
Family, 1 income · CHF 100,000 Tax CHF 4,660 · health insurance 15,972 · electricity 1,234	CHF 21,866	448 / 2,110	50 / 75
Retired couple · CHF 80,000 Tax CHF 7,264 · health insurance 13,296 · electricity 1,234	CHF 21,794	538 / 2,110	52 / 75

Values for the whole municipality: They apply to standard households. What you pay yourself depends on your deductions, your wealth, your insurer and deductible, and your exact address. That is what the Dossier calculates.

Sources: FTA (tax 2025), FOPH (health insurance 2027), ElCom (electricity 2027), FSO (vacancies & demographics). View all data sources

Note: for the canton of SG the FTA has not yet adopted 2026 rates. The tax figures on this page are from 2025. The other cantons are already on 2026.

Housing & environment

Vacancy rate

0.13% vacant dwellings

FSO vacant-dwelling count, reference date 1 June 2025.

Second homes

13.8 % 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

9,581 residents

+11.1% over ten years (2015 → 2025)

16% children · 19% aged 65+

Source: FSO (2025).

Climate and environment in the municipality

How many hot, cold, wet and foggy days there are per year, and how high the radon probability is. Measured at the municipal centroid.

Radon probability (%): 3

Radon: FOPH radon map, modelled exceedance probability at the municipal centroid.

What applies in canton SG

These figures apply canton-wide, not just to this municipality. The data only exists at cantonal level.

Property transfer tax on purchase

1.00 % of the purchase price

Replacing a fossil heating system

Minimum renewable share required

At least 10 % renewable or a 10 % efficiency gain when replacing the heating (since 1.7.2021; 11 standard solutions).

As of 07/2026 · checked against the cantonal primary source

Property tax

Levied

0.2–0.8 ‰ depending on the municipality

Mandatory municipal tax of 0,2 – 0,8‰ of the wealth-tax value (Art. 240 StG).

As of 01.01.2025

Wealth tax structure

Proportional

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)

49.9 per 1,000 inhabitants

FSO police crime statistics 2025, offences under the Criminal Code by canton.

Surroundings

Cheaper neighbouring municipalities

Nearest municipalities with lower total cost for a couple without children (CHF 100,000):

Nearby municipalities

The municipalities closest to Mels, with the same cost data.

Where Mels stands nationally

The same figures, compared with every municipality.

Frequently asked questions about Mels

How high are the taxes in Mels?: A single earner with CHF 100,000 gross income pays an income tax of about CHF 14,427 per year in Mels (federal, cantonal, municipal and church combined, FTA 2025).
What does living in Mels cost?: For a couple without children, tax, health insurance and electricity add up to about CHF 23,610 per year in Mels. That is rank 699 of 2,110 among all Swiss municipalities.
Are there cheaper municipalities near Mels?: Yes: around Mels some municipalities have a lower total cost for the same profile. The neighbour comparison on this page shows them with the annual saving.

Your address in Mels, calculated precisely

Municipality values are an approximation. The Dossier calculates at address level, with deductions, wealth, deductible choice, commute time and over 60 location factors.

Dossier for CHF 79. One-off, no subscription.