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Hamburg inspires: City remains at the top of the Happiness Atlas 2025!
Hamburg leads the country ranking in the Happiness Atlas 2025 with 7.33 points; Life satisfaction increased slightly in Germany.
Hamburg inspires: City remains at the top of the Happiness Atlas 2025!
The Hanseatic city of Hamburg has once again secured the title of the happiest city in Germany. According to a current survey carried out by the University of Freiburg in collaboration with the South German Class Lottery, Hamburg residents rate their life satisfaction on average at 7.33 points on a scale of 0 to 10. This puts the city well above the German average, which has risen slightly to 7.09 points, with the increase in life satisfaction in East Germany contributing significantly to this Deutschlandfunk reports.
Hamburg leads the country ranking in the Happiness Atlas 2025, where the city defends its top spot, even if satisfaction has fallen slightly compared to the previous year. An analysis of the Happiness Atlas shows that the values in Bavaria (7.21 points) and Rhineland-Palatinate (also 7.21 points) land in the following places, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia with 7.19 points. Schleswig-Holstein, once in third place, falls to fifth place with 7.12 points. This decline makes it clear that the competition in the north was definitely catching up for various reasons, as Zeit notes.
satisfaction in the federal states
The Happiness Atlas 2025 also shows an interesting regional view: While average life satisfaction in Hamburg and the upper federal states achieves pleasing values, things look less rosy in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which is the least satisfied federal state with 6.06 points. There is a stagnating trend here, which is worrying. In contrast, East Germany shows an increase in satisfaction with 6.91 points, while West Germany remains at 7.15 points.
The complete list of the Happiness Atlas shows life satisfaction as follows:
| Federal State | Happiness points |
|---|---|
| Hamburg | 7.33 |
| Bavaria | 7.21 |
| Rhineland palatinates | 7.21 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 7.19 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 7.12 |
| … (other federal states) | … |
| Berlin | 6.83 |
| Saarland | 6.78 |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 6.06 |
Changes in attitude to life
Overall, 48% of Germans said they were highly satisfied with their life, which the rating of 8 to 10 points confirms. What is particularly noteworthy is that the surveys by the Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy show that more than 19,000 people throughout the Federal Republic have shared their living situation. The data collected underlines how important factors such as work, income, family and leisure time are for emotional well-being, as over 5,100 people were also surveyed on these topics in June 2025.
Overall, it remains to be seen how satisfaction will develop in the coming years. The Happiness Atlas offers an exciting picture of the realities of life in Germany and leaves room for hope that, with appropriate measures, positive developments can also occur in the less satisfied federal states.