While Switzerland is debating how to curb immigration, some of its own residents are considering a move in the opposite direction. According to a survey commissioned by Comparis, a price-comparison website, nearly one-third of adults in French-speaking Switzerland could imagine moving to France. Some 4.2% are already looking for a home there—equivalent, by the company’s extrapolation, to roughly 92,000 people.
The attraction is clear. Seven in ten respondents describe rents or home purchase prices in their area as high. A quarter say housing consumes at least 36% of their household income; 8% spend more than half. In Geneva, half of respondents say housing costs are “very high”. The survey gives gives much lower figures for French-speaking Bern, Jura and Valais—10%, 11% and 12% respectively—but does not publish the corresponding result for Vaud.
France offers what Switzerland increasingly does not: the prospect of more space for less money. Among those open to moving across the border, 38% expect lower rents or purchase prices, up from 34% a year ago. Yet enthusiasm should not be mistaken for action. Of the respondents who said they could contemplate becoming cross-border commuters, only 14.1% were actively searching for a French home. Applied to the full sample, that produces the figure of 4.2%. The distinction matters. Surveys are better at measuring frustration than moves. Wanting cheaper housing is one thing; reorganising work, commutes, taxes, health insurance and family life is another.
The most obvious obstacle is a longer journey to work. Four in ten respondents would not accept a longer commute in exchange for cheaper housing. Another 34% would tolerate no more than an extra half-hour. Most already travel relatively short distances: 21% commute for less than 15 minutes and 38% for between 15 and 30 minutes. Only a little over 6% spend more than an hour getting to work.
The social costs may be larger still. Respondents cite distance from family and friends as the biggest deterrent, followed by commuting. Then comes the bureacracy that accompanies cross-border life: taxation, health insurance and administration. A cheaper house can be poor compensation for more complicated childcare, a longer trip to an ageing parent or dealing with two administrations.
Cross-border living is not unusual. Some 68% of respondents know friends or acquaintances who live in France and work in Switzerland. At the end of 2025, there were 212,400 Swiss citizens living in France. Around half of them lived in the four regions bordering French-speaking Switzerland.
Even so, many French-speaking Swiss are unusually attached to their present homes. Some 44% have lived in the same property for more than a decade. The figure rises to 70% among those aged over 56, but is still 39% among 36- to 55-year-olds and 29% among younger adults. This does not necessarily reflect an emotional attachment. Switzerland’s rental market rewards staying put. Long-standing tenants may pay substantially less than those seeking a new flat at current market rates. Moving—even within Switzerland—can therefore mean accepting a sharp increase in rent. Households may dislike the cost or size of their home, yet find available alternatives too costly.
The survey points less to an impending exodus than to a structurally flawed housing market that is distorting decisions. More housing where people most want to live: around employment centres, transport links and established social networks would align better with what residents desire.
France can act as a safety valve for some households, particularly those able to work flexibly and tolerate the administrative burden. But it is no substitute for building more homes in Switzerland.
The survey was conducted in May 2026 by Innofact for Comparis. It covered 1,001 adults in Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel and Vaud, as well as the French-speaking parts of Bern, Fribourg and Valais.
More on this:
Comparis article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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