Is Leipzig the richest city in Germany? Is it the best place to live?
Peter Laughton
Peter Laughton, Married to a German, worked in Germany for five years
Updated Aug 3

Leipzig is most definitely not the richest city, financially, in Germany. Indeed, as a former ‘Eastern’ city it’s probably one of the poorer cities. Look to Munich, Dusseldorf or Hamburg for the richest cities.

It is, on the other hand, very rich culturally, and a wonderful place to live.

From the brilliant zoo to the generally relaxed ‘Saxon’ atmosphere I would say that the quality of life is superb. The Innere Stadt has a great vibe - I have enjoyed many an evening sitting outside a Bierstube enjoying one of Germany’s great beers.

Leipzig is close to the Saxony Switzerland area, and a short train ride from beautiful Dresden (think Prague, but much cleaner).

Economically the city is progressing well.

It, along with Dresden, has a rising tech business scene - thanks to some great universities - which help give the city an edge. The region is called ‘Silicon Saxony’ as a result. There is also a large number of motor-car manufacturers and Leipzig’s central location makes it highly desirable for logistics (so DHL, Amazon and other large companies are based here).

Perhaps the biggest downside is that the airport does not have many international connections. There is a direct train link to Frankfurt airport, which takes a few hours.

The climate can be cool in winter - with the occasional really cold snap with snow - but summers are generally quite hot.

Highly recommend Leipzig as a place to live and, despite a slightly lower level of English compared to the Rhineland or South Germany, is an easy city for foreigners to settle into.