Danilo · Updated 2026-10-15 · Sources: ESTV tax calculator 2026; BFS structural survey (rents); SBB national direct-transport tariff 2026; Canton of Bern tax administration (municipal tax rates)
Bern, the suburbs or Thun? Why tax almost never decides it here
"Move out to the suburbs, the taxes are lower." Sooner or later someone says it to anyone flat-hunting in Bern: in the city, in Köniz, in Ostermundigen, and, if the parents live in Thun, in Thun as well.
In Zurich or Schwyz that advice can be worth a few thousand francs a year. In the canton of Bern it's usually wrong, and where it's right, less money is at stake than people think. This guide runs the numbers for six municipalities.
The figures for six municipalities
The example profile: CHF 130'000 gross employment income, no church tax, tax year 2026. Two households: a single person, and a married couple with two children. Each amount is federal, cantonal and municipal income tax combined, calculated exactly for that municipality. With a different income, any wealth, or different deductions, your own figure will differ.
| Municipality | Single | Married, 2 children |
|---|---|---|
| Muri bei Bern | CHF 22'620 | CHF 12'664 |
| Bern | CHF 24'481 | CHF 13'808 |
| Köniz | CHF 24'667 | CHF 13'922 |
| Burgdorf | CHF 24'900 | CHF 14'065 |
| Thun | CHF 25'039 | CHF 14'151 |
| Ostermundigen | CHF 25'179 | CHF 14'237 |
Inside the canton, the municipality barely matters
Put each place next to the city of Bern and, for the single person, you get:
- Köniz: CHF 24'667 − CHF 24'481 = CHF 186 more per year
- Burgdorf: CHF 24'900 − CHF 24'481 = CHF 419 more
- Thun: CHF 25'039 − CHF 24'481 = CHF 558 more
- Ostermundigen: CHF 25'179 − CHF 24'481 = CHF 698 more
For the family the gaps shrink further: Köniz CHF 114 more, Burgdorf CHF 257, Thun CHF 343, Ostermundigen CHF 429 (each one the municipality minus Bern's CHF 13'808).
Leave Muri aside and the gap between the cheapest and the dearest of these five is CHF 698 a year. That's about CHF 58 a month. If you like the flat in Ostermundigen more than the one in the Länggasse, tax is no reason to hesitate.
Federal tax and cantonal tax are the same everywhere in the canton. Only the municipal tax changes, and for these five places the difference is small. How that rate works is covered in What is the Steuerfuss.
Note that in this selection, the city of Bern is not the expensive option. Köniz, Burgdorf, Thun and Ostermundigen all cost a little more. The picture of the "expensive city" and the "cheap suburbs" doesn't fit here.
Muri: the one exception
Muri bei Bern stands apart. Single: CHF 24'481 − CHF 22'620 = CHF 1'861 less than the city of Bern. Family: CHF 13'808 − CHF 12'664 = CHF 1'144 less.
Per month that's CHF 1'861 ÷ 12 = about CHF 155 for the single person, and CHF 1'144 ÷ 12 = about CHF 95 for the family. That is your headroom: a flat in Muri can cost that much more than a comparable one in Bern before the tax advantage is gone. It isn't a big cushion. Whether a flat in Muri or Gümligen stays inside it is something only the actual listing can tell you, not the tax rate.
Thun and Burgdorf: the season ticket outweighs any tax gap
This is where the comparison tips. A national point-to-point season ticket from Thun to Bern costs CHF 250 a month, and the same from Burgdorf to Bern (second class). Over a year: CHF 250 × 12 = CHF 3'000.
That's more than the whole spread across all six municipalities in the table (single: CHF 25'179 − CHF 22'620 = CHF 2'559). And it comes on top of a slightly higher tax bill. For the single person in Thun:
- Extra tax compared with Bern: CHF 558 a year
- Plus the ticket: CHF 558 + CHF 3'000 = CHF 3'558 a year
- Per month: CHF 3'558 ÷ 12 = about CHF 297
So a flat in Thun has to be close to CHF 300 a month cheaper than the Bern alternative just to break even. For the family it's CHF 343 + CHF 3'000 = CHF 3'343, about CHF 279 a month (counting one ticket, for the person who commutes). For Burgdorf: single CHF 419 + CHF 3'000 = CHF 3'419, about CHF 285 a month; family CHF 257 + CHF 3'000 = CHF 3'257, about CHF 271.
One caveat: this assumes that living in Bern costs you nothing to get around. If you live in Bümpliz and take the tram into the centre every day, you may have a pass from the Libero fare network as well, and then the real gap is smaller than CHF 3'000. Coming from Thun, a multi-zone fare-network pass can also be priced differently from the point-to-point ticket, for instance if you want it to cover Bern's trams and buses too. The fare network publishes its prices; for your own route, put both options side by side. There's more on this in Commuting: Verbund pass vs. GA.
Then there's travel time, which shows up in no tax table. Two train rides a day take hours you could spend otherwise; what they're worth is for each person to decide.
Rent: two numbers you shouldn't subtract
The BFS structural survey has its own average rent for the city of Bern: CHF 1'413 a month (2022–2024). For Köniz, Muri, Ostermundigen, Thun and Burgdorf there's no municipal figure, only the average for the whole canton of Bern: CHF 1'319 a month (2024), the same number for all five.
The difference between those two says nothing about what a flat in Thun costs. The canton average takes in the Emmental, the Oberland and the Bernese Jura. Both are averages from the structural survey, not current listings, so treat them as background. The rent on the flat you're actually viewing is what goes into the calculation.
What about Biel/Bienne?
Biel/Bienne is in the canton of Bern too, but it brings a second question: language. There's a separate guide with figures for Biel, Bern, Fribourg and French-speaking Switzerland: Moving across the Röstigraben.
What the table doesn't say
- Church tax: every amount is without a confession. With church tax, the bill rises
in every municipality.
- Other incomes or wealth: the gaps hold for CHF 130'000. At another income they
change, and the order can shift.
- Commuting within the suburbs: no ticket price is calculated here for Köniz, Muri or
Ostermundigen to Bern; those trips run on Libero's zones.
- One-off costs such as movers or the rent deposit aren't included.
- This isn't tax or legal advice. It's an analysis of public data for one example profile.
The canton of Bern's tax administration publishes the municipal tax rates.
Finally: rerun it yourself
My advice for the Bern area: pick the flat on rent, layout and the trip to work, and forget about municipal tax unless Muri is a serious contender. Move to Thun or Burgdorf because you want to live there, not to save money.
With your own income, the rent from the listing and your own commute, you can rerun it yourself: