Decrease in Stuttgart's Population Over the First Half of 2025
Population Decline and Negative Net Migration in Stuttgart, Germany
Stuttgart, a city known for its rich industrial heritage and automotive sector, is currently grappling with a significant population decline and negative net migration. According to recent data, the city has experienced a net loss of over 1,700 residents in the first half of 2025, marking the fourth consecutive half-year with a decreasing population.
The primary factors contributing to this trend are demographic aging, outmigration driven by economic and housing challenges, and comparatively limited immigration inflows.
The aging population is a common issue in many advanced urban and industrial regions. With a growing elderly population and lower birth rates, Stuttgart, like much of Germany, is facing a natural population decline as deaths outnumber births, reducing overall population independent of migration.
Residents are also leaving Stuttgart due to high living costs, limited affordable housing, or seeking better employment opportunities elsewhere. Economic restructuring and shifts in local industry could motivate such migration, contributing to negative net migration.
Stuttgart might not be attracting enough international or domestic migrants to offset outmigration and natural population decrease. Broader migration policies or regional competitiveness could impact this.
As for specific local factors, the city's focus on the automotive sector may be impacted by economic transitions, such as the shift towards electric mobility, which could affect job markets and population retention. However, the available data does not provide direct evidence of this.
While Stuttgart is experiencing a population decline, not all districts are following suit. Feuerbach and Hedelfingen had significant but smaller population increases of 0.2% and 0.1% respectively. Mühlhausen and Stammheim also saw slight increases in population. Interestingly, the district of Birkach had the largest relative population increase of 2.7% in the first half of 2025.
The net migration with the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, excluding the Stuttgart region, remained positive but significantly lower than in the previous year's period. For the first time since 2021, the migration balance with abroad is negative, with more residents departing (5,775) than arriving (5,690) in the first half of 2025.
It's worth noting that the occupancy of municipal refugee accommodations significantly impacted the population development of individual districts. Without changes in addresses with refugee accommodations, Stuttgart-Mitte would have experienced a smaller population decline of 0.7%, and Birkach would have recorded a population loss of 0.5%.
In conclusion, the main factors for Stuttgart’s population decline and negative net migration from 2023–2025 are likely demographic aging, outmigration driven by economic and housing challenges, and comparatively limited immigration inflows, reflecting broader German and European demographic trends. Further local demographic or economic reports would be needed to confirm precise drivers beyond this general context.
- Migration policies or regional competitiveness could have an impact on Stuttgart's ability to attract enough migrants to offset outmigration and natural population decrease, as suggested by the current negative net migration.
- The aging population, outmigration driven by economic and housing challenges, and comparatively limited immigration inflows are likely the main reasons for Stuttgart's population decline, echoing broader German and European demographic trends.
