Kassel remains Germany’s happiest city – a reason to celebrate!

Kassel remains Germany’s happiest city – a reason to celebrate!

What makes Kassel so special? According to the current survey by the SKL Happiness Atlas, the residents of the northern Hesse city will feel the happiest among city dwellers in Germany in 2025 for the second time in a row. Kassel once again takes first place with an average of 7.44 points on the scale from 0 to 10, followed by Krefeld and Düsseldorf, which share second and third place with 7.33 points each. This is reported by n-tv.

The survey, which surveyed a total of 23,468 people between January 2022 and April 2025, shows a positive trend in life satisfaction in major German cities, which increased by an average of 0.13 points compared to the previous year. Kassel particularly stands out here and impresses with its living conditions. Mayor Sven Schoeller emphasizes that the high level of happiness in life is closely linked to family-friendly policies and efforts to achieve renewable energies.

Kassel in the happiness ranking

The survey platform came to an interesting conclusion: the bigger the city, the lower the happiness in life. This applies not only to Kassel, which defends first place in the city ranking, but also to other large cities, such as Frankfurt am Main, which occupies a rather poor place with 35 points. In contrast, smaller cities such as Augsburg, Aachen and Münster are represented in the top ten, which shows how important familiar, manageable and safe living spaces are.

The rankings for 2025 also reveal a difference of 1.02 points for Kassel compared to Rostock, which ranks last. Rostock only scored 6.36 points, which is the difference between a healthy person and someone with serious health problems. Kassel has not only achieved a top position, but also a clear advantage. As an analysis by Kassel finds, the quality of life in Kassel exceeds the average of the 40 major cities examined.

The path to satisfaction

Kassel's special appeal is reflected not only in the satisfaction of its citizens, but also in the objective indicators of prosperity in the areas of infrastructure, culture, health care and education. This inspires optimism in the city. The city plans to further expand its attractive quality of life by increasing people's well-being through smart family and education policies, as well as initiatives for environmentally friendly mobility and renewable energies. In the words of Bernd Raffelhüschen from the University of Freiburg: “The even distribution of satisfaction is crucial for happiness in life.”

This makes it clear why Kassel is a hit among major German cities. Pleasing developments, a growing quality of life and a committed city administration ensure that, despite challenges such as a higher unemployment rate, the people of Kassel achieve a level of satisfaction that is enviable. The city wants to remain a popular place to live in the future, and the Happiness Atlas impressively shows that the efforts are bearing fruit.

In summary, Kassel's secret to happiness isn't just in numbers - it's the combination of quality of life, security and a strong sense of community that makes the city one of the happiest in Germany. Kassel has a good knack for creating a pleasant living environment in which you can enjoy spending time and thrive. The future looks bright for the city, which now not only offers a high quality of life but also gives its residents a feeling of home.