How many companies are there in Solothurn?

According to the Federal Statistical Office (STATENT 2024), Solothurn had 16,385 enterprises, 99.7% of them SMEs with fewer than 250 employees. Its 18,596 workplaces employed 151,633 people.

What is the GDP of Solothurn?

Solothurn’s GDP was CHF 20.8 billion in 2022 (provisional Federal Statistical Office figure), 2.6% of Swiss GDP, with real growth of 3.1%. GDP per capita was CHF 73,803, rank 19 of 26 cantons.

What is the unemployment rate in Solothurn?

SECO registered an unemployment rate of 3.1% in Solothurn in August 2026, with 4,597 people registered as unemployed (August 2025: 3.1%).

All cantons

Solothurn

Canton

Solothurn

Economy, taxes and industries

Population 2025 291,583GDP 2022 CHF 20.8 bnCorporate tax 2026 15.45%

Economic snapshot

GDP: CHF 20.8 bn; 2.6% of Swiss GDP · 2022p
GDP per capita: CHF 73,803; Rank 19 of 26 · 2022p
Enterprises: 16,385; 99.7% SMEs · 2024
Jobs: 151,633; −0.2% vs. 2023 · 2024
Unemployment: 3.1%; Aug. 2026 · Aug. 2025: 3.1%
Median gross wage: CHF 6,964; CHF per month · Espace Mittelland, 2024

Overview

Solothurn stretches from the Jura foothills to the Aare valley between Bern, Basel and Zurich. It has 291,583 residents, 151,633 jobs and 16,385 enterprises, and produced GDP of CHF 20.8 billion in 2022, or CHF 73,803 per head. Job growth has lagged: employment rose by 4.1% between 2019 and 2024, the third-weakest increase of the 26 cantons, and slipped by 0.2% in 2024. Unemployment was 3.1% in August 2026.

Location shapes the economy. Transport, logistics and postal services provide 9.2% of jobs, the highest share of any canton: Olten is one of the main junctions of the Swiss rail network and the base of SBB Cargo, and the A1 and A2 motorways meet near Härkingen. Solothurn is also a medical-technology location. Medical devices and other manufacturing account for 1.6% of jobs, the highest concentration in Switzerland, with Johnson & Johnson's Synthes business in Zuchwil and Stryker in Selzach. Plastics, metals and metal products (1.9 times the Swiss share), machinery (1.7 times) and watches are well represented: Breitling and the Swatch Group movement maker ETA are based in Grenchen, and Bosch makes power tools through Scintilla in Zuchwil.

KPMG puts Solothurn's maximum effective corporate tax rate at 15.45% for 2026 (2025: 15.29%), above the Swiss average of 14.43%, and its top income tax rate at 33.65%. In ValIndex's ownership study, 59.1% of Solothurn GmbHs belong to a single person, the seventh-highest share of any canton.

Location advantages

Highest share of transport and logistics jobs of any canton (9.2%), around the Olten rail hub and the A1/A2 motorway junction
Highest concentration of medical-device and other manufacturing jobs in Switzerland, with Synthes and Stryker
Watchmaking and precision engineering in Grenchen, home of Breitling and ETA
Within an hour by rail of Bern, Basel and Zurich
Grenchen regional airport for business and general aviation

Taxes 2026

Max. effective corporate tax rate: 15.45%; 2025: 15.29%
Corporate tax rank: 21/26; 1 = lowest rate
Top income tax rate: 33.65%; Rank 15 of 26 (1 = lowest)

KPMG's Clarity on Swiss Taxes 2026 puts the maximum effective corporate income tax rate in Solothurn (federal, cantonal and communal taxes combined) at 15.45% (2025: 15.29%): rank 21 of 26, counting from the lowest rate (Swiss average: 14.43%). The maximum income tax rate for a single person, including federal tax, is 33.65%: rank 15 of 26, counting from the lowest rate (average: 33.04%).

Industry structure

Sector	Workplaces	Jobs	Share	vs. CH	2019–24
Health & social care	2,210	22,313	14.7%	1.0×	+11.5%
Wholesale, retail & motor trade	2,500	16,601	10.9%	1.0×	+1.4%
Transport, logistics & postal services	432	13,991	9.2%	1.9×	+9.2%
Staffing, facility & business support	860	10,819	7.1%	1.1×	+5.0%
Education	955	10,606	7.0%	0.9×	+11.8%
Construction & building trades	1,486	9,900	6.5%	1.0×	+1.8%
Legal, consulting, engineering & R&D	2,249	8,539	5.6%	0.6×	+2.9%
Arts, recreation & personal services	2,621	8,163	5.4%	1.0×	−0.4%
Plastics, metals & metal products	436	6,607	4.4%	1.9×	−7.3%
Machinery, electrical & vehicle engineering	275	6,546	4.3%	1.7×	+8.8%
Hotels & restaurants	787	5,150	3.4%	0.7×	−5.8%
Public administration	251	4,907	3.2%	0.8×	+7.1%
Electronics, instruments & watches	62	4,343	2.9%	1.4×	−4.7%
Information, communication & IT	587	4,174	2.8%	0.8×	+7.5%
Agriculture, forestry & fishing	1,344	4,025	2.7%	0.9×	−1.9%
Banking, insurance & financial services	347	3,317	2.2%	0.5×	+2.3%
Energy, water, waste & mining	129	2,668	1.8%	1.6×	+12.5%
Medical devices, furniture & other manufacturing	140	2,418	1.6%	2.3×	−7.0%
Food, beverages & tobacco	124	2,066	1.4%	0.8×	−8.8%
Textiles, wood, paper & printing	287	2,055	1.4%	1.1×	−12.1%
Real estate	473	1,522	1.0%	0.7×	+3.0%
Chemicals & pharmaceuticals	34	900	0.6%	0.4×	+108.8%

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

Synthes Holding AG

Medical technology

Zuchwil

Stryker GmbH

Medical technology

Selzach

Scintilla AG

Power tools

Zuchwil

Breitling AG

Watchmaking

Grenchen

ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse

Watch components

Grenchen

Fraisa SA

Precision cutting tools

Bellach

Schweizerische Bundesbahnen SBB Cargo AG

Logistics

Olten

Solothurner Spitäler AG

Hospitals & healthcare

Solothurn

Succession & ownership

Board paralysis risk: 13.8%; 86 of 622 audited companies · Rank 21 of 26 (1 = highest)
Single-owner GmbHs: 59.1%; 290 of 491 GmbHs · Rank 7 of 26 (1 = highest)

ValIndex's national board-paralysis study (June 2026) covers 622 audited companies registered in Solothurn. For 86 of them (13.8%), no one would be left able to sign for the company if the principal signatory died: the 6th-lowest share of the 26 cantons (Switzerland: 32%). Of 491 substantive GmbHs with a registered seat in Solothurn, 59.1% belong to a single person (the 7th-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

Airports

Grenchen Airport (ZHI) regional airport

Higher education & research

Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW), Olten campus (University of applied sciences)
Pädagogische Hochschule FHNW, Solothurn campus (University of teacher education)

Olten is where the Swiss east–west and north–south rail lines cross, with frequent direct trains to Bern, Basel, Zurich and Lucerne; Solothurn is on the Jura foot line between Biel and Olten. The A1 and A2 motorways meet at the Härkingen junction, which has made the area a centre for distribution and logistics. Grenchen has a regional airport.

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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)Canton of Solothurn – Office for Economy and Labour (AWA)

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

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