Strasbourg 2026The independent atlas report on Strasbourg, France.

Strasbourg in 200 numbers. Read this before you read anything else.

A humid continental with oceanic influence France city of 291,000, year round -1 to 26 degree range, the city profile in one stat grid.

Strasbourg scored 7.7 on the everycity index, placing it in the relevant band of the global cohort of 5,000 cities. A single person spends $1,960 a month here including rent, groceries, transport and utilities. A working couple spends $3,010. Internet runs at a median 296 Mbps on residential fiber per OOKLA Speedtest readings from April 2026. The average reported salary, blended across sectors, is $3,380 a month. Safety reads 7.4 on a 0 to 10 scale, with the night safety subindex at 6.6, the female solo subindex at 7.0, and the family subindex at 7.8. The metro area holds 803,000 people and sits at 48.5734 degrees, 7.7521 degrees. The summer high lands at 26 Celsius, the winter low at -1 Celsius. The city averages 1,690 sunshine hours a year.

Compared with peer cities, Strasbourg sits within the regional cohort on monthly outlay at 45 percent below Paris. For broader context, the Europe continent page ranks the region's top 25 cities. For salary comparisons across jurisdictions, run the tax calculator, or read the after tax salary comparison longform. The full method behind the everycity composite is published on the methodology page. For the country layer, see the France country page.

Risk, by the subindex.

No moral panic, no rose tint. Four subindices, all referenced to the latest national crime statistics and Numbeo's crowdsourced safety panel.

Strasbourg's overall safety score lands at 7.4, which places it in the workable band on the everycity index. The female solo subindex reads 7.0 and the night walk subindex reads 6.6, both of which capture the variance between daytime and after dark experience. Family safety, weighted for primary school commute risk, sits at 7.8. Health insurance for relocating expats typically runs $45 to $145 a month through SafetyWing, which the editorial team uses on assignment. For broader context the global safest cities ranking places Strasbourg alongside its regional peers in the cohort table.

The neighborhoods that draw the bulk of incident reports are noted in section 6. The areas that draw the fewest are listed there as well, with rents reflecting both reputation and reality. A foreigner walking with a phone in hand on a main avenue at 1 a.m. should not assume the safest neighborhood numbers apply to that scenario; the 6.6 night subindex is the figure that matters. Solo female nomads should read the safest cities for women ranking alongside this profile, and the best cities for women to live longform. See Lyon vs Paris for a peer city safety read.

Who pays, and how much.

Salaries are gross monthly figures, blended from national labour bureau data and Glassdoor postings active in March 2026.

Largest employers in metro Strasbourg

1. European Parliament (the EU legislative body holds 12 plenary sessions a year at the Louise Weiss building in Wacken, employing 2,200 staff in the Strasbourg office plus 3,000 visiting MEPs and assistants per session)
2. Council of Europe (the 46 member state intergovernmental body headquartered at the Palais de l Europe with 1,800 permanent staff including the European Court of Human Rights)
3. European Court of Human Rights (the Council of Europe tribunal employing 700 staff at the adjacent Palais des Droits de l Homme)
4. Universite de Strasbourg (the state research flagship merged in 2009 from the three former Strasbourg universities, 55,400 students and 5,700 staff)
5. Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Strasbourg (the state academic medical center, the largest single employer in the metro at 11,400 staff)
6. Hager Group (the German French electrical installation specialist headquartered at Obernai 30 kilometers south)
7. Arte (the Franco German cultural television broadcaster headquartered in Strasbourg)
8. Lilly France (the Eli Lilly French manufacturing site at Fegersheim 14 kilometers south, the largest single pharmaceutical employer in the region)

The blended average salary in Strasbourg runs $3,380 a month, gross of tax. A senior software developer earns $6,760 on local payroll, while a senior financial analyst commands $6,084. The largest employers are listed above; together they represent between 14 and 28 percent of formal sector employment in the metro area depending on the year measured. Expats moving regular income across borders typically use Wise at the daily mid market rate, which removes the 1.4 to 3.2 percent retail spread that local banks charge.

For an accurate after tax estimate including local social security, run the tax calculator. For a market wide salary view, the highest salary cities ranking and the highest paying cities after tax ranking place Strasbourg in the relevant cohort. The lowest tax cities ranking covers the relative position on tax. For an industry context, the France country page covers the national policy frame.

Six quarters, one verdict each.

A working map of where to live in Strasbourg in 2026, ordered loosely from highest cost to lowest commute.

Long term rental supply in Strasbourg is concentrated in the four to seven year old apartment stock; older buildings often lack reliable elevators or, in some neighborhoods, reliable hot water during the coldest months. Furnished one bedroom listings turn over in a median 7 days at the city center price point and 5 days in the outer ring per the local portals indexed by the editorial property platform guide. The neighborhood matcher tool will rank the six against your weighted preferences if you score them: neighborhood matcher. For peer city neighborhood maps, see the Europe continent page and the France country page.

For the kids, and the postgrads.

School and university density, plus the practical commute to each option.

International and bilingual schools

• International School of Strasbourg (the English language international school sponsored by the city, K through 12)
• Ecole Internationale Robert Schuman (the bilingual European school primary)
• Lycee International des Pontonniers (the public flagship with the international Abibac French German double baccalaureate)
• Lycee Kleber (the public flagship with the European section and the elite preparatory classes)
• Lycee Notre Dame (the Catholic K through 13 school)

Universities

• Universite de Strasbourg (the state research flagship, 55,400 students)
• Ecole nationale d administration (the elite ENA grande ecole training the senior French civil service, headquartered in Strasbourg since 1991)
• Sciences Po Strasbourg (the political science institute, the regional Sciences Po campus)
• INSA Strasbourg (the national applied sciences and engineering grande ecole)
• EM Strasbourg Business School (the public business school within the Universite de Strasbourg)

Relocating families in Strasbourg typically pick from the school cluster listed above. Tuition for relocating expatriate families typically runs $9,400 a year at the lower priced bilingual options and $22,400 a year at the international baccalaureate flagships. Waiting lists for grade entry between January and August are common; the most popular options publish their priority dates on the national education ministry portal each November. The combined family safety subindex of 7.8 on the everycity index should be read alongside the school commute when ranking neighborhoods.

For comparable family rated cities in the region, the family friendly cities ranking and the safest cities for families ranking are the right starting points. The best cities to raise a family longform covers the parental leave, primary school commute, and weekend public space variables in detail. For local pediatric specialists, the editorial guide on international health insurance lists the in network hospitals near each Strasbourg school cluster. The France country page covers the national education policy context.

What makes the city itself.

Food signatures, nightlife rating, and the cultural through line that separates Strasbourg from its regional neighbors.

The food signatures of Strasbourg include Choucroute garnie (the sauerkraut and pork plate, the regional signature), tarte flambee or flammkueche (the thin Alsatian bread with creme fraiche, lardons, and onions), kougelhopf (the brioche cake with raisins baked in the fluted ring mould), baeckeoffe (the slow cooked three meat and potato casserole), bibeleskaes (the fresh cheese with herbs served with hot potatoes), the riesling and gewurztraminer of the Alsace wine route 4 kilometers west, the Christkindelsmarik Christmas market that draws 2.8 million visitors a year (the oldest in France, running since 1570), the pretzel and beer culture inherited from the Germanic tradition, and the Michelin starred restaurant density that places Strasbourg in the top 5 French cities by stars per capita. The high points of the dining year run through May through September and December, when restaurant temperatures sit at the comfortable end of the range and the produce calendar peaks. For longer reads on the cuisine, the best food cities ranking places Strasbourg in the relevant cohort regionally. Nightlife sits at a 7.2 rating on the everycity scale. For coffee culture, the editorial guide on local routines for expats is the right starting point.

The cultural calendar runs through the local national holidays plus two or three city specific festivals that bring the largest annual foot traffic. The France cultural and creative industries policy is reviewed in detail on the France country page, and the Europe continent page covers the broader pattern across the region. For peer city comparisons, see the best nightlife cities ranking. Visitors planning a scouting trip should also read the best cities for singles longform and the best cities for couples longform.

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