Regional purchasing power: Helmstedt beats Harburg and Wolfsburg
The highest purchasing power in Lower Saxony is in the greater Wolfsburg area. However, if the per capita income is adjusted for the regional cost of living, the top spot in the state does not go to the car city itself, but to the neighboring district of Helmstedt, as calculations by the German Economic Institute (IW) show. The other neighboring district of Gifhorn follows in third place, followed by the city of Wolfsburg itself in fourth place. The district of Harburg comes in second place.
However, Helmstedt does not owe its top position to the particularly high incomes there. In nominal terms, the average income there is only fifth in the country at an average of 24,862 euros. However, thanks to significantly lower prices, this is enough for first place in terms of adjusted purchasing power. It is 6.3 percent cheaper there than the national average. That is enough to overtake Wolfsburg, where people earn an average of 1,500 euros more, and Harburg.
Although the district on the outskirts of Hamburg has the highest average income in the state at EUR 26,921, just ahead of Wolfsburg (EUR 26,379), it also has the highest prices. It is 2.7 percent more expensive there than the national average.
Lower Saxony's worst performer in terms of purchasing power is the city of Oldenburg, where low incomes meet the second-highest prices in the state. The situation is better in the neighboring district of Oldenburg. Incomes here are significantly higher on average than in the city, while prices are lower. In terms of purchasing power, this means seventh place in the country. The cheapest place to live is in the district of Lüchow-Dannenberg, where prices are 8.9 percent below the national average. However, incomes there are also rather low.
Purchasing power in Bremerhaven is even lower than in Oldenburg. Prices there are 6.1 percent below the national average. However, this is not enough to compensate for the low incomes. With an average nominal income of just 19,361 euros, the seaside city is even behind Wilhelmshaven (19,950 euros), which brings up the rear in Lower Saxony. Prices there are also somewhat lower.
The situation is much better in Bremen. The Hanseatic city's prices are 1.4 percent above the national average. At the same time, however, incomes are also higher than in Hanover and most other cities in neighboring Lower Saxony at an average of EUR 23,416. Of the major cities in Lower Saxony, only Wolfsburg and Braunschweig are ahead of Bremen.
The calculations are based on a regional price index developed by the IW and the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) as at 2022 and income data from the Federal Statistical Office as at 2021.
Despite having the highest average income in Lower Saxony at 26,921 euros, the district adjacent to Hamburg, Harburg, has higher prices, which results in lower purchasing power. Conversely, despite having an average income lower than Harburg and Wolfsburg with 24,862 euros, consumers in Helmstedt benefit from lower prices, leading to a higher adjusted purchasing power.
Source: www.dpa.com
