Market Research Companies in Munich

Key figures for researchers

Population

1,505,036 (31 December 2025)¹

Boroughs

25 Stadtbezirke; the most populous is Ramersdorf-Perlach (121,271 registered residents, end of 2025)³

Non-German citizens

30.6% of residents; a further 19.4% are Germans with a migration background (end of October 2025)²

Largest EU nationalities

Croatian (34,899), Italian (27,968), Greek (23,721) (31 March 2026)²

Average age

41.3 years (end of 2024)²

Older residents

9.2% of residents are 75 or over (end of 2025)⁴

Households

54.4% of private households are one-person households (end of 2025)⁵

Housing

about 75% of residents rent their home⁶

Economy

GDP of €152.0 billion in 2024 (provisional)⁷

Oktoberfest 2026

19 September to 4 October 2026¹²

Oktoberfest visitors

about 7.4 million in 2026 (first estimate)¹¹

Oktoberfest 2027

18 September to 3 October 2027¹³

Research guide

Research landscape

Munich is one of the main research hubs in Germany, alongside Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin and Nuremberg. Full-service agencies work alongside qualitative specialists, B2B and healthcare firms, field and telephone studios and online panel providers. With a GDP of €152.0 billion in 2024, the city is also a major location for B2B and business research.

Who you will interview

Munich is very international. At the end of October 2025, 30.6% of residents were not German citizens and a further 19.4% were Germans with a migration background. The largest EU nationalities are Croatian (34,899 residents in March 2026), Italian (27,968) and Greek (23,721) There were also 17,534 French and 13,810 US citizens in May 2026.

Households are small: 54.4% of private households were one-person households at the end of 2025, so studies of families or couples need quotas on household type. The average age was 41.3 years at the end of 2024. For migrant and expatriate audiences, consider translated questionnaires, English versions or bilingual interviewers.

Fieldwork in practice

Munich has 25 boroughs (Stadtbezirke). The most populous, Ramersdorf-Perlach, had 121,271 registered residents at the end of 2025, followed by Thalkirchen-Obersendling-Forstenried-Fürstenried-Solln (104,237) and Neuhausen-Nymphenburg (102,527). Sampling or quotas by borough help control the spread of interviews.

Most residents rent: about 75% of Munich residents live in rented homes, often in apartment buildings with entry systems, so door-to-door studies need more contact attempts. Online panels are the main method for consumer surveys, with telephone or face-to-face interviews for older or offline audiences.

Focus groups and qualitative research

In-person focus groups are usually held in dedicated studios with a one-way mirror and video streaming, most of them in central Munich. Allow for travel time from outer boroughs when scheduling evening groups.

Ask the agency for its Munich incentive levels and recruitment lead times; B2B and senior respondents often prefer online interviews. Online communities and video interviews are widely used. During the Oktoberfest the city is very busy, so plan in-person sessions outside those weeks when possible.

Timing

Bavaria sets its own school holidays. In 2026/27: a November break from 2 to 6 November 2026, Christmas holidays from 24 December 2026 to 8 January 2027, a winter break from 8 to 12 February 2027, Easter holidays from 22 March to 2 April 2027, Whitsun holidays from 18 to 28 May 2027 and summer holidays from 2 August to 13 September 2027. Schools are also closed on Buß- und Bettag in November, although it is a normal working day.

Bavaria has extra public holidays: Epiphany (6 January), Corpus Christi (27 May 2027), All Saints’ Day (1 November) and, in Munich, Assumption Day (15 August). The Oktoberfest runs from 18 September to 3 October 2027 (7.4 million visitors in 2026). Check national public holidays in the Germany guide.

Working with a Munich agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, boroughs or areas, method, languages and deadline.
• For face-to-face or recruitment, ask how the agency reaches renters, expatriates and migrant communities.
• For focus groups, ask for the studio address, viewing room capacity, streaming options and incentive levels.
• Ask whether the agency is a member of ADM or BVM and follows the German research guidelines.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 Munich companies from this page.

National rules (data protection, holidays, sampling across regions) are covered in our guide to market research in Germany.