Expat Insider 2026 – Frankfurt

➡️You’re welcome to use these 2026 Expat Insider results. Please remember to credit InterNations as the source, and where possible, include a link to www.internations.org.

In this article:

• In Brief
• The Paycheck Works
• A Cold Welcome on the Main
• Analog Germany, Concentrated
• A City Expats Endure
• Who Moves to Frankfurt?

In Brief

Frankfurt places 31st out of 33 cities in the Expat City Ranking 2026, based on the annual Expat Insider survey by InterNations. It ranked 45th out of 53 in 2024 — the last time a city ranking was published. Germany’s financial capital pays well and work’s reasonable — Personal Finance (16th) and Working Abroad (24th) are its “best” indices — but everything beyond the office is a struggle: Quality of Life ranks 28th, Ease of Settling In 27th, and Expat Essentials 32nd. The toll is unmistakable: only 52% of expats are happy with their life in Frankfurt (vs. 70% globally).

The Paycheck Works

Work is why expats come — 29% moved for a job they had found or applied for (vs. 17% globally) and 15% for their partner’s job (vs. 6%) — and financially, Frankfurt delivers, at least to a certain extent. The Personal Finance Index (16th) is its best result: 66% of working expats agree they’re paid fairly (vs. 58% globally), and 77% say their disposable household income is enough or more than enough for a comfortable life (vs. 71%).

The hours cooperate, too (Work & Leisure 19th): full-time employees work 39.8 hours per week (vs. 42.2 globally), and around two-thirds are satisfied with their working hours (66% vs. 63%) and their work-life balance (67% vs. 62%). However, the career trajectory disappoints — over a third (34%) disagree that moving to Frankfurt has improved their career prospects (vs. 22% globally), with Frankfurt ranking 28th for personal career opportunities.

A Cold Welcome on the Main

The Ease of Settling In Index (27th) describes a city that keeps its distance. Less than half of expats feel welcome in Frankfurt (48% vs. 64% globally), and only about two in five feel at home there (43% vs. 61%) and find it easy to get used to the local culture (41% vs. 60%). All together, this results in a bottom 3 place for Frankfurt in the Culture & Welcome Subcategory (31st). The locals do little to close the gap: expats are much less likely than average to experience them as friendly in general (42% positive ratings vs. 63% globally) or towards foreign residents in particular (40% vs. 61%).

Friendship follows the same curve: only 23% find it easy to make local friends (vs. 39% globally), 45% are happy with their social life (vs. 54%), and less than half (48%) have a personal support network in the city (vs. 58% globally).

Analog Germany, Concentrated

Frankfurt’s worst result, though, can be found in the Expat Essentials Index (32nd), where only Munich performs even worse.

Digital Life (32nd) is the worst of it: just three in five expats agree that paying without cash is easy (vs. 86% globally) — while 28% outright struggle, more than four times the global average of negative ratings (4%). The availability of high-speed internet at home (31st) and administrative services online (30th) also disappoint. And the analog alternative is no better, with Frankfurt ranking 30th in the Admin Topics Subcategory: 63% find the local bureaucracy difficult, compared to 39% of expats worldwide.

The German language might play a role here as well, with Frankfurt placing second to last in the Language Subcategory (32nd). Close to three in five respondents (57%) share they already worried about the language barrier before even moving to Germany (vs. 32% globally). Once arrived, just a third (33%) find it easy to live in Frankfurt without local language skills (vs. 48% globally) — while German is not a language respondents consider easy to learn (31st).

Housing rounds out the struggle — 57% find it hard to find a place (vs. 35% globally), and 65% rate its affordability negatively (vs. 49%). Interestingly, Frankfurt’s consequent 23rd place in the Housing Subcategory is the best result among the German cities in the 2026 ranking.

A City Expats Endure

The Quality of Life Index (28th) offers little to soften the picture. The climate convinces just 34% (vs. 58% globally), the culture & nightlife 60% (vs. 67%), and the air quality 51% (vs. 65%). Even Healthcare (25th) underwhelms: only half (50%) find it easy to get equal access to all kinds of healthcare services (vs. 63% globally), and less than two-thirds (65%) rate the quality of medical care positively (vs. 71%).

The consolations are logistical: 90% praise the opportunity to travel (vs. 84% globally) — Frankfurt’s airport does its job — alongside solid infrastructure for cars (83% positive vs. 73%) and easy walking and cycling (81% vs. 78%).

Who Moves to Frankfurt?

Frankfurt’s community is professional and quietly settled: US Americans, Italians, and Indians (9% each) are the largest groups among respondents, women make up 56%, and the average age is 46.1. Tenures run long — 46% have lived there for more than ten years already (vs. 39% globally) — and hardly anyone is rushing out, with just 2% planning to leave within a year or sooner (vs. 9%).

But the ambivalence is written in the plans: 49% don’t know when they’ll leave (vs. 38% globally), and only 20% want to stay forever (vs. 27%). Frankfurt holds its expats the way a good contract does — firmly, and without much affection on either side.