Hamburg remains Germany's top urban brand

In 2025, Hamburg scored 7.5 out of 10 points ahead of Freiburg im Breisgau (7.2 points) and Munich (7.1 points) after topping the ranking in 2020 based on attractiveness, reputation, willingness to recommend and future brand development. This year, the City of Hamburg proved convincing in terms of criteria such as likeability (7.6 points) and also scored top marks in the category "good reasons to live here". Hamburg is famous for its beautiful cityscape, cosmopolitanism and tolerance. No wonder that the city topped the list of "city break destinations", followed by Munich and Dresden. Hamburg also performed well in terms of job and career opportunities and digitalisation. Initiated by Brandmeyer Markenberatung, Innofact and Public Marketing, the results of the City Brand Monitor reflect the opinions of around 10,000 German-speaking citizens aged between 18 and 79 in 49 major German cities who were surveyed online in summer 2025.

The results show "that the consistent development of the Hamburg brand is recognised and appreciated throughout Germany - and that Hamburg is positively anchored in people's perception," according to Hamburg Marketing GmbH. That is noticeable in tourism, which is crucial to Hamburg's economy. The local tourist sector clocked up 7.7 million overnight stays in the first half of 2025 or a a rise of 2 per cent over 2024 and which is higher than the national figure of 0.1 per cent growth. Last year, the Hanseatic city ranked second in the "Talent City Germany" of the 100 most popular German cities for skilled workers and came second in this year's Smart City Index for the third consecutive year. The index also rated local government, communication, energy, environment, mobility as well as society and education. Last but not least, Hamburg was named the "most promising European city of the future" alongside London and Zurich in a study by the Financial Times Group (2023). 
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