Town Hall Report 2026: Male, CDU-affiliated, better paid – an overview of Germany’s mayors
On September 13, a new state parliament will be elected in Lower Saxony; mayoral elections are taking place in numerous municipalities at the same time, providing a timely opportunity to examine the current composition of Germany’s town hall leadership. We first conducted this research last year and have now repeated it for 2026. The result is a stable one: nine out of ten mayors are still male, mostly CDU-affiliated, and they earn an average of over €137,000 a year – with an upward trend. In detail, the findings break down as follows:
Party landscape: CDU still in the lead, SPD and independents close behind
In terms of party affiliation, the CDU remains the strongest force: it currently accounts for 29.7 percent of mayors (99 of 333), followed by independents at 25.8 percent (86) and the SPD at 24.6 percent (82). Together, these three groups account for almost 80 percent of all town hall leaders. The CSU stands at 6.9 percent (23) and the Greens at 3.6 percent (12), while smaller parties and local voter associations such as FWG, Freie Wähler, FDP, or Die Linke each account for low single-digit percentages. This confirms last year’s findings: municipal politics remains firmly in the hands of the established parties.
An office that remains clearly male-dominated
Of the 333 town hall leaders recorded, 302 are male (90.7 percent) and 31 are female (9.3 percent); the distribution has barely changed from the previous year. The average age in 2026 is 50.5 years (median 53 years), slightly below last year’s figure. The youngest person in office is Michael Jahn (SPD), mayor of Günzburg, born in 1995 (31 years old). The oldest in office are three people all born in 1956: Harry Mergel (SPD, Heilbronn), Klaus Eberhardt (SPD, Rheinfelden), and Heinrich Kohl (CDU, Aue-Bad Schlema) – all 70 years old.
Salaries: A significant increase compared to the previous year
Compensation for town hall leaders continues to be based on the state salary tables (Landesbesoldungstabellen), determined primarily by the population size of the respective city. For 2026, the forecast shows minimum compensation ranging between €92,244 and €209,176 per year. On average, the minimum salary is €137,087, an increase of around €3,500 compared to last year’s figure of €133,606. Not included in this calculation are the 17 municipalities in Lower Saxony, since elections there will not take place until September 13 and future compensation will depend on the outcome and classification, as well as twelve municipalities in Thuringia, for which no reliable forecast is currently available.
Typical names among town hall leaders
Among first names, a familiar pattern emerges: the most common are Michael (16), Thomas (13), Frank (nine), Christian and Markus (eight each), and Daniel and Sven (seven each). Among women, the name Petra leads (three), followed by Claudia, Katrin, and Monika with two mentions each. All other female first names appear only once. Names with international associations remain the exception, such as Belit, Claudio, or Ignazio, and make up only a small fraction of the 333 town hall leaders recorded overall.
“Beyond the call for greater gender and generational diversity, the real opportunity lies in how leadership pathways into these offices are formed in the first place. Structured talent programs that prepare professionals from non-political fields such as technology, social entrepreneurship, or sustainability for mayoral roles could significantly enrich the diversity of ideas at the municipal level. Likewise, cross-country exchange programs, in which prospective leaders learn from urban governance models abroad, would bring much-needed impetus to German municipal politics. The challenge, therefore, is not only who gets elected, but how we broaden the pool of people who even consider running for office in the first place – only then will Germany’s cities be led by individuals who truly reflect the diversity of society,” says Prof. Dr. Sara Ravan Ramzani, vice president at Gisma University of Applied Sciences.
Methodology
For this analysis, Gisma University of Applied Sciences examined 333 mayors (Oberbürgermeister*innen) in Germany (depending on the completeness of individual data points). Data collected included gender, year of birth, date of taking office, party affiliation, and projected minimum compensation according to the 2026 state salary tables. Salaries were calculated on an annual basis; additional income or supplementary allowances were not taken into account. For Lower Saxony (municipal election on September 13, 2026) and for Thuringia, no reliable forecast values are yet available and were excluded from the salary calculation. Age figures refer to the year 2026.