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Which municipality in the canton Aargau suits me?
The canton of Aargau has a lot to offer – in addition to many family-friendly municipalities, it is also at the forefront in terms of cultural activities. Good transport links to Zurich and lower property prices make the canton very attractive. But what’s the best place to live in Aargau? We take a close look at the three municipalities of Wettingen, Aarau and Baden, and compare them.
Population
The population of all three municipalities is very similar. Aarau has the highest population with 21,500 inhabitants, followed closely by Wettingen with 20,800 and Baden with 19,300.
Population density
However, the differences in population density are much larger. Wettingen has 1,961 people per km², but Aarau has only 1,744 and in Baden the density is only 1,467 per km². In comparison, the city of Zurich, for example, has a population density of 4,521 inhabitants per km², making it much denser than all three municipalities.
Transport connections
Baden is in the lead in terms of transport connections. From there, the Interregio takes only 16 minutes to reach Zurich main station. And Wettingen is only 19 minutes by S-Bahn from Zurich. From Aarau station, Zurich main station can be reached in 24 minutes with the IC or 29 minutes with the Regio-Express, depending on the connection.
Many schoolchildren and students commute from Brugg via Baden to the cantonal school in Wettingen or the university in Zurich. Baden also impresses with its great night bus connections (all villages in the Baden/Brugg/Zurziebiet area). Bus connections in general are good in Wettingen, Baden and Aarau (running every seven or 15 minutes).
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Apartments to rent in Wettingen
Apartments for sale in Wettingen
Family-friendly communities
Wettingen is generally very family-friendly and has good schools with a wide range. Kloster-Kantonsschule und Fachmittelschule is very popular due to its lovely location.
Tägipark shopping centre is very well known, and the Tägi includes indoor and outdoor swimming pools and an ice rink in winter (many sporting activities such as ice hockey, swimming competitions, volleyball, etc.). It also has the Familypunkt club and a gymnastics and sport club, which are popular.
Baden’s advantages include its variety of leisure activities for families and children. There is a town library and various educational offers (schools, Kantonsschule Baden, Forum, private schools, etc.). The municipalities of Dättwil, Meierhof, Kappelerhof and Rütihof also offer various children’s and youth activities: https://soziokultur.baden.ch/quartiere.html/495
Aarau is pursuing the goal of becoming more child-friendly (AZ article). It has a separate town association for each neighbourhood, including a website. There is even a Parents’ Association.
Labour market
Aarau offers more than 32,500 jobs. The largest employer is the cantonal administration. There are also many small and medium-sized companies in the private sector. Internationally renowned companies, especially in the areas of health, finance and medical technology, are also based in Aarau.
About 2,400 companies are based in Baden, one of the dozen most attractive business locations in Switzerland. The high-tech energy, industrial ICT, health/wellness and medical technology sectors are particularly well represented there.
Percentage of foreign citizens
At 27.7% in Wettingen and 27.0% in Baden, the percentage of foreign citizens is very close. Aarau has a significantly lower percentage at just 21.1%.
Housing stock
In 2017, the housing stock in Wettingen consisted of 10,357 apartments and 1,865 family homes. The share of family homes was around 15.3%. In Aarau, 11,702 apartments and 2,047 family homes were counted. The share of family houses was therefore somewhat lower at 14.9%. It is slightly lower in Baden at 13.9%, with 10,346 apartments and 1,671 family homes.
Many young adults from the neighbouring municipalities like to move to Baden and its vicinity. Dättwil in particular has grown in recent years. Meierhof is also set to undergo expansion. Baden has a spatial development concept: https://www.baden.ch/de/stadt-behoerde/stadtentwicklung/projekte.html/996/news/3897.
Wettingen is considered slightly less expensive than Baden. If you are looking for cheaper housing, you will find it in Wettingen.
Cultural activities
Baden is a paradise in terms of cultural and leisure activities. Cultural activities are generally very important in Baden. Particularly well known are Werkk cultural centre, Royal, Stanzerei, Nordportal, Kurtheater Baden, the casino and the Trafo and Sterk cinemas. There is also a calendar of cultural events: https://dein.baden.ch/de/eventkalender-kulturagenda. Other great events include the annual Fantoche and the Badenfahrt (the next one will take place in 2023). The old town of Baden and its surroundings offer many restaurants, cafés, shops, museums, clubs and bars. These are generally always well attended. Triebguet is a popular location in summer. There are also many concerts in venues such as Royal and Nordportal. Jazz is well represented too (Prima Vista Bar). And there’s a fresh market every Saturday.
Wettingen has a Cultural Commission. The members of the Cultural Commission ensure that cultural events are promoted and that different cultural fields are offered. Culture in Wettingen, however, is rather ‘classical’ (monastic orchestra and New Year’s concerts). However, there is a theatre company, and there are some well-known galleries and cinemas. Yet Wettingen is generally better known for some of its restaurants and its green surroundings. You shouldn’t miss the annual Wettingerfest, a very important event for residents.
Aarau’s Kultur- und Kongresshaus is particularly well known. You can find general events and events related to art and culture in Aarau here.
Relocation dynamics in Aargau are driven by the middle centers
Like the canton of Zurich, the canton of Aargau is one of the more dynamic regions, with a relocation rate (including influxes from abroad) of around 10.6% in 2019. Similar to the canton of Zurich, the relocation rate here is driven by moves within the canton. However, in contrast to Zurich, the rate of moving in from abroad is much lower, at 1.1% of the housing stock. The rate of people moving in from the other cantons is much higher, at 2.4%. This is also evident at the neighborhood level.
The largest proportion of new residents to the cantonal capital Aarau comes from the other cantons. There is a lively flow of people moving between Aarau and the neighboring villages of Buchs and Suhr, and to a lesser extent with the village of Aarau Rohr. In absolute terms, most of the new residents settle in Aarau, the capital of the canton. Other agglomerations with a high number of bilateral migration flows are located between Baden-Wettingen-Neuenhof, Baden and Ennetbaden and between Lenzburg and Staufen. In contrast to the cantons of Zurich and Vaud, where inner-cantonal relocations dominate and the cantonal capitals play a major role, the relocation dynamics in Aargau are thus driven from outside by moves from other cantons and within by a lively dynamic between the middle centers and their agglomerations, namely Aarau, Baden or Lenzburg.
Would you like to perform your own municipal home move analysis? It’s easy! Just enter ‘from’ or ‘to’ and your municipality*. ‘to Zurich’, for instance, will show moves only to the city of Zurich. If you’re interested in a move from Bern to Zurich, for instance, type ‘from Bern to Zurich’. Happy searching!
*Please note that you must enter the official name of the municipality as stipulated by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). You can find a list of these here.
Source: Zürcher Kantonalbank, Swiss Post AG, Federal Statistical Office
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Apartments to rent in the canton of Aargau
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Houses for sale in the canton of Aargau
Sources:
https://www.aarauinfo.ch/dokumente/portrait_aarau.pdf
https://ag.de/de/dfr/statistik/datenportal
https://www.baden.ch/de/wirtschaft/wirtschaftsstandort-baden/kerndaten.html/530