As of: February 28, 2024, 11:25 a.m
By: Klaus Vick
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The cliché of a prosperous city for the rich and beautiful is deceptive - in reality the situation is different.
© Imago / Creditreform
Many people in Munich live with debt.
The cliché of a prosperous city for the rich and beautiful is deceptive - in reality the situation is different.
Munich - We know the pictures: the Lamborghini on Ludwigstrasse, within sight of the better society, who are enjoying life with truffle pizza and champagne.
Fact: Munich is a rich city.
On the other hand: Many people have financial problems here too.
New figures show the naked truth for all districts.
Pleasing: The debtor ratio has fallen – from 7.36 (2022) to 7.24 percent (2023).
90,362 residents had symptoms of over-indebtedness as of October 1, 2023 - fewer than ever since the Debtor Atlas began collecting data.
But as is often the case, statistics are deceptive.
Poor city, rich city: New figures for all Munich districts
Philipp Ganzmüller from the business law firm Creditreform warns: “It looks sunnier than it is.” A trend reversal is imminent.
The reason is catch-up consumption coupled with greater financial burdens, for example due to high interest rates and the cost of living.
In addition, the number of people with “soft characteristics of over-indebtedness” has increased for the first time in three years.
What this means is that someone has debts, but there has not yet been a seizure, for example.
However, this often results in “hard” cases.
Here the average amount of debt is over 20,000 euros per person.
Many people in Munich live with debt.
The cliché of a prosperous city for the rich and beautiful is deceptive - in reality the situation is different.
© Creditreform
Munich: Most people with debts currently live in the old town
Marc Wichlajew from the city's debt counseling service can confirm the trend reversal.
Around 1,000 more people presented themselves last year than in 2022.
The proportion of people who can no longer pay their energy costs has increased dramatically.
The debtor rate is lowest in Obermenzing (3.95 percent).
Frontrunner: the old town with 11.92 percent.
According to Ganzmüller, the high rate there has to do with two factors: there are some residential homes for the socially needy in the old town, and on the other hand, there are an above-average number of failed self-employed people registered there.
On the other hand, the residents of the old town also have the highest purchasing power - on average they can spend over 41,000 euros per year.
Striking: The city's figures show that the high-income districts lie roughly along the Isar axis.