Berlin

Quality of life in Berlin

Berlin is a sprawling, diverse metropolis, home to people from around the world. Although it is roughly nine times the size of Paris, Berlin's key districts are well-connected by public transport or cycling roads, and many even close enough for walking. The flexible work environment combined with easy access to venture capital attracts young people and entrepreneurs, making Berlin one of the most vibrant startup scenes in Europe.

Berlin is one of the top ten city matches for 30.8% of Teleport users.

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Life quality score

City ranking

Housing

6
154/265
Details
Large apartment$1500.00
Medium apartment$1200.00
Rent index [score]0.65
Small apartment$850.00

Cost of Living

6
141/248
Details
5km taxi ride$13.00
A Cappuccino$3.60
A beer$1.20
A kilogram of Apples$2.80
Bread$0.91
Inflation [score]0.55
Lunch$10.00
Monthly fitness club membership$41.00
Monthly public transport$100.00
Movie ticket$11.00
Price of a meal at a restaurant$61.29

Startups

9
14/264
Details
Average monthly increase in number of startups49
Average monthly increase in number of startups [score]0.90
Coworking spaces [score]0.75
Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co120
Meetups [score]0.88
Meetups groups200
Meetups members210212
Number of investors609
Number of startup events in the last 12 months1238
Number of upcoming meetup events196
Startup climate scene [score]0.96
Startup events328
Startup events [score]0.85
Startups [score]0.92
Total number of startups1503

Venture Capital

8
17/192
Details
Funding accelerator namesAxel Springer Plug and Play, Startupbootcamp Berlin, Techstars Metro
Number of funding accelerators4
Venture capital [score]0.78

Travel Connectivity

7
17/266
Details
Airport hub142
Airport hub [score]0.63
Intercity train connectivity [score]0.78

Commute

6
10/255
Details
Human city pagehttp://cities.human.co/details/Germany/Berlin
Traffic handling [score]0.90

Business Freedom

9
24/264
Details
Business freedom90.00
Business freedom [score]0.97
Freedom from corruption79.00
Freedom from corruption [score]0.86
Lack of labor restrictions50.60
Lack of labor restrictions [score]0.28
Time to open a business10.50
Time to open a business [score]0.89

Safety

7
129/266
Details
Crime rate [score]0.61
Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year1
Guns per 100 residents30
Lack of gun related deaths [score]0.97
Lack of guns [score]0.84
Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score]0.91

Healthcare

9
111/265
Details
Healthcare expenditure [score]0.87
Healthcare quality [score]0.83
Life expectancy (years)81.04
Life expectancy [score]0.86

Education

7
16/240
Details
Best university in rankingHumboldt University of Berlin
Best university ranking57
Country mean scores in PISA math test517.09
Country mean scores in PISA reading test507.68
Country mean scores in PISA science test524.12
PISA math ranking (high school)14
PISA ranking10
PISA ranking (high school) [score]0.86
PISA reading (high school)9
PISA science (high school)13
Percent of happy students0.78
Percent of low performers in PISA math test0.18
Percent of low performers in PISA reading test0.14
Percent of low performers in PISA science test0.12
Percent of top performers in PISA math test0.17
Percent of top performers in PISA reading test0.09
Percent of top performers in PISA science test0.12
University quality [score]0.54

Environmental Quality

7
122/266
Details
Air quality [score]0.64
Cleanliness [score]0.56
Drinking water quality [score]0.64
Urban greenery [score]0.86

Economy

5
133/263
Details
Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area0.85
Currency for urban areaEUR
GDP growth rate0.02
GDP growth rate [score]0.34
GDP per capita$45888.42
GDP per capita [score]0.73

Taxation

4
204/266
Details
Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score]0.45
Income tax level [score]0.33
Profit tax (% of profit)0.49
Time overhead to file company taxes218
VAT (Sales Tax)0.19

Internet Access

5
168/266
Details
Download speed (Mbps)30.24
Internet access (download) [score]0.47
Internet access (upload) [score]0.46
Upload speed (Mbps)10.62

Leisure & Culture

9
14/264
Details
Art galleries90
Art galleries [score]0.77
Cinemas81
Cinemas [score]0.59
Comedy clubs63
Comedy clubs [score]0.86
Concert venues109
Concerts [score]0.72
Historical sites239
Historical sites [score]0.92
Museums159
Museums [score]0.85
Performing art venues105
Performing arts [score]0.69
Sport venues48
Sports [score]0.68
Zoos30
Zoos [score]0.89

Tolerance

7
130/266
Details
Homosexuality acceptance (percent of the surveyed population in favor)0.87
LGBT Equality Index85.45
LGBT Equality Index [score]0.87
LGBT adoption rights✖ Step-child adoption only
LGBT age of consent✔ Equal
LGBT blood donation regulations✖ Banned (indefinite deferral)
LGBT conversion therapy regulations✖ Not banned
LGBT discrimination legality✔ Illegal
LGBT employment discrimination legality✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
LGBT gender changing rights✔ Legal, surgery not required
LGBT homosexuality rights✔ Legal
LGBT housing discrimination legality✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
LGBT marriage rights✔ Civil unions
Tolerance towards minorities [score]0.56

Outdoors

5
71/266
Details
Elevation (hills or mountains) [score]0.18
Median peak in meters325.00
Urban area elevation (meters)44.00
Water access [score]0.92
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Cost of living

Costs of living in Berlin are in the 141st place of all 248 Teleport cities. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international  cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.

Housing costs (USD)

$720$970
$850
Median rent for
apartments in city center

Daily living costs (USD)

Monthly fitness club membership$41
Movie ticket$11
Broadband internet connection$25
Monthly public transport$100
Lunch$10
-31%
compared to
San Francisco
See more prices and detailed cost of living data in Berlin

Job salary calculator

Software Engineer salaries in Berlin are above average. For this job type, Berlin ranks 104th for salaries among 265 cities. Get access to our salary comparison calculator by signing up. Compare salaries city by city with our free salary wizard and convert your own salary to a local salary in Berlin.

Estimated annual salary (in USD)

$49,580
Median salary
See more details and salary rankings for all job types in Berlin

Locals review Berlin

Do locals recommend living in Berlin?

What could Berlin do better?#improveBerlin

How could Berlin improve to make it a more liveable city? We will make sure that the local government will know about the suggestions that reach enough votes*.
*Suggestions will be delivered to: Mayor of Berlin - Michael Müller
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something that can be improved about your city.

What makes Berlin a special place?#praiseBerlin

Is Berlin a great place to live? What makes it special for you? What makes it liveable? What should others know about? Why should they move here? Why do you love it?
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something nice about your city.

Taxation

Personal taxation

Effective income tax rate

21%
For annual salary of $40000
31%
For annual salary of $80000

Value added tax (VAT)

19%
Standard tax rate. Different rates might apply for certain product categories.

Compared to other cities

155/266

Corporate taxation

Compared to other cities

188/263
See more details on taxation in Berlin
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Safety

Gun crimes & Ownership

30.30
Guns per 100 people
1.01
Gun deaths per 100k people / year
HIGH GUN CRIMELOW GUN CRIMEFEW GUNSMANY GUNS
North America
Europe
Asia
South America
Africa
Oceania

Overall crime rate city ranking

The overall crime rate puts Berlin in position 119 of 266 Teleport Cities in a ranking for the safest cities.

WORSTBEST
See more details on gun crime and safety in Berlin

Visa

For visits up to 90 days

Required with citizenship of
Get more information about visas in Berlin here
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People in Berlin

Population of Berlin

8,690,300
259 /km²
244/264
Density (people per unit of area)
0%
Growth in 2015-2020
Berlin

Demographics of Germany

Median age
47
Elderly people
22%
Life expectancy at birth
81
GDP per capita (in USD)
$45,888
97/263
Unemployment
4%
41/264

Languages

English proficiency score
62
120/228
Common spoken languages
German

Friends living in Berlin

Find out which of your friends are living in Berlin. Nothing is better than knowing a local 😉

Teleport Users  X  Berlin

Teleport users who are      Berlin

Work in:

Software Engineer
11.83%
Founder
6.17%
Marketing Manager
5.20%
Web Developer
3.76%
Web Designer
3.21%
Graphic Designer
3.13%
Product Manager
2.70%
Other
64.01%

Come from:

Climate

Average number of days per year without rain

160

Climate type

Marine West Coast

Average daily maximum temperature

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Impressions from Berlin

6:35 What to Do in Berlin, Germany | 36 Hours Travel Videos | The New York Times

A video by The New York Times

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On living in Berlin

Berlin is Germany's capital and similar to some other capitals (but for different reasons) it is also one of the 16 federal states that make up the Federal Republic of Germany. At a population of 3.5 million and 4.5 million if adjacent suburbs across the state line in Brandenburg are counted, Berlin is Germany's biggest city, but the Ruhr area arguably has a bigger metro area population and the focus on and dominance of Berlin is and has historically been far weaker than that of London, Paris or Madrid in their respective countries.

Berlin is unusual among European capitals in many respects and the four decades of partition - 28 years of them being physically separated by a wall - have also left traces. Barely a fishing village in the 18th century, Berlin grew to be one of the most important and biggest cities in the world by the 1920s, only to lose much of its importance and historic architecture through World War II and German partition. The heart of old Prussia and a focal point of the Cold War, Berlin today is coming into its own again as a cosmopolitan capital of one of Europe's wealthiest nations. "Arm aber sexy" (poor but sexy) as a former mayor would have it, Berlin attracts young people, students and a creative bohème like few other cities in the world. With architectural heritage from Prussian monarchism, Nazism, GDR communism and a vast "blank canvas" at Potsdamer Platz which was filled with 1990s and 2000s style glass palaces, Berlin's architecture is as varied as its neighborhoods and its people. And due to its long history as a cosmopolitan capital (first of Prussia and later of Germany) it has attracted immigrants from all over the world for more than three hundred years. Many of them have left and continue to leave a distinctive mark on the city.

Berlin can be seen as a cluster of centres. Berlin has many boroughs (Bezirke), and each borough is composed of several localities (Kiez or Viertel) — each of these boroughs and localities have their unique style. Some boroughs of Berlin are more worthy of a visitor's attention than others. Berlin used to be divided into 23 boroughs, and these boroughs are used in Wikivoyage as they remain foremost in popular conceptions of the city and are generally of a good practical size and cultural division for visitors. In January 2001, the number of boroughs was reduced from 23 to 12 for administrative purposes - mostly by fusing old boroughs together - sometimes across the former inner-Berlin border. The boroughs can roughly be grouped into six districts:

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Good Country Index

Every city comes with a country. How is this one doing in terms of giving back to the global community? Our friends at The Good Country Index measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size.

Overall ranking

Germany
7th from a total of 163 countries

World Order

2nd

Refugees hosted

Refugees generated

Charity giving

Birth rate

UN Treaties signed

International Peace & Security

44th

Dues in arrears to UN peace keeping budgets

International violent conflict

Peacekeeping troops

Arms exports

Internet security (2014)

Planet & Climate

17th

Ecological footprint

Reforestation since 1992

Hazardous pesticides exports

CO2 emissions

Ozone

Prosperity & Equality

30th

Development assistance

FDI outflows

Fairtrade market size

UN volunteers abroad

Open trading

Culture

7th

Freedom of movement

Press freedom

Creative services exports

UNESCO dues in arrears as % of contribution

Creative goods exports

Science & Technology

11th

Nobel prizes

Patents

Journal exports

International publications

International Students

Health & Wellbeing

13th

Pharmaceutical exports

Voluntary excess donations to the WHO

Food aid

Humanitarian aid donations

International Health Regulations Compliance

See details ▽

Still have questions?

Further research