Potsdam and Berlin: Digital regression in a large city comparison!

Potsdam and Berlin: Digital regression in a large city comparison!

Digitalization can no longer be stopped - the current rankings from the industry association Bitkom have once again made this clear. The latest evaluation of the Smart City Index was published on September 13, 2025 and was a topic of conversation among experts and citizens. The annual analysis evaluates the progress in digitalization in major German cities and shows where the problem is and where the cities are making progress in terms of progress.

Particularly exciting news came from Potsdam and Berlin. Potsdam has taken a step backwards in the rankings and is now in 29th place, which corresponds to a loss of two places. Berlin also had to give up and is now in 33rd place, a drop of five places. Cottbus continues to hold the third-worst position at 81st. In the east, however, Leipzig and Dresden shine, occupying the best places: Leipzig in 9th place and Dresden in 18th place. Volksstimme reports on the falling positions and describes the key categories of the evaluation, which are carried out by the administration to mobility.

The best in the competition

In the overall ranking, Munich is the leader with 90.2 points, followed by Hamburg with 89.6 points and Stuttgart, which ranks on 88.0 points. Cologne also joined the top group with 87.9 points. New in the top 10 are Düsseldorf in 6th place, Leipzig in 9th place and Heidelberg in 10th place. Hanover surprised with a jump of 34 places to 7th place - truly a strong piece! The requirements for a top 10 placement have increased and 84.7 points are now required to be among the best. StädteTag reports on the criteria that played a role in the survey.

The data collection took place between March and June 2025 and analyzed a total of 83 German cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. 13,529 data points were included in the assessment, which shows how comprehensively the investigation was prepared. A total of 37 indicators were examined in five main categories: administration, energy and environment, mobility, IT and communication, and society and education. Bitkom found that online citizen services and the availability of broadband sites were central points in the evaluation.

What are the next steps?

The results of the Smart City Index raise questions: How can cities like Potsdam and Berlin bounce back and catch up on their digital backlog? The challenges are great, and it remains to be seen how the affected cities respond to this feedback. What is clear, however, is that digitalization is not a sure-fire success - it requires commitment and creativity in order not to fall behind in the future.

The race for the smartest city in Germany is far from over, and it remains exciting to see who will win the medal next year. However, based on the evidence so far, there are many starting points that could encourage cities to become even more digital and smarter in the future.