If you are moving to Fulda 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.
Fulda sits mid-table on most measures, a steady all-rounder. The job market stands out: the lowest-unemployment of Hesse’s 26 districts.
How Fulda compares
Where Fulda ranks against all 400 of Germany’s districts (Kreise); building-land prices are recorded for 394 of them. Each bar fills to the percentile shown; hover for the underlying figure.
See how Fulda stacks up across Hesse: Cheapest to rent · Safest · Best for families.
Jobs and the economy
40% below DE avg
Fulda roughly balances jobs and residents: 98,392 jobs at local workplaces in 2025, 443 per 1,000 residents. Those jobs are spread across 10,249 registered businesses (2024), which gives a feel for the spread of employers here. Unemployment stands at 3.8% in 2025 (German average 6.3%), roughly one in 26 of the local workforce.
The median full-time worker here earns €3,800 a month gross (4% below the German median of €3,950), before tax and social contributions. It is not the same as the disposable income above: that is per resident after tax and transfers, this is gross pay for those in work. Source: Bundesagentur für Arbeit, 2024.
Cost of living and housing
16% below DE avg
1% below DE avg
Building plots go for around €72 per m², the 287th highest of 394 districts with a recorded price, the raw land cost that ultimately works its way into what you pay in rent. The median German district is around €132 per m². Housing is one of the easier costs to swallow here. The average net cold rent (Nettokaltmiete) is €6.13 per m², about 16% below the German average of €7.28. Sitting tenants pay this 2022 census rate, and newcomers on the open market generally pay a step up. Disposable income per resident runs to €28,034 (200th highest of 400 German districts, 11th in Hesse). That is about 1% below the German average of €28,453. On its own that number tells half the story; the local cost of living does the rest. At €6.13/m², a 70 m² flat works out to about €429 a month in cold rent (existing-tenancy 2022 level; a new lease costs more). Relative to what people here earn, it is the 7th most affordable of Hesse’s 26 districts. For scale, that is about 58% of the rent in Frankfurt (€10.58/m²).
The local housing market
Here is the shape of the market, from the 2022 census: 46.2% of homes are rented rather than owner-occupied; the vacancy rate is 5.1% (neither tight nor slack); the average home measures 107 m². The stock is 111,985 homes in 57,012 buildings, about 2 per building, so this is more houses than apartment blocks. In the latest year 222 new dwellings were completed against 171 permits, which hints at how much new housing is actually coming through.
Who lives in Fulda
Age profile and household make-up from the 2022 census.
Age distribution
24.8% of residents are aged 25 to 45, the age group most newcomers belong to, with 14.2% under 15 and 22.6% at 65 or older. The rest of the 2022 census picture: 21.1% of residents have a migration history (10.1% are foreign nationals); 39.1% of households are single-person; 29.6% of adults hold an Abitur / university-entrance qualification. Enough foreign residents that you would not feel like the only newcomer, though German remains the default. Local schools serve 24,294 pupils. Childcare availability climbs with age: about 1.6% of under-1s, 35.2% of 1 to 2 year olds and 63.8% of 2 to 3 year olds have a place, so finding care for an infant is harder than for a toddler.
Internet & connectivity
The share of homes able to get each speed (Breitbandatlas, end of 2025). Gigabit may come via fibre or upgraded cable; true fibre (FTTB/H) is listed on its own.
97% of households can get a fixed line of at least 100 Mbit/s, and 74% can reach gigabit (1,000 Mbit/s) speeds (Breitbandatlas, end of 2025). Of that, 46% 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 99% of households. Working remotely as a newcomer is straightforward; the connection is rarely the problem here.
Where Fulda is in Germany
Recorded crime
The local rate of recorded offences, per 100,000 residents.
The local rate is 4,425 recorded offences per 100,000 residents (2025, the Häufigkeitszahl), 13% below the German district median of about 5,096. These are police-recorded cases, not convictions; transit hubs, motorways and busy centres lift the figure because much of it involves visitors rather than locals. It is not a verdict on how safe the area is to live in. Source: Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik, BKA 2025.
Local taxes
Unless you start a business, local tax is a footnote here. The trade-tax multiplier (Gewerbesteuer) is 376%, 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
Fulda is gaining people. In 2024, 16,163 moved in and 15,727 moved out, a net of +436. Arrivals outnumber departures, so the rental market stays tight. In 2024 the district naturalised 615 residents, a naturalisation rate of 2.4%. Some 9,480 people here hold or are seeking protection status, about 42.6 per 1,000 residents, the combined asylum, refugee and humanitarian total, with Ukrainians counted here since 2022. Turnout at the most recent election was 84.9%.
Just arrived in Fulda? Sort these first
Expect to drive in Fulda, a more rural district, at about 161 people per km², so car insurance and a bank account are worth sorting early.
FAQ: relocating to Fulda
Is it easy to find a job in Fulda?
Fulda has 98,392 jobs (443 per 1,000 residents, including commuters) and 3.8% unemployment, roughly one in 26 of the local workforce, against 6.3% across Germany.
What does it cost to live in Fulda?
The average net cold rent is €6.13 per m² (16% below the €7.28 German average), from existing 2022 tenancies, so a new lease runs higher. Disposable income per resident is €28,034 (200th highest of 400 German districts, 11th in Hesse). That is about 1% below the German average of €28,453. Building land is around €72 per m², which feeds into local rents. It is not adjusted for local prices, so treat it as a headline only.
Can I work remotely from Fulda?
97% of households can get a fixed line of at least 100 Mbit/s, 74% gigabit of which 46% true fibre (FTTB/H); 5G mobile reaches 99% (Breitbandatlas, end of 2025), so a home office works at most addresses here.
Is Fulda family-friendly?
By the figures: 14.2% of residents are under 15, local schools serve 24,294 pupils, daycare reaches about 63.8% of two-to-three-year-olds.
Is a car necessary in Fulda?
Fulda has about 161 residents per km². As a more rural district that usually means a car is essential for commuting and errands.
Other places in Hessen
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 ›