It’s hard to compare the quality of life in different parts of Switzerland, but a new study suggests one canton is far better than the others when it comes to certain criteria.
Each year, Switzerland’s 26 cantons are ranked, and compared, in terms of their economic and social freedoms.
In its Freedom Index, the think-tank Avenir Suisse ranks each canton on 29 varied criteria, including the tax burden, financial stability of state coffers, employment market, anti-smoking policies, safety and security, and even the length of residency it requires for naturalisation.
The clear overall winner is Aargau, which obtained 70.1 points (out of 100).
“This canton wins almost across the board, claiming first place in the social sub‑index and second place in the economic sub‑index,” Avenir Suisse said.
For instance, it earned the maximum of 100 points for financial solvability, as well as for the way it regulates its labour market.
Who are the other winners – and losers?
If you think international cantons like Geneva, Zurich, and Vaud are among the most liberal, you are wrong.
It will likely come as a surprise to some people, but the two Appenzells – Inner and Ausserrhoden – take second and third places, respectively.
Zurich, on the other hand, is almost at the bottom of the ranking – in the 25th place.
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Not all is black and white, however
This means that ‘top’ cantons are not necessarily highly rated in all 29 categories, while the lower-ranked ones perform poorly across the board.
The study reveals, for example, that “Zug continues to excel as the canton offering the greatest economic freedoms yet ranks only 21st in social freedoms.”
Further, “Jura and Vaud face the same situation as Zug: they occupy top positions in social freedoms (2nd and 4th), but rank at the bottom for economic freedoms.”
In case of Aargau, even though it is the overall winner, it scores zero (as do many other cantons) in terms of political rights granted to resident foreigners.
For one, it has among the country’s toughest criteria for obtaining citizenship – in 2020, over 64 percent of canton’s voters approved stricter naturalisation procedures.
And there is more: also several years ago, Aargau traffic police reportedly targeted foreigners passing through the canton, especially motorists from Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
READ MORE: Swiss police under fire for ‘arbitrarily’ targeting foreigners in canton of Aargau
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What else do we know about Aargau?
Located between Zurich, Basel-City and Germany, Aargau is Switzerland’s fourth-largest canton by population – just over 735,000 people in 2025.
Its capital is Aarau (without the ‘g’), whose reputation took a beating in 2019, when a study by the Institute for Customer Insight at the University of St.Gallen revealed that “almost nobody in Switzerland” likes this city.
This may not hold true for the 22,000 people who live there, but the study respondents said the town lacks cultural opportunities.
They also give it a low rating because they don’t like the Aarau dialect.
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Is this assessment true?
We can’t judge dialects, but we do know that this town on the river Aare has an attractive old town with historic alleyways and ornate roof gables.
And, contrary to the statement about the lack of culture, Aarau does have both an art museum (Kunsthaus) and a city museum (Stadtmuseum).
READ MORE: How different is life in one Swiss canton compared to another?
