How many companies are there in Glarus?

According to the Federal Statistical Office (STATENT 2024), Glarus had 3,043 enterprises, 99.6% of them SMEs with fewer than 250 employees. Its 3,413 workplaces employed 23,039 people.

What is the GDP of Glarus?

Glarus’s GDP was CHF 3.1 billion in 2022 (provisional Federal Statistical Office figure), 0.4% of Swiss GDP, with real growth of 1.8%. GDP per capita was CHF 75,430, rank 16 of 26 cantons.

What is the unemployment rate in Glarus?

SECO registered an unemployment rate of 1.6% in Glarus in August 2026, with 361 people registered as unemployed (August 2025: 1.7%).

All cantons

Glarus

Canton

Glarus

Economy, taxes and industries

Population 2025 42,451GDP 2022 CHF 3.1 bnCorporate tax 2026 12.50%

Economic snapshot

GDP: CHF 3.1 bn; 0.4% of Swiss GDP · 2022p
GDP per capita: CHF 75,430; Rank 16 of 26 · 2022p
Enterprises: 3,043; 99.6% SMEs · 2024
Jobs: 23,039; −0.4% vs. 2023 · 2024
Unemployment: 1.6%; Aug. 2026 · Aug. 2025: 1.7%
Median gross wage: CHF 6,623; CHF per month · Eastern Switzerland, 2024

Overview

Glarus is one of Switzerland's smallest cantons, with 42,451 residents, 23,039 jobs and 3,043 enterprises. GDP reached CHF 3.1 billion in 2022, or CHF 75,430 per head. Job growth has been the weakest in the country: employment rose by 2.9% between 2019 and 2024, the lowest increase of the 26 cantons, and edged down by 0.4% in 2024. Unemployment was 1.6% in August 2026, below the Swiss rate of 3.0%.

Glarus is one of the most industrial cantons in eastern Switzerland. Plastics, metals and metal products account for 8.4% of jobs, 3.6 times the national share, and food and beverages for 4.6%, the second-highest concentration of any canton after employment in the sector grew by 20.9% in five years. The chocolate maker Läderach is based in the canton, and Netstal in Glarus Nord builds injection-moulding machines. Construction (10.2%) and energy, water, waste and mining (2.4%, driven by hydropower) are also well above average. Since 2011 the canton has had just three municipalities: Glarus, Glarus Nord and Glarus Süd.

KPMG ranks Glarus's maximum effective corporate tax rate of 12.50% as the fourth-lowest in Switzerland in 2026 (2025: 12.32%). The top income tax rate is 31.17%. In ValIndex's ownership study, 60.6% of Glarus GmbHs belong to a single person, the fourth-highest share of any canton.

Location advantages

Fourth-lowest maximum effective corporate tax rate in Switzerland (12.50%)
Second-highest concentration of plastics, metals and metal-products jobs of any canton (3.6 times the Swiss share)
Food and beverage employment up 20.9% in five years, the second-highest sector concentration in Switzerland
Unemployment of 1.6% in August 2026, below the Swiss rate of 3.0%
Hydropower and three merged municipalities that simplify permitting and administration

Taxes 2026

Max. effective corporate tax rate: 12.50%; 2025: 12.32%
Corporate tax rank: 4/26; 1 = lowest rate
Top income tax rate: 31.17%; Rank 10 of 26 (1 = lowest)

KPMG's Clarity on Swiss Taxes 2026 puts the maximum effective corporate income tax rate in Glarus (federal, cantonal and communal taxes combined) at 12.50% (2025: 12.32%): rank 4 of 26, counting from the lowest rate (Swiss average: 14.43%). The maximum income tax rate for a single person, including federal tax, is 31.17%: rank 10 of 26, counting from the lowest rate (average: 33.04%).

Industry structure

Sector	Workplaces	Jobs	Share	vs. CH	2019–24
Health & social care	344	3,060	13.3%	0.9×	+7.1%
Wholesale, retail & motor trade	434	2,702	11.7%	1.1×	−1.5%
Construction & building trades	317	2,349	10.2%	1.6×	+3.3%
Plastics, metals & metal products	65	1,932	8.4%	3.6×	−1.5%
Education	150	1,438	6.2%	0.8×	+11.1%
Legal, consulting, engineering & R&D	357	1,098	4.8%	0.5×	+20.7%
Arts, recreation & personal services	419	1,081	4.7%	0.8×	+21.5%
Food, beverages & tobacco	45	1,058	4.6%	2.9×	+20.9%
Machinery, electrical & vehicle engineering	49	1,024	4.4%	1.7×	−10.0%
Agriculture, forestry & fishing	351	1,004	4.4%	1.6×	+1.9%
Transport, logistics & postal services	82	989	4.3%	0.9×	+0.6%
Hotels & restaurants	193	901	3.9%	0.8×	−15.0%
Banking, insurance & financial services	72	878	3.8%	0.8×	+5.5%
Staffing, facility & business support	139	740	3.2%	0.5×	−6.8%
Public administration	38	641	2.8%	0.7×	+7.7%
Textiles, wood, paper & printing	68	584	2.5%	2.0×	−17.5%
Energy, water, waste & mining	31	556	2.4%	2.2×	+9.9%
Information, communication & IT	75	294	1.3%	0.3×	+5.4%
Real estate	96	250	1.1%	0.8×	+5.9%
Medical devices, furniture & other manufacturing	36	245	1.1%	1.5×	0.0%
Chemicals & pharmaceuticals	4	148	0.6%	0.5×	−6.9%
Electronics, instruments & watches	6	58	0.3%	0.1×	+3.6%

BFS STATENT 2024; jobs are counted at the workplace. “vs. CH” divides the sector’s share of jobs in the canton by its share in Switzerland (1.0× = national average).

Key employers

NETSTAL Maschinen AG

Machinery & industrial engineering

Glarus Nord

Läderach (Schweiz) AG

Chocolate

Glarus

Glarner Kantonalbank

Cantonal bank

Glarus

Kantonsspital Glarus AG

Hospitals & healthcare

Glarus

Technische Betriebe Glarus

Energy utility

Glarus

Succession & ownership

Board paralysis risk: 13.6%; 15 of 110 audited companies · Rank 22 of 26 (1 = highest)
Single-owner GmbHs: 60.6%; 43 of 71 GmbHs · Rank 4 of 26 (1 = highest)

Small sample: read the rankings with caution.

ValIndex's national board-paralysis study (June 2026) covers 110 audited companies registered in Glarus. For 15 of them (13.6%), no one would be left able to sign for the company if the principal signatory died: the 5th-lowest share of the 26 cantons (Switzerland: 32%). Of 71 substantive GmbHs with a registered seat in Glarus, 60.6% belong to a single person (the 4th-highest share of the 26 cantons; Switzerland: 55.5%), according to ValIndex's July 2026 ownership study. Both figures rest on small samples and should be read with caution.

Board paralysis study (June 2026) →Who owns Swiss companies? (July 2026) →

Infrastructure

Glarus Nord lies on the A3 motorway between Zurich and Chur, and Ziegelbrücke, on the Zurich–Chur rail line, is the gateway to the valley. Trains run from there via Glarus to Linthal, with direct connections to Zurich. The Klausen Pass links the canton with Uri in summer.

Market Pulse

Unlock succession and infrastructure data for Glarus

Board paralysis risk, ownership structure and infrastructure for Glarus. Subscribe free to the weekly Market Pulse.

Free weekly newsletter. Unsubscribe anytime.

Data vintages

Population: BFS STATPOP, end of 2025
GDP: BFS cantonal GDP, 2022 (provisional)
Enterprises, jobs, sectors: BFS STATENT 2024
Unemployment: SECO, August 2026
Wages: BFS Swiss Earnings Structure Survey 2024, major regions
Taxes: KPMG Clarity on Swiss Taxes 2026
Succession & ownership: ValIndex studies, June and July 2026

Sources

BFS – Cantonal GDP by large region and canton, 2008–2022p (published 28 Oct 2024)BFS – Cantonal GDP per capita, 2008–2022p BFS – Cantonal GDP: revised series due October 2026 BFS – STATENT 2024 release (20 Aug 2026)BFS STAT-TAB – Workplaces and jobs by canton and NOGA division (STATENT)BFS STAT-TAB – Enterprises by canton and size class (STATENT)BFS STAT-TAB – Permanent resident population by canton (STATPOP)BFS STAT-TAB – Median gross monthly wage by large region (LSE 2024)SECO – Labour market situation, August 2026 KPMG – Clarity on Swiss Taxes 2026 (19 May 2026)ValIndex Research – Boardroom Paralysis in Switzerland (June 2026)ValIndex Research – Who Owns Switzerland's Companies? (July 2026)Zefix – Central Business Name Index (register checks of named companies)Canton of Glarus

ValIndex Intelligence · Alain Walder, M.A. HSG|Updated 2026-09|14 sources cited

Explore industries in Glarus

Industrial & Manufacturing

Technology & Software

Building & Infrastructure

Financial Services & Advisory

Services & Logistics

Healthcare

Automotive & Mobility

MEM: Machinery & Automation

MEM: Energy, Environment & Infrastructure

MEM: High-Tech, Aerospace & Supply Chain

Distribution & Wholesale

Business Services

Life Sciences & Pharma

Luxury & Heritage

Retail & Consumer

Tourism & Gastronomy

Media & Communications

Personal Services & Care

Neighbouring cantons

Schwyz

Canton

St. Gallen

Canton

Graubünden

Canton

Uri

Canton