St.Gallen is situated in the north-east of Switzerland – in the heart of the DACH region.

Thanks to its close proximity to Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein, businesses benefit from an international economic area with short distances to travel. Zurich’s international airport is about an hour away and offers excellent domestic and international connections.

St.Gallen has excellent links to international labour, innovation and sales markets.

Its central location in Europe, its proximity to neighbouring countries and its excellent transport infrastructure create ideal conditions for companies operating internationally. At the same time, Swiss companies benefit from bilateral agreements with the EU, which facilitate access to key sectors of the European single market, as well as from a comprehensive network of free trade agreements with over 40 partners. This facilitates market access, reduces trade barriers and strengthens international competitiveness.

Switzerland has one of the most efficient transport infrastructures in Europe.

St.Gallen is well connected to the national and international road, rail and air transport networks. This high level of accessibility enables the efficient transport of people and goods, facilitates access to customers, partners and markets, and is a key factor in the region’s competitiveness as a business location.

St.Gallen has excellent connections to the international air transport network.

Zurich Airport – Switzerland’s largest international aviation hub – can be reached by train in less than an hour and offers direct connections to numerous destinations in Europe as well as to the major business centres in North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. For businesses, this means short journey times, excellent international connections and direct access to global markets.

In addition, the regional airports at St.Gallen-Altenrhein and Friedrichshafen offer a selection of scheduled flights within Europe.

International accessibility at a glance:

St.Gallen offers businesses excellent access to skilled workers.

As well as a catchment area of around 2 million people, employers benefit from the crossborder labour market, with over 10,000 crossborder commuters from Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein.

The canton of St.Gallen offers businesses an attractive tax environment.

The effective tax burden on businesses (federal, cantonal and municipal) is 14.29 per cent. Companies with major plans to set up operations or make investments may, in certain circumstances, be eligible for tax relief or benefit from internationally recognised measures. The extent of these tax relief measures depends on the scale of the investment project and can reduce the effective tax burden to below 12 per cent.

Compared with the rest of the country, the canton of St.Gallen offers competitive prices, for example for office space, commercial building land and residential rents.

Prices are significantly lower than in Switzerland’s major economic centres. Compared with the regions of Zurich, Lucerne and Basel, St.Gallen is nearly 50% more affordable.

There are numerous sites available for commercial use, and new sites are constantly being created as part of site development projects.

The Canton of St.Gallen offers an attractive wage level compared with Switzerland’s major economic centres.

Wage levels are around 10 per cent below the Swiss average. Furthermore, companies benefit from moderate employment-related costs in Switzerland, which amount to around 15 per cent of gross pay.

Switzerland also boasts high labour productivity and stable working conditions.

The Canton of St.Gallen offers businesses an attractive tax environment. In addition, various relief measures and support schemes are available.

Research and development tax relief and the patent box are key instruments of Swiss tax reform. Furthermore, the cantonal tax law provides for the possibility of tax relief at cantonal level. In addition, there are support schemes for start-ups as well as a soft-landing programme.

In the canton of St.Gallen, tax relief may be granted under certain conditions.

This is aimed in particular at new business set-ups, major expansion investments or projects of particular economic significance.

The Canton of St.Gallen offers an attractive tax environment generally. The total profit tax burden (federal, cantonal and municipal) amounts to around 14.29 per cent.

The Canton of St.Gallen has a patent box scheme. Depending on structure, this may result in a significant reduction in the tax base.

In this context, profits from patents and similar rights are accorded preferential tax treatment on a pro rata basis, provided that they are based on eligible research and development expenditure.

Net profit from patents is eligible for tax relief of 50 per cent.

The Canton of St.Gallen supports companies that invest in research and development by offering an additional tax deduction on research and development expenditure.

Eligible research and development expenditure may be asserted for tax purposes in addition to ordinary expenses, thereby reducing the tax base.

In the Canton of St.Gallen, the additional deduction amounts to 40 per cent of the eligible research and development expenditure.

In Switzerland, companies have access to a wide range of funding opportunities that provide financial and technical support for innovation projects.

At national level, for example, Innosuisse supports science-based innovation projects between companies and research partners.

At regional level, there are further support schemes available, such as coaching sessions led by subject-matter experts, topic-specific platforms for sharing knowledge, and collaborative projects (INOS).

You can find an overview of the innovation ecosystem and detailed information on innovation funding on our innovation page.

Start-ups in the Canton of St.Gallen can access a wide range of support services – from the time of setting up a business through to product development and scaling up.

These include, in particular:

You can find an overview of the start-up ecosystem in the Canton of St.Gallen, as well as detailed information on partners and support schemes, on our start-up page.

“Experience St.Gallen” is a soft-landing programme run by Switzerland Innovation Park Ost, designed to enable companies to explore the location for themselves and to connect with the innovation ecosystem of the St.Gallen region.

The programme provides a personal point of contact, organises individual visits to companies, universities and research institutions, and facilitates contact with public authorities and relevant network partners. Switzerland Innovation Park Ost can also provide office space. This gives companies direct insight into the innovation ecosystem and enables them to efficiently plan the roll-out of their activities in the region.

The Canton of St.Gallen’s Economic Promotion office supports companies through every stage of their development – from setting up operations and expansion through to innovation and growth projects.

Our range of free services includes:

The dual education system in Switzerland is a key competitive advantage. Companies benefit from a continuous supply of qualified skilled workers who gain practical work experience while still in education.

Thanks to close cooperation between industry, professional bodies and educational institutions, educational content is practical and continually adapted to new technologies and the demands of the labour market. Companies are thus able to train their future skilled staff themselves, in line with their own needs.

Upon successful completion, learners receive a federally recognised vocational qualification. Thanks to the high level of flexibility within the Swiss education system, there is a wide range of opportunities to progress to further education or training: the “Berufsmaturität” (a vocational qualification taking three or four years following secondary school) qualifies students for entry to universities of applied sciences and with additional qualifications – such as the Passerelle examination – also to traditional universities. Similarly, graduates can continue their careers through further vocational training or additional specialisations.

This close integration of theory and practice, together with the wide range of educational pathways, makes the dual education system particularly attractive and helps to ensure that qualifications meet the needs of the labour market.

St.Gallen is home to two renowned higher education institutions – the University of St.Gallen (HSG) and the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST) – which provide businesses with highly qualified specialists and managers.

The high quality of life in St.Gallen is a key locational advantage in the competition for skilled workers. An attractive living environment, proximity to nature, a wide range of cultural and leisure activities, and short distances between home, work and leisure facilities all enhance the region’s appeal.

This makes it easier for companies to recruit and retain qualified staff in the long term, and strengthens the location’s competitiveness.

Businesses in St.Gallen benefit from a cross-border labour market with a catchment area of around two million people.

Proximity to Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein, as well as the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons with the EU, facilitates access to skilled workers from across the EU/EFTA. This expands the talent pool, enables vacancies to be filled more quickly and strengthens the competitiveness of companies.

More than 10,000 cross-border commuters are already making a significant contribution to meeting the demand for skilled workers in Eastern Switzerland.

The St.Gallen region boasts a diverse innovation and research landscape that supports companies in developing new products and technologies.

As well as renowned higher education institutions such as the University of St.Gallen (HSG) and the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST), companies benefit from a range of specialist research and innovation institutions:

You can find an overview of the innovation ecosystem and detailed information on innovation funding on our innovation page.