Vaud

Vaud is Switzerland's third-largest canton by population, jobs and number of enterprises, with 863,650 residents, 498,830 jobs and 59,241 enterprises. It produced GDP of CHF 64.5 billion in 2022, the third-largest cantonal economy, although real growth that year was only 0.1%, the weakest of the 26 cantons. Over the longer term the labour market has expanded quickly: employment rose by 8.0% between 2019 and 2024, the fifth-strongest increase. Unemployment was 4.9% in August 2026, the second-highest rate in Switzerland; according to SECO, Vaud's rate includes jobseekers on social assistance who are registered with the regional employment offices.

Knowledge and health services define the economy. Health and social care employ 90,622 people (18.2% of jobs) and education 44,484 (8.9%), in both cases the second-highest share of any canton, reflecting the university hospital CHUV, EPFL, the University of Lausanne, the hospitality school EHL and the business school IMD. Lausanne is also home to the International Olympic Committee and many international sports federations. Multinational head offices include Nestlé in Vevey, Philip Morris International's operations centre in Lausanne, Logitech in Hautemorges and the packaging-machinery maker Bobst in Mex, and the medical-technology group Medtronic has its European operations in Tolochenaz.

KPMG puts the maximum effective corporate tax rate at 14.72% for 2026 and the top income tax rate at 41.50%, the third-highest in Switzerland. In ValIndex's board-paralysis study, 1,807 of 5,496 audited Vaud companies (32.9%) would be left without anyone able to sign if the principal signatory died. The median gross monthly wage in the Lake Geneva region was CHF 6,998 in 2024.