Purchasing power in the Allgäu: Landkreis Unterallgäu surprises with growth!

The purchasing power in the Allgäu developed differently last year and shows remarkable regional differences. According to an investigation by the Institute of German Economy (IW), only a few counties in the region are represented in the top 50 in terms of purchasing power throughout the Federal Republic. The district of Unterallgäu took the 21st place, while the district of Oberallgäu landed on the 44th place. The city of Kaufbeuren reached the 238th place, Kempten even recorded 294 of a total of 400 cities and counties.

The differences in the development of purchasing power compared to the previous year are drastic. While the city of Memmingen was at the top in 2023, it was overtaken by surrounding counties. The district of Unterallgäu in particular recorded a strong growth and was able to secure a lead over Memmingen. Overall, the district of Unterallgäu represents the best development of purchasing power in the Allgäu. In contrast, Kempten and Kaufbeuren have declining tendencies.

results of the investigation

The IW and the BBSR published a regional price index to determine the cost of living in 400 circles and independent cities in Germany. This shows that living costs often rise near metropolises and metropolitan areas. Kaufbeuren is considered the cheapest circle in the Allgäu, but this does not necessarily mean that the people living there have more scope.

The purchasing power is composed of the offsetting of living costs and income. The district of Lindau has the highest middle income in the Allgäu with EUR 3724 gross per month, closely followed by the Unterallgäu with 3719 euros gross. Interestingly, the purchasing power in 2022 shows that, despite the highest income, Lindau has a lower purchasing power than the Oberallgäu, which is due to higher living costs.

Kempten has the lowest purchasing power in the Allgäu, since the cost of living there is high and the income does not increase to the same extent. In contrast, Memmingen has the highest purchasing power in the region and is number 38 in Germany, 9.6 percent above average. The district of Starnberg in Bavaria leads the list of the highest buying forces in Germany, despite 14 percent higher living costs than the average. Gelsenkirchen, on the other hand, has the lowest purchasing power in Germany with only 19,000 euros net per year.

Overall, the tendency shows that people in the country often have more money available than in expensive big cities, which further illustrates the regional differences in purchasing power.