The industry association Bitkom has recently unveiled the Smart City Index for the sixth time, showcasing the ranking of the most intelligent German cities. The 2024 Smart City Index highlights considerable movement in the rankings, reflecting the ongoing advancement of German cities towards becoming more intelligent and sustainable.
The Top Positions in the Smart City Index 2024
Munich remains the smartest city in Germany and has managed to extend its lead over Hamburg, which holds the second place once again. Cologne maintains its third position. The top three most digital large cities in Germany continue to lead in 2024, but there is significant movement in the digital ranking of German cities. Bochum (4th place, previously 11th), Freiburg im Breisgau (6th place, previously 14th), and Lübeck (8th place, previously 19th) have made it into the top ten this year, while Aachen (11th place, previously 5th), Osnabrück (12th place, previously 7th), and Karlsruhe (13th place, previously 10th) have dropped out of the top ten.
Munich scores 88.3 out of a possible 100 points (an increase of 3.8 points). Hamburg improves by 2.3 points from 83.9 to 86.2, widening the gap to the first place. Cologne remains in third place with an unchanged score of 83.2 points and secures the top spot in the Digital Administration category for the first time. The top 10 cities are closer together than before. Last year, the difference between the 4th and 10th places was 3.5 points; now it is only 2.5 points. Additionally, cities are becoming more digital overall: in 2023, 76.6 points were enough for a top-10 ranking, but now 79.8 points are required.
"German cities are becoming smarter. Although there is no change in the top three positions in this year's Smart City Index, we observe significant dynamics within the rankings. Notably, it is no longer just the winning cities that achieve top scores in individual categories; cities like Düsseldorf, Ingolstadt, and Berlin, despite weaker overall rankings, are true pioneers in specific areas of digitalization," says Bitkom President Dr. Ralf Wintergerst. "We see substantial leaps forward in some cities. This demonstrates that any city can become a true Smart City. It is also a positive sign that the top-ranked cities are not only the largest metropolises."
Hidden Champions in the Smart City Index 2024
Several cities excel in specific areas, even if they don't achieve top overall rankings. The Smart City Index highlights these Hidden Champions. For the first time this year, each of the five categories has different winning cities, most of which are not from the top 10.
Düsseldorf (ranked 17th overall) leads in the Society and Education category for 2024, after being in 2nd and 3rd place in the previous two years. Ingolstadt, ranked 23rd overall, takes the top spot in the Energy and Environment category – a significant leap from not even making the top ten last year. Berlin, ranked only 28th overall, secures first place in Mobility. With a perfect score of 100 points, the capital city becomes the first to achieve full marks in all indicators within a category. Additionally, two cities from the top three excel in individual categories: Cologne (ranked 3rd overall) reaches the top spot in Digital Administration for the first time, and Munich (ranked 1st overall) maintains its lead in IT and Communication. Other cities also perform notably better in specific categories compared to their overall rankings. For instance, Bergisch Gladbach ranks only 62nd overall but 10th in Energy and Environment. Gelsenkirchen, ranked 46th overall, impressively secures 5th place in IT and Communication. Hannover, ranked 41st overall, is 8th in Mobility. Herne achieves 14th place in Society and Education, despite being 42nd overall.
Rising and Falling Cities in the Index
There was also significant movement in the Smart City Index 2024 beyond the top rankings. The biggest climber in the overall ranking is Reutlingen (64.7 points), which has improved by 27 places to rank 51. The capital of Brandenburg, Potsdam (75.2 points), has also climbed more than 20 places to rank 27 (up 21 places). Würzburg (63.8 points, up 19 places to rank 52) and Ingolstadt (76.6 points, up 19 places to rank 23) have also made substantial gains. Saarbrücken (65.6 points) has improved by 17 places to rank 49. "Digitalization is not a state but a process," says Wintergerst. "With political will and commitment, a lot can be achieved in cities even in a short time."
However, some cities have fallen in the rankings. Compared to the previous year, Siegen (55.8 points, rank 68, down 18 places), Offenbach am Main (54.4 points, rank 72, down 16 places), Mannheim (73.4 points, rank 30, down 15 places), and Erlangen (56.8 points, rank 66, down 15 places) have experienced the most significant declines. Remscheid is now in 80th place (41.6 points), followed by Hanau in 81st place (41.1 points) – which has achieved city status this year and is included in the ranking for the first time. Salzgitter is in 82nd place (40.3 points), replacing last year's lowest-ranked city, Bremerhaven (52.8 points), which has improved by four places to rank 77.
Methodology
For the Smart City Index, a total of 13,284 data points were collected, verified, and qualified, which is 567 more than the previous year. All cities with a population greater than 100,000 were analyzed and evaluated. This year, that includes 82 cities, one more than last year, as Hanau has achieved the status of a large city.
The five thematic areas examined were Administration, IT and Communication, Energy and Environment, Mobility, and Society and Education. These areas are broken down into 37 indicators, which in turn consist of a total of 162 parameters (5 more than in 2023) – ranging from online citizen services and urban transport sharing options to environmental sensors, broadband availability, and digital training for teachers and administrative staff.
The municipalities were actively involved in the data collection process. The cities were able to provide data on digitalization, each supported by sources. This year, all cities except Magdeburg participated. The response rate thus stands at 99 percent, surpassing last year's record of 94 percent. The data was subsequently validated by a team of experts from Bitkom Research.
The Smart City Index is supported by PwC, Visa, and Bentley Systems.
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