Ask five Austrians which city is the nicest to live in and you will get six answers, each delivered with the calm certainty of someone who has never considered the alternative. The truth is more interesting. The best places to live in Austria depend on what you want: a big capital with a cosmopolitan feel, a university town, a mountain city with ski lifts at the end of the tram line, or a working city in the middle. This guide sets out what the official sources can tell you, and what you must check for yourself.
What should you compare among the best places to live in Austria?
Four things matter more than a postcard view:
- Rent and the type of building. Rents are partly regulated in older flats and free in newer ones. See renting in Austria.
- Rules for second homes and property. Each province has its own law on buying and using flats as second homes. See buying property in Austria.
- Jobs and your field. The labour market differs by region, and the collective agreement for your sector sets your minimum pay. See working in Austria.
- Services for newcomers. Offices, schools and Kindergarten places differ by province. See schools in Austria.
We do not rank the cities by cost of living or population here, because we found no official figure for each, and a made-up league table would not help you.
Vienna: the capital with its own rules
Vienna is both a city and a province (Land), and that shapes everyday life. The registration certificate is handled by MA 35; waste collection by the MA 48; and the public Gemeindewohnung (municipal flats) are a feature of the city. The reference rent for a regulated flat was €6.74 per m² a month in April 2026, the second-lowest of the nine provinces, though the figure applies only to older buildings under full rent regulation.
Vienna is also where a lot of services for newcomers are concentrated: a free advice centre for foreign qualifications, a wide choice of schools and, for French families, the Lycée français de Vienne. In Vienna, the Kindergarten is free for full-time care from age 0 to 6, with different rules if your child's main residence is not in Vienna.
Municipal housing has strict conditions: at least 17 years old, two years of continuous main residence in Vienna, Austrian or equivalent status (EU, EEA and Swiss citizens are equivalent), and a ceiling on net income. Because of the two-year rule, you will rent privately first.
Graz: Styria's second city
Graz is the capital of Styria. For EU citizens, the registration certificate comes from the Styrian provincial government rather than a district office. Styria's reference rent was €9.30 per m² in April 2026, among the higher ones. The province handles its own child-care costs: only the compulsory Kindergarten year is free, at half time, and other fees follow a scale based on family income and hours, if the facility applies it.
For property, the official portal gives Graz as an example of a place where third-country nationals do not need an authorisation to buy, which is not the case everywhere. Check any plan with a notary.
Salzburg: beautiful, regulated and expensive
Salzburg's reference rent was €9.31 per m² in April 2026, among the highest of the provinces (Vorarlberg is higher, at €10.35). The province is also strict about second homes: when you buy an apartment or a building plot, you declare that it will be your main residence, within one year for a built flat, unless it is authorised as a second home. A false declaration can lead to a fine of €500 to €50,000 for deliberate breaches and up to €10,000 for negligence, under the provincial land law (version of 1 September 2025). Kindergarten is free half-time from age 3 to 6.
If you plan a mountain home as an occasional retreat, check the rules before you fall in love with a flat.
Innsbruck: mountains and strict second-home rules
Innsbruck is in Tyrol, where the reference rent was €8.22 per m² in April 2026. Tyrol, like Salzburg, restricts second homes strongly. The Kindergarten is free half-time from age 4 to 6. Innsbruck is one of the four cities with a free advice point for foreign qualifications. For cars and vignettes, see driving in Austria.
Choosing a city is partly practical and partly a gut feeling. If you want to test a shortlist against your own situation (job, children, budget, home country), Moovy can help you line up the questions and the official pages to check. The final choice is yours.
Linz: a working city in Upper Austria
Linz is the capital of Upper Austria, where the reference rent was €7.30 per m² in April 2026, below Salzburg, Styria and Tyrol. Like Vienna, Graz and Innsbruck, Linz has a free advice point for people with qualifications from abroad. Upper Austria offers free half-time Kindergarten from age 0 to 6.
Linz gets less attention than the more famous cities, so it is worth visiting before you rule it out. For the registration certificate, you go to the city Magistrat.
Which other best places to live in Austria might suit you?
Austria is not only five cities. The provinces of Carinthia (reference rent €7.89), Lower Austria (€6.92), Burgenland (€6.15) and Vorarlberg (€10.35) each offer a different balance of price and lifestyle. Carinthia offers free Kindergarten at half time or full time from age 1 to 5. Burgenland offers it free at half time or full time from age 0 to 6. Lower Austria and Upper Austria offer it free at half time from age 0 to 6. Vorarlberg has no general free care; the province reduces fees for a child aged three, to a single price for up to 25 hours a week (€46 in 2025/26) in some settings.
Culture matters too: Carinthia and Burgenland have recognised minorities, with Croatian, Slovenian and Hungarian as official languages in certain areas. The regional holiday dates also differ. For daily habits, see daily life in Austria.
How do you test a place before you commit?
Rent for a few months before you sign a long lease or buy. Visit in the worst weather: a winter month in the mountains teaches you more than a July weekend. Ask neighbours about heating and charges. Check the commute, and if you have children, check the Kindergarten waiting lists, since places in crèches are limited. Our guide to moving to Austria sets out the steps once you have decided.
Which profile suits which city?
Matching a person to a place is partly guesswork, so treat these as questions rather than verdicts.
You work in a field with many employers (offices, research, public bodies, international organisations). Vienna has the widest range of jobs and advice services, and the best-known international schools. Check your collective agreement and your sector's regional pay.
You have a family and want a school or Kindergarten fast. Look at the child-care rules first: Vienna's full-time free care from age 0 to 6, the half-time free offers in Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Burgenland, and the more limited schemes in Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg change your monthly budget. Places in crèches are limited everywhere, so register early.
You are retired and want quiet. Your health cover and your means decide your residence right more than the postcard does. Check the cost of living in the province, your S1 form and the tax treaty with your home country. See health insurance in Austria for the S1.
You are self-employed. Your trade licence is registered with the district authority or the Magistrat of the place where you work, and the rules for your sector may differ. See tax number in Austria for the first tax and insurance steps.
You dream of a mountain flat. Read the second-home rules of the province first. The enthusiasm is the easy part; the legal status of the flat is the hard part.
What do the official figures not tell you?
Three things the official pages cannot answer for you: the real availability of flats in the month you arrive, the quality of a given neighbourhood, and how you will feel after the first winter. Official sources give reference rents, legal rules and procedures. They do not give a ranking of happiness. For that, visit, talk to people who live there and keep your first lease short if you can.
Also keep in mind that deadlines are the same everywhere, wherever you settle: three days for your address registration, four months for your EU registration certificate. See Meldezettel and Anmeldebescheinigung.