How many companies are there in Lucerne?

According to the Federal Statistical Office (STATENT 2024), Lucerne had 31,013 enterprises, 99.7% of them SMEs with fewer than 250 employees. Its 34,296 workplaces employed 274,115 people.

What is the GDP of Lucerne?

Lucerne’s GDP was CHF 31.9 billion in 2022 (provisional Federal Statistical Office figure), 4.0% of Swiss GDP, with real growth of 4.6%. GDP per capita was CHF 75,544, rank 14 of 26 cantons.

What is the unemployment rate in Lucerne?

SECO registered an unemployment rate of 2.0% in Lucerne in August 2026, with 4,807 people registered as unemployed (August 2025: 2.0%).

All cantons

Lucerne

Canton

Lucerne

Economy, taxes and industries

Population 2025 441,500GDP 2022 CHF 31.9 bnCorporate tax 2026 11.66%

Economic snapshot

GDP: CHF 31.9 bn; 4.0% of Swiss GDP · 2022p
GDP per capita: CHF 75,544; Rank 14 of 26 · 2022p
Enterprises: 31,013; 99.7% SMEs · 2024
Jobs: 274,115; +0.7% vs. 2023 · 2024
Unemployment: 2.0%; Aug. 2026 · Aug. 2025: 2.0%
Median gross wage: CHF 7,092; CHF per month · Central Switzerland, 2024

Overview

Lucerne is the economic centre of central Switzerland. Its 441,500 residents produced GDP of CHF 31.9 billion in 2022, 4.0% of the Swiss total, with real growth of 4.6% that year against 3.0% for Switzerland; GDP per head was CHF 75,544. The canton counts 274,115 jobs and 31,013 enterprises, and employment rose by 6.6% between 2019 and 2024.

The economy is broad rather than specialised. Health and social care (14.7%), wholesale and retail trade (12.7%) and legal, consulting, engineering and R&D services (8.3%) are the largest sectors, and construction provides 7.7% of jobs. Lucerne is a head-office location for insurers, with CSS and the national accident insurer Suva, and for industry: Schindler's Swiss elevator business is based in Ebikon, Komax in Dierikon and the dairy group Emmi in the city of Lucerne. Agriculture, forestry and fishing employ 13,262 people, 1.7 times the national share, and food production is also above average at 1.5 times.

In KPMG's 2026 comparison Lucerne has the lowest maximum effective corporate tax rate of all 26 cantons, 11.66%, moving ahead of Zug, which had the lower rate in 2025. The top income tax rate for individuals is 28.59%. Unemployment was 2.0% in August 2026, well below the Swiss rate of 3.0%, and the median gross monthly wage in central Switzerland was CHF 7,092 in 2024.

Location advantages

Lowest maximum effective corporate tax rate of all 26 cantons in 2026 (11.66%, KPMG)
Head offices of CSS and Suva, and industrial groups such as Schindler (Ebikon), Komax (Dierikon) and Emmi
Unemployment of 2.0% in August 2026, well below the Swiss rate of 3.0%
University of Lucerne and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU)
Central Swiss hub on the A2 Gotthard motorway and the rail lines to Zurich, Bern and Basel

Taxes 2026

Max. effective corporate tax rate: 11.66%; 2025: 11.91%
Corporate tax rank: 1/26; 1 = lowest rate
Top income tax rate: 28.59%; Rank 8 of 26 (1 = lowest)

KPMG's Clarity on Swiss Taxes 2026 puts the maximum effective corporate income tax rate in Lucerne (federal, cantonal and communal taxes combined) at 11.66% (2025: 11.91%): the lowest of the 26 cantons (Swiss average: 14.43%). The maximum income tax rate for a single person, including federal tax, is 28.59%: rank 8 of 26, counting from the lowest rate (average: 33.04%).

Industry structure

Sector	Workplaces	Jobs	Share	vs. CH	2019–24
Health & social care	3,755	40,194	14.7%	1.0×	+12.4%
Wholesale, retail & motor trade	4,218	34,696	12.7%	1.2×	+6.9%
Legal, consulting, engineering & R&D	4,744	22,779	8.3%	0.9×	+13.7%
Education	1,677	21,900	8.0%	1.1×	+12.3%
Construction & building trades	2,545	21,038	7.7%	1.2×	+1.8%
Arts, recreation & personal services	4,028	14,864	5.4%	1.0×	+3.4%
Agriculture, forestry & fishing	4,458	13,262	4.8%	1.7×	−1.2%
Staffing, facility & business support	1,309	12,987	4.7%	0.7×	−5.0%
Hotels & restaurants	1,210	12,536	4.6%	1.0×	+4.3%
Transport, logistics & postal services	674	11,147	4.1%	0.9×	+2.9%
Banking, insurance & financial services	782	10,689	3.9%	0.8×	+12.1%
Machinery, electrical & vehicle engineering	355	9,490	3.5%	1.3×	+8.6%
Public administration	323	8,951	3.3%	0.8×	+10.8%
Information, communication & IT	1,143	6,990	2.6%	0.7×	+10.2%
Food, beverages & tobacco	290	6,721	2.5%	1.5×	+4.1%
Plastics, metals & metal products	391	6,714	2.4%	1.0×	−3.3%
Textiles, wood, paper & printing	597	5,517	2.0%	1.6×	−1.4%
Real estate	1,265	3,975	1.5%	1.1×	+3.2%
Medical devices, furniture & other manufacturing	229	2,715	1.0%	1.4×	+3.7%
Chemicals & pharmaceuticals	54	2,538	0.9%	0.7×	+10.2%
Energy, water, waste & mining	193	2,354	0.9%	0.8×	+15.5%
Electronics, instruments & watches	45	2,042	0.7%	0.4×	+11.2%

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

Luzerner Kantonsspital AG

Hospitals & healthcare

Luzern

Schindler Aufzüge AG

Elevators & escalators

Ebikon

CSS Versicherung AG

Insurance

Luzern

Suva

Accident insurance

Luzern

Emmi AG

Dairy products

Luzern

CKW AG

Energy utility

Luzern

Komax AG

Wire processing machinery

Dierikon

Luzerner Kantonalbank AG

Cantonal bank

Luzern

Succession & ownership

Board paralysis risk: 15.2%; 177 of 1,164 audited companies · Rank 15 of 26 (1 = highest)
Single-owner GmbHs: 58.9%; 518 of 880 GmbHs · Rank 9 of 26 (1 = highest)

ValIndex's national board-paralysis study (June 2026) covers 1,164 audited companies registered in Lucerne. For 177 of them (15.2%), no one would be left able to sign for the company if the principal signatory died: the 12th-lowest share of the 26 cantons (Switzerland: 32%). Of 880 substantive GmbHs with a registered seat in Lucerne, 58.9% belong to a single person (the 9th-highest share of the 26 cantons; Switzerland: 55.5%), according to ValIndex's July 2026 ownership study.

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

Infrastructure

Higher education & research

Universität Luzern (University)
Hochschule Luzern (HSLU) (University of applied sciences)
Pädagogische Hochschule Luzern (University of teacher education)

Innovation parks

Technopark Luzern

Lucerne is the rail hub of central Switzerland, with lines to Zurich, Bern and Basel and the Zentralbahn to Engelberg and over the Brünig to Interlaken. The A2 motorway, the main north–south route to the Gotthard, runs through the canton, and the A14 connects it with Zug and Zurich.

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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)LUSTAT Statistik Luzern

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

Explore industries in Lucerne

Industrial & Manufacturing

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Financial Services & Advisory

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Healthcare

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MEM: Machinery & Automation

MEM: Energy, Environment & Infrastructure

MEM: High-Tech, Aerospace & Supply Chain

Distribution & Wholesale

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Life Sciences & Pharma

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Retail & Consumer

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Neighbouring cantons

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