In which German cities are people happiest?

Ever heard of Erfurt? It’s a distant German city where everyone is… happy. At least that is the case according to the latest Happiness Atlas (Glücksatlas) by the Süddeutschen Klassenlotterie (SKL).

Erfurters, happy and they know it

Human happiness is simple; it can be ranked from 0 (depressed) to 10 (ecstatic). And if you rank it from 0 to 10, then crunch the numbers, you’ll find that people in Erfurt are the happiest people in Germany. They are exactly 7,74 points happy.

That is according to SKL’s latest Happiness Atlas of the 40 largest German cities, which surveyed 23.300 people between January 2023 and April 2026. SKL cited lower rents, high environmental quality, and a comparatively good economic environment as the main reasons for Erfurters’ cheerful disposition.

The Bundeshauptstadt of Thuringia was followed by Augsburg, Düsseldorf, Krefeld and Kiel, which together made up the five happiest cities in Germany.

Where are city-dwellers least happy?

So, where are people in Germany less happy? And how did the major cities perform? The answer to those questions is similar. 

Many of the large German cities ranked low: Frankfurt in 38th place, Berlin in 35th, Munich in 25th, Stuttgart in 21st, and Cologne in 20th. Hamburg, however, ranked 10th. According to the ranking, people in Rostock are the least happy, ranking 40th.

“The material wealth indicators don’t entirely capture life happiness,” said Bernd Raffelhüschen from the University of Freiburg, explaining how the major cities ranked,  “[I]mmaterial factors, such as a feeling of community and personal identification with the location, play a large role”. 

Happiest cities in Germany 2026

Overall, these were the top 10 happiest cities in Germany in 2026, according to the SKL Happiness Atlas:

1. Erfurt
2. Augsburg
3. Düsseldorf
4. Krefeld
5. Kiel
6. Aachen
7. Mönchengladbach
8. Oberhausen
9. Duisburg
10. Hamburg

To read the full ranking, head to the SKL Glücksatlas website.