Danilo · Updated 2026-10-15 · Sources: ESTV/FTA tax calculator, tax year 2026; FSO Structural Survey (average rents); SBB national point-to-point tariff; Divisione delle contribuzioni del Cantone Ticino (cantonal tax administration)

Lugano, Bellinzona, Locarno, Mendrisio or Chiasso? Where to live in Ticino

Say you land a job in Lugano at CHF 130'000 gross a year, and everyone advises something different. Some say Bellinzona, "everything's cheaper there". Others stick up for Lugano: expensive, but with a low tax multiplier. They're both partly right, but the amounts involved aren't the ones most people expect.

I compared five municipalities on the same gross employment income of CHF 130'000, with no church tax, for two profiles: a single person and a married couple with two children. These are example profiles. Your own figure will differ, depending on your deductions, your wealth and your situation.

2026 taxes, municipality by municipality

The amounts include direct federal tax, cantonal tax and municipal tax for tax year 2026, as the ESTV (Federal Tax Administration) calculates them for each municipality. In Ticino the municipal rate is called the moltiplicatore comunale, the municipal multiplier.

Lugano and Mendrisio come out at exactly the same amount, to the franc. That isn't a copy-paste slip. They are two separate municipalities, but per the ESTV both apply the same municipal multiplier in 2026. Same multiplier, same income, same bill. For how the municipal share is worked out in detail, the Divisione delle contribuzioni is the authority.

The surprise: the gap between towns is small

Between the cheapest and the dearest town in the table you'd expect a canyon. In francs, for the single person, there isn't one:

• Bellinzona CHF 22'626 − Lugano CHF 21'040 = CHF 1'586 a year
• CHF 1'586 ÷ 12 = about CHF 132 a month

For the couple with two children:

• Bellinzona CHF 8'667 − Lugano CHF 8'026 = CHF 641 a year
• CHF 641 ÷ 12 = about CHF 53 a month

That's the largest gap among the five, not the typical one. It stays small because only the municipal share differs. For the family, whose whole bill is much smaller, that share is smaller still.

At this income I wouldn't choose on the multiplier alone. Between Lugano, Locarno and Bellinzona it's worth at most CHF 53 a month to the family, too little to decide where to live.

Next-door neighbours, different multipliers

Chiasso and Mendrisio sit next to each other in the Mendrisiotto but don't share a multiplier. For the single person that's CHF 22'131 − CHF 21'040 = CHF 1'091 a year; for the family, CHF 8'467 − CHF 8'026 = CHF 441. Not dramatic, but the name on the map isn't enough. What counts is the municipality the address belongs to.

That matters most around the bigger towns. A district or village name can belong to a different municipality than the city it points to, and carry a different multiplier. Before you sign a lease, check which municipality the address is in, for example with the municipal office.

The train costs more than the tax gap

Take, as an example, someone who works in Lugano and is thinking of living in Bellinzona. An SBB point-to-point pass Bellinzona–Lugano, 2nd class, costs CHF 250 a month:

• CHF 250 × 12 = CHF 3'000 a year

The commute on its own is almost twice the whole of Lugano's tax advantage for the single person (CHF 3'000 ÷ CHF 1'586 ≈ 1.9) and almost five times it for the family (CHF 3'000 ÷ CHF 641 ≈ 4.7). Put train and tax together, and living in Bellinzona instead of Lugano costs:

• single: CHF 3'000 + CHF 1'586 = CHF 4'586 a year more
• family: CHF 3'000 + CHF 641 = CHF 3'641 a year more

Either way, the train is most of that bill, not the multiplier. Within Ticino a fare-network pass can cost more or less than the SBB point-to-point pass, so look up the price for your exact route yourself. If you work in Bellinzona and live in Lugano, the logic runs the other way round. More in the guide Verbund zone pass, national tariff, or GA.

Rent: two different bases, no verdict

The FSO rent statistics (the structural survey: averages, not current listings) only have a figure of their own for Lugano: CHF 1'292 a month on average (2022–2024). For Bellinzona, Locarno, Mendrisio and Chiasso there is only the Ticino cantonal average, CHF 1'245 (2024). A city figure set against a cantonal average says nothing about real flats in Bellinzona or Locarno, so I draw no conclusion about rent.

One calculation works without estimating anything, though. For the single person, Lugano's entire tax advantage over Bellinzona is worth about CHF 132 a month. If the flat you're looking at costs CHF 132 a month more, it's gone. For the family, that threshold drops to about CHF 53. What decides it is the rent on the actual listing, not the multiplier.

Ticino against the rest of Switzerland

From the north, Ticino often passes for a low-tax canton. On the same income and the same profiles, here's Lugano next to other cities:

The flip against Zürich is the odd one. The single person pays CHF 21'040 − CHF 18'647 = CHF 2'393 more in Lugano than in the city of Zürich. The family with two children pays CHF 8'890 − CHF 8'026 = CHF 864 less. Against Bern and Lausanne, Lugano is lighter for both profiles, and for the family by a wide margin: CHF 13'808 − CHF 8'026 = CHF 5'782 less than Bern, CHF 14'117 − CHF 8'026 = CHF 6'091 less than Lausanne.

So a family moving to Ticino from Bern or Lausanne really does save. A single person coming from Zürich at this income pays more. For moving across a language border, there's also the guide Moving across the Röstigraben.

Where the numbers stop

• Church tax: both profiles have no religious affiliation. With church tax the amounts

change; see What leaving a church actually changes on your tax bill.

• Wealth and other income: only employment income is included.
• Tax at source: people taxed at source follow their own rules. For your situation, check

with Ticino's cantonal tax administration (Divisione delle contribuzioni).

• Tax year: every figure is for 2026. Municipal multipliers are set every year and can

change.

• One-off moving costs, such as the rent deposit or a removal firm, aren't included.
• None of this is tax advice. It's an analysis of public data for two example profiles.

With your income

Enter your income, the rent of the flat you're looking at and your commute, and Zügle does the whole sum:

Run the numbers with your own figures

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