Rent Prices in Zurich by District and Size (2026)

A 3-bedroom apartment in a good area of Zurich, usually advertised as a 4 or 4.5-room flat, costs a median of roughly CHF 3,000 to 3,500 net a month on an existing private lease in Enge, Riesbach (Seefeld), Hottingen, Fluntern, Oberstrass or the old town, and newly let homes cost more; on Offlist, you create a free private profile and landlords who let apartments without a public listing approach you directly. These are the official medians of the City of Zurich's rent survey of April 2026 for 4-room flats from private landlords. A newly built 4-room flat had a median of CHF 4,032 across the city.

How Swiss Room Counts Work

Swiss listings count the bedrooms and the living room as rooms. The kitchen and bathrooms are not counted, and the "half" in a 3.5-room flat usually stands for an eat-in kitchen, a dining area or a large hall. A 3-room flat therefore usually has two bedrooms, and a 3-bedroom home is advertised as 4 or 4.5 rooms. Our Swiss rental glossary explains the other terms in listings.

The official rent survey groups flats into 2, 3 and 4 rooms, so the 4-room column is the closest match for a 3-bedroom search. The survey covers only these three sizes, which make up a little over 80% of the city's rental stock. There are no official medians for flats with five or more rooms.

Zurich Rents by District (2026)

Statistik Stadt Zürich, the city's statistics office, surveys rents every two years. The 2026 survey has a reference date of 1 April 2026, was published on 29 September 2026 and is based on a population of 162,498 flats, with known rents for just over 48,000 of them (Statistik Stadt Zürich). It reports net rents of existing leases, separately for non-profit flats (cooperatives, foundations and the city) and for all other flats, almost all of which belong to private landlords.

If you rent on the open market, the private figures are the better benchmark. The table shows them for all 22 districts, sorted by rent per square metre.

District (Kreis)	2 rooms (CHF)	3 rooms (CHF)	4 rooms (CHF)	Per m² (CHF)
Old town (Kreis 1)	2,194	2,855	3,489	37.76
Riesbach incl. Seefeld (Kreis 8)	2,083	2,400	3,091	32.42
Oberstrass (Kreis 6)	1,956	2,424	3,330	32.05
Fluntern (Kreis 7)	2,009	2,847	3,095	31.64
Enge (Kreis 2)	1,966	2,551	2,977	31.34
Hottingen (Kreis 7)	1,996	2,540	2,987	31.24
Aussersihl (Kreis 4)	1,784	1,986	2,584	29.36
Industriequartier (Kreis 5)	1,800	2,378	2,598	28.77
Unterstrass (Kreis 6)	1,820	2,026	2,661	28.68
Hirslanden (Kreis 7)	1,723	2,066	2,458	27.63
Wollishofen (Kreis 2)	1,745	2,114	2,678	27.58
Wiedikon (Kreis 3)	1,636	1,883	2,517	26.51
Oerlikon (Kreis 11)	1,648	1,930	2,287	26.43
Wipkingen (Kreis 10)	1,570	1,902	2,200	26.22
Albisrieden (Kreis 9)	1,705	1,975	2,407	25.92
Altstetten (Kreis 9)	1,650	1,911	2,381	25.75
Witikon (Kreis 7)	1,581	1,898	2,219	24.37
Höngg (Kreis 10)	1,650	1,791	2,078	23.58
Seebach (Kreis 11)	1,511	1,792	2,221	23.42
Schwamendingen (Kreis 12)	1,415	1,576	1,872	23.16
Leimbach (Kreis 2)	1,410	1,768	1,940	22.75
Affoltern (Kreis 11)	1,455	1,664	1,969	21.47
Whole city	1,670	1,950	2,434	26.50

Median monthly net rent of existing leases from private (non-profit excluded) landlords, 1 April 2026. Per m²: all 2 to 4-room flats combined. Source: Statistik Stadt Zürich, rent survey data, retrieved 15 October 2026. For individual districts, the statistical margin of uncertainty is 5 to 10% or more.

The districts along the lake and on the Zürichberg cost the most, those at the edge of the city the least: between the old town and Affoltern, the median rent per square metre differs by more than CHF 16.

What a 3-Bedroom Costs in a Good Area

For a 3-bedroom search, look at the 4-room column. In the districts close to the lake and on the Zürichberg, the median private 4-room rent in April 2026 was CHF 2,977 in Enge, CHF 2,987 in Hottingen, CHF 3,091 in Riesbach, CHF 3,095 in Fluntern, CHF 3,330 in Oberstrass and CHF 3,489 in the old town.

The median is the middle of the market, not the top. A quarter of existing private 4-room leases cost more than CHF 4,361 in the old town, CHF 4,037 in Fluntern, CHF 3,900 in Riesbach and CHF 3,708 in Enge. Across the city, the median for a private 4-room flat in a new building was CHF 4,032.

In our experience, a modern 4.5-room apartment of around 120 m² in Seefeld or Enge is advertised at roughly CHF 4,800 to 6,500 a month. This range is indicative and based on what we see in the market, not on official data. For a district-by-district view, read our comparison of Seefeld, Enge and the Zürichberg and the Enge executive housing guide.

Why New Lets Cost More

The survey describes all existing leases, and leases that started long ago are cheaper. Statistik Stadt Zürich itself notes that anyone looking for a flat today is likely to find the published rents low, because advertised rents are usually well above them. The breakdown by lease duration shows the gap.

Private flats, whole city, April 2026	2 rooms (CHF)	3 rooms (CHF)	4 rooms (CHF)
New building (up to 2 years old)	2,460	3,183	4,032
New tenancy in an existing building (up to 2 years)	1,834	2,250	2,690
Lease of 3 to 10 years	1,715	2,018	2,632
Lease of 11 to 20 years	1,381	1,699	2,149
Lease of more than 20 years	1,186	1,397	1,788

Median monthly net rent. Source: Statistik Stadt Zürich.

Rents for new lets are also rising faster. Per square metre, private rents in new buildings rose by an estimated 11% between 2024 and 2026, and new tenancies in existing buildings by 7.5%, against 3.7% for leases of three to ten years.

Private and Non-Profit Rents

Zurich has, in effect, two rental markets. Non-profit landlords such as housing cooperatives charge cost rents, which are much lower: the median for a non-profit 3-room flat was CHF 1,066, against CHF 1,950 for a private one. Across all landlords, the city-wide medians in April 2026 were CHF 1,497 for 2 rooms, CHF 1,628 for 3 rooms and CHF 1,955 for 4 rooms. These figures mix both markets.

How Rents Have Moved

Net rent per square metre rose by an estimated 6.5% between 2022 and 2024 and by 3.1% between 2024 and 2026, while the city's consumer prices rose by 1.2% over the latest two years. In the 2024 survey, the median 3-room net rent across all landlords was CHF 1,578; in 2026 it was CHF 1,628. Supply stays tight: on 1 June 2026, only 252 flats in the City of Zurich stood empty, a vacancy rate of 0.11% (Stadt Zürich). Read more on why finding a flat in Zurich is so hard.

Net Rent and What You Actually Pay

All figures above are net rents. Service charges such as heating, caretaking and wastewater come on top, and according to the survey gross rents are 10 to 15% higher than net rents. A flat with a net rent of CHF 3,000 therefore costs roughly CHF 3,300 to 3,450 a month in total.

Finding a Flat Before It Is Advertised

With so few empty flats, good apartments draw many applications, and some are let before they are ever listed. Three things help:

• A complete dossier, ready to send. Our rental application checklist lists every document landlords ask for.
• Local help. A relocation agent can view flats for you; our relocation agent cost analysis shows when the fee pays off.
• Access to unlisted flats. On Offlist, you create a free private profile with your dates, budget and household. Landlords, owners and partner agents who let without a public listing approach you directly, and it costs tenants nothing.

Landlords can list for free and let to vetted tenants without a public advert through our page to rent out your property off-market.

Conclusion

Official data puts the median rent of an existing private 4-room lease, the usual size for a 3-bedroom home, at about CHF 3,000 to 3,500 a month in Zurich's sought-after districts in 2026, and new lets cost more: the median for a 4-room flat in a new building was CHF 4,032. Use the district table to set a budget, add 10 to 15% for service charges, and expect prime apartments to sit above the statistics. To be matched with Zurich apartments before they are advertised, create your free private profile. Comparing cities? Our Zurich vs. Geneva guide puts rents, salaries and tax side by side.