If you are moving to Frankfurt (Frankfurt am Main) from abroad, here is what you would actually be arriving into, on the official numbers: income, jobs, housing, connectivity, taxes and who already lives here. Every figure comes from German Regionalstatistik, the Zensus 2022 and the Breitbandatlas, not guesswork.
As one of Hesse’s cities, Frankfurt concentrates people, work and cost into a small area. Cost is the headline: the most expensive of Hesse’s 26 districts to rent.
How Frankfurt compares
Frankfurt measured against all 400 German districts (Kreise); building-land prices are recorded for 394 of them. The longer the bar, the higher the percentile; hover for the figure behind it.
Frankfurt compared with Germany’s other major cities
The bars above set Frankfurt against all 400 German districts, most of them rural. If you are weighing up job offers, the more useful question is how it sits against the cities it actually competes with.
| # | City | Net cold rent | Income / resident | Median wage | Jobs / 1,000 | Unemployment | Fibre (FTTB/H) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berlin | €7.67/m² | €26,209 | €4,150 | 457 | 10.3% | 53% |
| 2 | Hamburg | €9.16/m² | €29,620 | €4,350 | 582 | 8.3% | 80% |
| 3 | Munich | €12.89/m² | €38,190 | €5,100 | 649 | 5.4% | 77% |
| 4 | Cologne | €9.39/m² | €28,764 | €4,450 | 617 | 9.1% | 66% |
| 5 | Frankfurt | €10.58/m² | €29,442 | €4,850 | 861 | 6.9% | 39% |
| 6 | Düsseldorf | €9.24/m² | €32,446 | €4,700 | 744 | 8.0% | 38% |
| 7 | Stuttgart | €10.39/m² | €31,390 | €4,950 | 723 | 6.6% | 41% |
Rent is the average net cold rent (Nettokaltmiete) from the 2022 census, income is disposable income per resident (2023), median wage is full-time gross per month (2024), jobs and unemployment are 2025, fibre coverage end of 2025.
Scale the average rent to a 70 m² flat for a year and set it against disposable income per resident, and Frankfurt comes out at 30.2%, the highest of these seven cities. Düsseldorf leads the group at 23.9%; Frankfurt trails at 30.2%.
Read that ratio as a comparison device rather than a household budget: disposable income is spread across every resident, children and pensioners included, and the rent is the 2022 census level for tenants already in place. What it does show reliably is the direction of travel.
Where Frankfurt lags is fibre. 39% of households can get fibre to the building, against Hamburg 80%, Munich 77%, Cologne 66%. Gigabit over upgraded cable is widely available, so most addresses still get a fast line, but if you specifically need FTTB/H, check the address before you sign.
Jobs and the economy
10% above DE avg
Frankfurt is a net importer of workers. It holds 651,125 jobs at local workplaces in 2025, 861 for every 1,000 residents, the kind of ratio you only get where commuters pour in each morning rather than out. Those jobs are spread across 45,828 registered businesses (2024), which gives a feel for the spread of employers here. Unemployment came in at 6.9% in 2025 (German average 6.3%), roughly one in 14 of the local workforce.
Full-time employees living here take home a median gross wage of €4,850 a month (23% above the German median of €3,950), before tax and contributions. Read it alongside, not instead of, the disposable income above: one is gross pay for workers, the other is what each resident has to spend. Source: Bundesagentur für Arbeit, 2024.
Cost of living and housing
45% above DE avg
3% above DE avg
Be ready for the rent: this is one of the pricier places to live. The average net cold rent (Nettokaltmiete) is €10.58 per m², about 45% above the German average of €7.28. It reflects existing tenancies from the 2022 census; expect to pay above it on a new contract. Disposable income per resident comes to €29,442 (125th highest of 400 German districts, 9th in Hesse). That is about 3% above the German average of €28,453. Bear in mind it is nominal: it says nothing about what rent and daily life cost here. Building plots go for around €1,428 per m², the 4th highest of 394 districts with a recorded price, the starting price of the ground itself, beneath every local rent. Half of Germany’s districts come in under about €132 per m². Scale it up and a 70 m² flat runs to about €741 a month cold at that rate (2022 sitting tenancies; new contracts sit higher). Measured against local incomes, it sits 25th most affordable in Hesse. Rents are steep, but the jobs are genuinely here rather than a commute away.
The local housing market
The 2022 census sketches the local stock: 79.9% of homes are rented rather than owner-occupied; the vacancy rate is 3.1% (a fairly balanced market); the average home measures 74 m². The stock is 411,592 homes in 79,745 buildings, about 5.2 per building, so this is an apartment area rather than one of houses. In the latest year 262 new dwellings were completed against 148 permits, a gauge of whether new supply keeps up with demand.
Who lives in Frankfurt
The 2022 census picture: age bands and how households are made up.
Age distribution
The age mix here leans young and working-age. 33.3% of residents are aged 25 to 45, the age group most newcomers belong to, with 14.1% under 15 and 15.9% at 65 or older. The rest of the 2022 census picture: 41.5% of residents have a migration history (28.3% are foreign nationals); 53.1% of households are single-person; 52.4% of adults hold an Abitur / university-entrance qualification. As a newcomer from abroad you would blend straight in; this is a properly international place. School rolls come to 82,239 pupils. Daycare places get easier to find as children get older: about 5.0% of under-1s, 55.4% of 1 to 2 year olds and 73.4% of 2 to 3 year olds have a place, so a place for a baby is the hard part, much less so for a toddler.
Internet & connectivity
Share of households that can get each speed (Breitbandatlas, end of 2025). Gigabit may run over fibre or upgraded cable; true fibre (FTTB/H) is shown separately.
A fixed line of 100 Mbit/s or better is available to 99% of households, and 94% can reach gigabit (1,000 Mbit/s) speeds (Breitbandatlas, end of 2025). Of that, 39% of households can get true fibre to the building (FTTB/H); the rest of the gigabit coverage runs over upgraded cable. On mobile, 5G reaches 100% of households. For remote work, including for an overseas employer, most addresses here are well covered.
Where Frankfurt is in Germany
Recorded crime
How much crime the police registered locally, per 100,000 residents.
Police recorded 15,026 offences per 100,000 residents in 2025 (the Häufigkeitszahl), 195% above the German district median of about 5,096. It records reported offences rather than convictions, and runs high in places with lots of through-traffic (stations, motorways, airports, busy centres) where many cases involve non-residents. Treat it as a measure of recorded activity, not of personal risk for residents. Source: Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik, BKA 2025.
Local taxes
For most people moving here, local tax is a non-event. The trade-tax multiplier (Gewerbesteuer) is 460%, but it only touches you if you register a business: the tax office sets a base amount, the municipality multiplies it. The property tax (Grundsteuer B) reaches you as a tenant through the service charges (Nebenkosten), and it was reset in the 2025 reform, so there is no settled rate to quote yet.
Moving in and out
growing
Frankfurt is gaining people. Arrivals and departures in 2024: 56,397 in, 52,043 out, a net of +4,354. More arrive than leave, which keeps steady pressure on the rental market. 3,795 people were naturalised here in 2024, a naturalisation rate of 1.7%. Around 27,295 residents hold or are seeking protection status, about 36.1 per 1,000 residents, the combined asylum, refugee and humanitarian total, with Ukrainians counted here since 2022. Voter turnout last time around was 81.2%.
Just arrived in Frankfurt? Sort these first
In a city like Frankfurt, the practical stuff (internet, banking, a SIM) is easier arranged early than scrambled for on arrival.
FAQ: relocating to Frankfurt
Is Frankfurt expensive to live in?
Net cold rent averages €10.58 per m², 45% above the German average of €7.28. That is the 2022 census level for sitting tenants; a new contract costs more. Disposable income per resident stands at €29,442 (125th highest of 400 German districts, 9th in Hesse). That is about 3% above the German average of €28,453. This figure is nominal, not adjusted for the local cost of living.
What is the job market like in Frankfurt?
Workplaces in Frankfurt account for 651,125 jobs — 861 per 1,000 residents, commuters included — against unemployment of 6.9%, roughly one in 14 of the local workforce, against 6.3% across Germany.
How built-up is Frankfurt?
With about 3,045 residents per km², Frankfurt is firmly on the urban side.
Will broadband in Frankfurt support remote work?
99% of households can get a fixed line of at least 100 Mbit/s, 94% gigabit of which 39% true fibre (FTTB/H); 5G mobile reaches 100% (Breitbandatlas, end of 2025), so a home office works at most addresses here.
How does Frankfurt compare to the rest of Germany?
Compared with Germany overall: unemployment 6.9% versus 6.3% nationally; income €29,442 (3% above the €28,453 average); building land €1,428/m² against a €132 median.
Other places in Hesse
Source: Regionaldatenbank Deutschland (regionalstatistik.de), Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder; supplementary data via Destatis GENESIS-Online. Housing, household, education and migration figures from the Zensus 2022. Broadband coverage from the Breitbandatlas (© MIG, BMDV). Recorded crime from the Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik (BKA, 2025). Median full-time gross wages from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (2024). Years per field: population 2024, jobs and unemployment 2025, income 2023, businesses, building activity and land 2024, naturalisations 2024, childcare 2025; rent, vacancy, ownership, dwelling size, single-person households, education and migration 2022 (Zensus); broadband end of 2025 (Breitbandatlas). · How we built this ›