Taxes & Cost of Living in Basel
Basel · Canton of BS
Health insurance, taxes and electricity in Basel 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 17,616 a year
- Electricity
- CHF 1,504 a year
2 adults at CHF 734 a month each · Deductible 300, median of all insurers · Premiums 2027
Compared with 2026 that is CHF 30 more per month per adult, about CHF 360 a year.
Household using 4,500 kWh, 33.42 cent./kWh · Tariff 2027
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 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.
Tax-burden trend 2018 → 2026
16.6 % → 14.7 % of income
Down 1.89 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 1,701
- 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.
Health insurance premium
CHF 734 per month
Cantonal median (no separate premium region)
Adults, standard model with deductible 300, median across all insurers (2027).
Cheapest insurers 2027
Adults, standard model, deductible 300, per month
- 1. SLKKCHF 690.40
- 2. ÖKKCHF 704.00
- 3. CONCORDIACHF 704.70
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
+59.6 %
cantonal premium since 2011
Canton of Basel-Stadt: CHF 460 → CHF 734 per month (2011 → 2027)
Switzerland over the same period: +79.5 %
The whole canton forms a single premium region (Basel-Stadt).
Premium region Basel-Stadt, 2026 → 2027: CHF 30 more per month (+4.3 %)
Cantonal value, not a value for the municipality of Basel: 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.
Electricity price
33.42 cent./kWh · CHF 1,504 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 28,290 a year in Basel for taxes, health insurance and electricity. That is rank 1,447 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 10,128 · health insurance 8,808 · electricity 1,504 | CHF 20,440 | 1,353 / 2,110 | 3 / 3 |
Couple, no children · CHF 100,000 Tax CHF 9,170 · health insurance 17,616 · electricity 1,504 | CHF 28,290 | 1,447 / 2,110 | 3 / 3 |
Family, 1 income · CHF 100,000 Tax CHF 4,410 · health insurance 21,552 · electricity 1,504 | CHF 27,466 | 1,607 / 2,110 | 3 / 3 |
Retired couple · CHF 80,000 Tax CHF 7,760 · health insurance 17,616 · electricity 1,504 | CHF 26,880 | 1,575 / 2,110 | 3 / 3 |
Housing & environment
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 there are 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. That is meaningful for the municipality but 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 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.
Surroundings
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 28,290 per year in Basel. That is rank 1,447 of 2,110 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.
Your address in Basel, 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.
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