Cost of Living: Cologne vs Stuttgart (2026)

Germany vs Germany — relocation comparison

Your passport:

Livability Score

Cologne

Stuttgart

$1,171/mo

Rent

1BR centre

$1,157/mo

$20k/yr

Take-home savings

At each city's local median pay

$17k/yr

5 yr

PR path

5 yr

Freelance setup

Freiberufler

VAT-free under €25k
€1200/yr accountant

WiseStripe

Freiberufler

VAT-free under €25k
€1200/yr accountant

WiseStripe

Sourced from Numbeo · Updated June 2026

TL;DRStuttgart is safer — homicide rate 0.3 vs 1.0 per 100k. Both cities will charge you about the same to exist.

Cologne and Stuttgart are almost suspiciously well-matched. Flip a coin.

How the livability score breaks down

Cologne

Stuttgart

17.6/25

💰 Affordability

17.7/25

14/15

🔒 Violent Crime

14.7/15

5.5/10

🛡️ Perceived Safety

6.6/10

14.2/15

⚡ Internet

15/15

13.1/15

🗳️ Democracy

13.1/15

8.8/10

🗣️ English

8.8/10

9.6/10

☀️ Climate

9.7/10

7.7/10

📊 Stability

7.7/10

9.8/10

🚗 Road Safety

9.8/10

7.9/10

🕊️ Geopolitical Safety

7.9/10

Verdict delivered. Your move.

Heads

🇩🇪 Stuttgart

Full profile, in case the coin says so.

Tails

🇩🇪 Cologne

Full profile, in case it says otherwise.

Plot twist

Berlin vs Cologne

Someone else's dilemma, equally unsolvable.

Household

Cologne

Metric

Stuttgart

$868/mo

🛒

Living costs (no rent)

lower is better

$829/mo

85 / 100

🛡️

Settler safety

higher is better

88 / 100

1.0 / 100k

🔒

Homicides

lower is better

0.3 / 100k✓

3.3 / 100k

🚗

Road deaths

lower is better

3.3 / 100k

55 / 100

🚨

Safety Index

higher is better

66 / 100✓

75°F

☀️

Summer high

personal taste

75°F

36°F

❄️

Winter low

personal taste

32°F

189 Mbps

⚡

Internet speed

higher is better

224 Mbps✓

—

🌬️

Air quality (PM2.5)

lower is better

9.2 μg/m³

84 / 100

🏥

Healthcare

higher is better

85 / 100

8.7 / 10

🗳️

Democracy

higher is better

8.7 / 10

7.1 / 9

🤝

Migrant acceptance

higher is better

7.1 / 9

66 / 100

🏳️‍🌈

Rainbow Index

higher is better

66 / 100

73/100

🗣️

Street English

higher is better

73/100

$74k

💼

GDP per capita (PPP)

higher is better

$74k

2.3% · Boringly steady

📈

Inflation

lower is better

2.3% · Boringly steady

98/100 — Reliable

⚡

Grid reliability

higher is better

98/100 — Reliable

95/100

🗽

Freedom House

higher is better

95/100

A median Software Engineer in Cologne takes home $4,833/mo under Standard employee. In Stuttgart: $4,519/mo under Standard employee.

$314/mo more in Cologne

Each city pays its own median — Software Engineer gross via Levels.fyi / Eurostat. Moving changes your salary too; that's the point.

$106k

💰

Gross income

$95k

−$28k

🏛️

Income tax

Standard employee

−$22k

−$20k

🛡️

Social contributions

−$18k

✓$58k/yr

$5k/mo

💵

Take-home pay

$54k/yr

$5k/mo

−$38k

🏠

Cost of living

−$38k

✓$20k/yr

🐖

Annual savings

$17k/yr

Swap the local medians for your actual number

Sources: Numbeo · UNODC · Ookla · WHO · EIU · Gallup · World Bank · Freedom House · Updated June 2026

🔒

Safety

Stuttgart

0.3 homicides per 100k

Sun

How much sky you actually get

34% clear

Win

Spr

Sum

Fall

Sky clear

avg daytime

37% clear

Win

Spr

Sum

Fall

8.0h

Shortest day

Dec

8.3h

16.4h

Longest day

Jun

16.1h

Sun clocks out before 5pm in both cities come December. Plan accordingly.

Source: WeatherSpark (clear-sky share of daytime hours)

Settler Essentials

Democracy trend

Moderate

🇺🇸 Your visa

Moderate

Easy

EU visa

Easy

Complex

RU visa

Complex

Moderate

UA visa

Moderate

Not recognized

eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft (now: Ehe)

Partner pathway

Not recognized

eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft (now: Ehe)

Visa stamps:Easy <90 daysModerate 3–6 moComplex 6+ mo

Sources: EIU · Freedom House · Startup Genome · official immigration portals

Reproductive Rights

Because your body shouldn't need a visa too

On request

Abortion access

On request

12 wk

Gestational limit

12 wk

Not punishable within 12 weeks with mandatory counseling and 3-day waiting period.

Source: Center for Reproductive Rights

LGBTQ+ Rights

Can you hold hands without doing a risk assessment first

Legal

Marriage

Legal

Joint adoption

Adoption

Joint adoption

Yes

Job protection

Yes

Hate crime law

Yes

Cologne vs Stuttgart — Common Questions

Is Cologne cheaper than Stuttgart?▾

Stuttgart is cheaper. A 1-bedroom apartment in city centre costs around $1157/month there vs $1171/month in the other city (Numbeo data).

Which is safer, Cologne or Stuttgart?▾

Stuttgart is statistically safer based on UNODC homicide data. Cologne has a rate of 0.98 per 100,000 and Stuttgart has 0.33 per 100,000.

Should I move to Cologne or Stuttgart?▾

Cologne and Stuttgart are almost suspiciously well-matched. Flip a coin. See the full comparison above for rent, safety, internet speed, climate, and democracy scores to decide which city fits your priorities.

What's the cost of rent in Cologne vs Stuttgart?▾

A 1-bedroom in the centre: $1157/month in Stuttgart, $1171/month in Cologne (Numbeo). That's 1% cheaper rent in Stuttgart.

Plot twist: other matchups exist

Maybe the real city was the comparisons we made along the way.

Compare Cologne

Berlin vs Cologne

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Compare Stuttgart

Munich vs Stuttgart

Let the algorithm judge you

2 min quiz — surprisingly accurate

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