Overview
- The Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft published the IW‑Gemeindecheck on Monday, May 25, 2026, ranking all 10,817 German municipalities by local public services and infrastructure.
- The index uses 17 indicators across five domains—Digital, Health, Mobility, Leisure and Education—measured with fine‑grained 100×100‑meter census‑cell methods to compare travel times and service density.
- Haar, a 23,000‑person town near Munich, tops the list while Hirschthal in the Südwestpfalz finishes last, and some mid‑ and small‑sized towns score above several larger cities.
- At the state level North Rhine‑Westphalia shows the strongest provision with over half its municipalities rated “very well,” while Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern has more than half rated “very poorly.”
- A representative survey of about 5,455 people finds 53% view local services positively but reports higher dissatisfaction among AfD supporters; the study was commissioned by Philip Morris, a fact that commentators say affects how the results will be interpreted.