Smart City Index 2024: Munich remains in first place and extends its lead

As part of the Bitkom Smart City Index, all 82 major cities in Germany are examined annually for their level of digitalization. In 2024, a total of 13,284 data points were recorded, reviewed and qualified. The five areas assessed are: administration, IT and communication, energy and environment, mobility, society and education. The selected areas are broken down into 37 indicators and 162 parameters - from online citizen services, sharing offers and environmental sensors to broadband availability and digital training for teachers and administrative staff. These are the results:

Munich again ahead of Hamburg

Munich remains the smartest city in Germany and was even able to extend its lead over Hamburg, which once again came second. The Bavarian city scored 88.3 out of a possible 100 points (up 3.8 points). Hamburg also improved from 83.9 to 86.2 points, but the gap to first place still widened. Cologne remains in third place (unchanged at 83.2 points), securing the top position in the administration category for the first time.

There was a lot of movement in the top 10 and among the best-placed cities in the individual categories in 2024: Bochum (4th place, previous year: 11th), Freiburg im Breisgau (6th place, previous year: 14th) and Lübeck (8th place, previous year: 19th) made it into the top ten this year. Aachen, Osnabrück and Karlsruhe slipped out of the top 10.

Smart City Index makes hidden champions visible

A number of cities have strengths in individual areas, even if they do not achieve a top position in the overall ranking. The Smart City Index also highlights these hidden champions: for the first time this year, there are different winning cities in all five categories, the majority of which are not in the top 10.

• Düsseldorf (17th overall) is top in the area of society and education, after always coming close in the two previous years with 2nd and 3rd place.
• Ingolstadt, in 23rd place overall, took first place in the Energy and Environment category - in the previous year, the city did not even make it into the top ten in this category.
• Berlin (28th overall) secured first place in the mobility category. With 100 points, the German capital is the first city ever to achieve full marks in all indicators in one category.

However, two cities from the top 3 are also at the top in one category each: Cologne (3rd overall) achieved the top position in the Administration category for the first time, while Munich (1st overall) defended its top position in IT and Communication.

Some other cities also performed significantly better in individual categories than in the overall ranking. Bergisch Gladbach, for example, only comes 62nd in the overall ranking, but 10th in the energy and environment category. Gelsenkirchen comes 46th overall, but the city manages 5th place in IT and communication. Hanover, 41st in the overall ranking, is 8th in the mobility category. And Herne comes 14th in the society and education category, even if it is only 42nd overall.

Awards for the Smart City Index at #SCCON24

Once again this year, the winning cities of the Smart City Index will be honored on stage at the Smart Country Convention. The award ceremony will take place on October 15 from 2:15 p.m. on the Plaza Stage.